"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."
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?
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.
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...
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.
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.