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Aqim gives Frenchman 15 days to live
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The raid on AQIM in NE Mali today by Mauri and French forces is an example of something that would have been impossible without the joint (Alg, Mauri, Niger, Mali) command HQ which was agreed back in April 2010.
Interesting that Mali doesn't seem to have been involved. Seems to me it was an unsuccessful attempt to free the French hostage. These must be tough times for the Spanish and French hostages alike. |
France and Mauritania attacks on Malian territory without notice? Using a Malian airport without their knowledge? And where does the Tam command centre come in? Is the French hostage alive?
Confusion reigns in the desert. |
From what little we know, I too fail to see any obvious link to Tam command. That was a coalition of African nations, no? If there is then they have failed to capitalise on it in a PR sense. Sounds more like the French teamed up with Mori to get a job done and used Mali's 'cross border' invitation/permission given a while back.
Makes sense not to get Mali army in on it, IMO. Good on them for trying, but you hope they have not jeopardised Germaneau's life, if it indeed was him they were trying to release and failed. Not all reports say this. Ch |
The Tam command centre is one thing. But the joint security agreement set up back in April is precisely what needed to be in place to allow Mauri to raid into Mali. Without that agreement, the raid would probably never have happened.
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This is a comment on the Algerian press article immediately above this post.
The basic line of argument in the article is that France should not be intervening in the Sahara and where they are seen to intervene, it is for geopolitical reasons - such as securing supply of raw materials like bauxite and uranium. I find this argument quite dated. Sure, Europe may be interested in raw materials, but the situation is not as simple as it was 100 years ago. For example, France has maintained a large and highly visible military presence in Chad but that did not stop Chad deciding against France as their partner in oil deals a couple of years ago. But notably, in the case of AQIM and the Sahara, if the Algerian journalist is moaning about French intervention, then that journalist also has to ask what, if anything, has been done to combat AQIM since they set up shop in the desert in 2003 - six or more years ago. Not much is the simple answer. If Mali and the rest of the countries concerned were to stand by and watch for another six or more years, then AQIM will have built quite an empire. So the question that the journalist should be asking is 'why did it take so long to have a go at these guys?'. |
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News from "bubble-talker" Jeremy Keenan
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If Algeria wants to take control over their territory - is that controversial? After Sudan is split up, Algeria will be the largest country in Africa, and 75000 troops doesn't sound like a lot. Keenan could rather ask why Mali doesn't try to take control over their part of the desert. The implications of that fact should worry Bamako, even more so after the UN verdict on Kosovo last week. |
The desert is abuzz with rumours about what happened, why it happened, and what will happen next.
Secret Défense: Sahel : une opération contre Al Qaida menée avec l'appui de la France (actualisé-2) Secret Défense: Mali : plus d'une vingtaine de militaires français ont participé �* l'opération antiterroriste Les forums de Kidal.info || Kidal.info |
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