Mali

[KantoSooner]

Nice to see France moving in to slaughter AQIM **** heads.
Should be decent: zero cover in the desert, lots of French air power, lots of satellites overhead and the French are decently armed and actually have non-coms leading their troops. Should be a happy little slaughter of some very evil bastards.
My weekend is made already.

[okie52]

The frogs are actually going to take military action? This is real news. Particularly after they were so inept in Libya.

[cleller]

Did they send the chefs ahead to get things ready?

France is finally realizing that the Islamification of their country may have lead to the reverse of their tolerant and liberal lifestyle.

[diverdog]

Nice to see France moving in to slaughter AQIM **** heads.
Should be decent: zero cover in the desert, lots of French air power, lots of satellites overhead and the French are decently armed and actually have non-coms leading their troops. Should be a happy little slaughter of some very evil bastards.
My weekend is made already.

I am guessing one of the Foreign Legion Parachute Regiments. Those dudes are bad ***.

[C&CDean]

Who? Where? What?

Never heard of Mali, and never heard of the French being anything other than giant ungrateful vages. FFL troops used to be badassed, but when's the last time they actually fought? Vietnam in the 1950's?

[BigTip]

France is finally realizing that the Islamification of their country may have lead to the reverse of their tolerant and liberal lifestyle.

It's good to see that even a spineless nation like France will eventually say, "enough" and do something about things.

[diverdog]

Who? Where? What?

Never heard of Mali, and never heard of the French being anything other than giant ungrateful vages. FFL troops used to be badassed, but when's the last time they actually fought? Vietnam in the 1950's?

No they have fought quite a bit. Mostly smaller stuff. We flew a unit during Desert Storm.

[olevetonahill]

Who? Where? What?

Never heard of Mali, and never heard of the French being anything other than giant ungrateful vages. FFL troops used to be badassed, but when's the last time they actually fought? Vietnam in the 1950's?

I 1st saw the thread I thot it was about one of Obammy's Kids

[TheHumanAlphabet]

They apparently botched it... at least 2 dead soldiers.

[okie52]

US Involved in Failed Hostage Rescue

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/us-forces-involved-failed-somalia-hostage-rescue-012813697--abc-news-politics.html

[KantoSooner]

I think that was Somalia, no?

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Supposedly we were in on this Frenchie raid as well, not to any great instance. Brits were too, but their plane broke down on the tarmac.

[Bourbon St Sooner]

Wow, the French found some *** they could kick without suckering Obama in to clean up their mess?

[KantoSooner]

When we say, 'The French' lets be careful. If it's the Legion, then they are mostly Germans. Different kettle of fish.

[okie52]

I think that was Somalia, no?

Yeah, I just posted it to show what France and the US were doing in the Africa.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Kanto, I think this was the French military, as there were planes and bombs and special forces. I don't think the foriegn legion has an air force. The FL on their own could be a special forces...

[KantoSooner]

You're correct on the aircraft. I don't know who they've got on the ground, and they've had specialized desert boys since Ft. Zinderneuf, so whoever is there likely knows his craft.

[Lott's Bandana]

Kanto, I think this was the French military, as there were planes and bombs and special forces. I don't think the foriegn legion has an air force. The FL on their own could be a special forces...


Yahoo has photos of a French "21st Marine Infantry Regiment" landing in Mali's capitol.

Again, what the hell is a "Mali"?

[KantoSooner]

Country in Africa, borders Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Niger if memory serves.So, sort of the center of the 'bulge' that sticks out into the Atlantic. Mostly desert and very dry sahel country. Some uranium mining if memory serves. Other than that, ancient towns and cities that used to serve cross desert camel trains and slaving convoys. Tuaregs in the North, Hausa/Fulani people (I think) in the South.
It was about to be overrun by AQ dominated groups earlier this month and then the French decided that they'd really rather not see that story all over again.

[SoonerProphet]

Another epic clusterf*ck we have created for ourselves in the region.

[KantoSooner]

All right, I'll play. "We created"

How, precisely, did "we create" problems in Mali? Not our colony, we don't have economic interests there of any note, we don't trade with them that you'd care about, we don't have troops there much beyond Marine guards at our embassy, we haven't interfered beyond perhaps challenging the ascendancy of French wine at embassy parties.

What exactly have 'we created' there?

NEWS FLASH: bad things happen and exist in the world that spring into being without any agency of the USofA. There really are bears in the woods.

[SoonerProphet]

All right, I'll play. "We created"

How, precisely, did "we create" problems in Mali? Not our colony, we don't have economic interests there of any note, we don't trade with them that you'd care about, we don't have troops there much beyond Marine guards at our embassy, we haven't interfered beyond perhaps challenging the ascendancy of French wine at embassy parties.

What exactly have 'we created' there?

NEWS FLASH: bad things happen and exist in the world that spring into being without any agency of the USofA. There really are bears in the woods.
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2013/01/14/nyt-calls-us-anti-terror-strategy-in-north-africa-a-catastrophe/

Since Obama took office the US spent almost $600 million to combat Islamic militancy across North Africa. In countries like Mali and Niger US forces trained local soldiers in counterterrorism skills. Arms and equipment were bought so local governments could protect their territories. This strategy, in theory, would protect North Africa from falling into the hands of Islamist militants—who would impose strict Sharia rule on unwilling locals and use lawless territory to launch attacks on Western targets—without involving a heavy deployment of American troops like in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That was the theory. But as heavily armed Islamist militants battle French forces in the Battle for Mali, it’s clear Obama’s strategy to help weak North African states protect themselves from terrorists has failed catastrophically.

“This has been brewing for five years,” one US special ops officer told the NYT. “The analysts got complacent in their assumptions and did not see the big changes and the impacts of them, like the big weaponry coming out of Libya and the different, more Islamic” fighters who came in from Libya.

[KantoSooner]

“The analysts got complacent in their assumptions and did not see the big changes and the impacts of them, like the big weaponry coming out of Libya and the different, more Islamic” fighters who came in from Libya.


This is our fault how? Sounds to me like new circumstances that are now being combatted by the French.
Exactly how is the US 'guilty' in this case, again?

[SoonerProphet]

Did you read the article?

[A]s insurgents swept through the desert last year, commanders of this nation’s [Mali's] elite army units, the fruit of years of careful American training, defected when they were needed most — taking troops, guns, trucks and their newfound skills to the enemy in the heat of battle, according to senior Malian military officials.

You don't see this as a prime example of blowback? The more we continue to immerse ourselves in the affairs of others the more we see **** blowup in our faces. We've seen it in South America and Asia and we will continue to see it in the Mid-East. It is past the time of Western nations sticking their beaks in places they don't belong.

[SoonerProphet]

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/the-algeria-incident-counterterrorist-strategy-7986

[8timechamps]

It's good to see that even a spineless nation like France will eventually say, "enough" and do something about things.

Let's not get too crazy here, France knows that Mali is the doorway to North Africa, and they don't want the terrorist on their doorstep. It was a self interest move (and there's nothing wrong with that), but they didn't do it to join the worldwide "war on terror".