1. Standard memberBosse de Nage
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    22 Jan '13 07:41
    "Mali’s problems did not start with the fall of Libya’s Qadhafi. They started even before it gained independence from France. A diverse set of ethnic groups were forced to coexist without much thought of the immense potential for conflict caused by that arrangement. France’s 25th hour short-legged attempt at Shock and Awe is potentially a doomed effort because it is a decade late. Relying on inept militaries, and hoping to win a guerilla warfare without a credible strategy is a defeat waiting to happen. A decade into wars of pacification, Western nations should resist the urge to fight in yet another war without fully thinking through the consequences– potentially disastrous. None of this is an argument to look the other way on the spread of Jihadism, it is a call to think, then act decisively. Too much is at stake."

    http://dekhnstan.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/a-disaster-50-years-in-the-making/

    (The writer's handle is @weddady.)
  2. Standard memberAThousandYoung
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    22 Jan '13 18:34
    I have a hard time seeing West African and French militaries as being inept.
  3. Standard membersasquatch672
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    22 Jan '13 18:53
    Originally posted by AThousandYoung
    I have a hard time seeing West African and French militaries as being inept.
    "French" and "military" are not ready to be seen together in the same sentence.
  4. Standard memberAThousandYoung
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    22 Jan '13 18:55
    Originally posted by sasquatch672
    "French" and "military" are not ready to be seen together in the same sentence.
    And yet they spearheaded the Libya intervention which ended with Ghaddafis death.
  5. Standard membersasquatch672
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    22 Jan '13 19:01
    Originally posted by AThousandYoung
    And yet they spearheaded the Libya intervention which ended with Ghaddafis death.
    A half-dozen Eagle Scouts could have stepped in to a leadership vacuum in a third-world country with a ninth-rate military and done as well.
  6. Standard memberAThousandYoung
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    22 Jan '13 19:051 edit
    Originally posted by sasquatch672
    A half-dozen Eagle Scouts could have stepped in to a leadership vacuum in a third-world country with a ninth-rate military and done as well.
    Do you predict the West African/French intervention to be successful in removing Ansar Dine (Arabized Tuareg radical Islamists) who are themselves highly capable irregulars with al-Quaeda financial and logistical support?
  7. Standard membersasquatch672
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    22 Jan '13 19:09
    Originally posted by AThousandYoung
    Do you predict the West African/French intervention to be successful in removing Ansar Dine (Arabized Tuareg radical Islamists) who are themselves highly capable irregulars with al-Quaeda financial and logistical support?
    I don't have enough information about that particular conflict to speak intelligently about its outcome.
  8. Standard memberAThousandYoung
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    22 Jan '13 19:142 edits
    Originally posted by sasquatch672
    I don't have enough information about that particular conflict to speak intelligently about its outcome.
    Sure thing.

    Any Army or Navy people I could talk to? 😕

    I'm sure they will tell you who the bad guys are and let you off the leash when the time comes, Marine.

    Go play with your toys in the meantime ok? Here you go:

    http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokefrenchmilitaryhistory.htm
  9. Standard membersasquatch672
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    22 Jan '13 19:291 edit
    Originally posted by AThousandYoung
    Sure thing.

    Any Army or Navy people I could talk to? 😕

    I'm sure they will tell you who the bad guys are and let you off the leash when the time comes, Marine.

    Go play with your toys in the meantime ok? Here you go:

    http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokefrenchmilitaryhistory.htm
    Well, my taking-orders days are over, so if and when Army & Navy boys tell the Marines to go play somewhere, I'll be watching from the stands. And if the toys you're referring to are the ones where little pieces of metal come out of big pieces of metal, then hell no - it's going up to 17 (F, not C) today. Marksmanship is going to have to wait. I'd trade 'em all for some palm trees and a place at the beach though...😉

    EDIT: That link was damn funny...although I adore the French. Wonderful people. The Left Bank in May...
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    22 Jan '13 19:52
    Originally posted by sasquatch672
    EDIT: That link was damn funny...although I adore the French. Wonderful people. The Left Bank in May...
    One can, of course, adore a people without loving everything about their social and political organisation or their history. I love the Japanese, but obviously, there are a lot of aspects to the way they live and have lived that bother me.
  11. Dublin Ireland
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    22 Jan '13 19:59
    Originally posted by sasquatch672
    "French" and "military" are not ready to be seen together in the same sentence.
    I'd like to see you in the Foreign Legion Sgt.
  12. Standard memberAThousandYoung
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    22 Jan '13 20:01
    Originally posted by johnnylongwoody
    I'd like to see you in the Foreign Legion Sgt.
    That's the mercenary army France uses so Frenchmen don't have to fight isn't it?
  13. Dublin Ireland
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    22 Jan '13 20:07
    Originally posted by AThousandYoung
    That's the mercenary army France uses so Frenchmen don't have to fight isn't it?
    That's right yes. Mostly Belgians African colonists.
  14. Standard memberBosse de Nage
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    23 Jan '13 12:33
    Try reading about the Foreign Legion as it is today.

    Information about French assets:
    http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/01/weapons-of-the-mali-war/
  15. Standard memberBosse de Nage
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    23 Jan '13 12:36
    Originally posted by AThousandYoung
    I have a hard time seeing West African and French militaries as being inept.
    The concern is less about fighting skills than treatment of civilians. Mali regulars are unlikely to be kind in rebel territory. The men of Chad are not known to be gentle.
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