what the heck is so important that we have to get involved there,is it the gold they started to mine there? http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324595704578240013743834182.html?mod=googlenews_wsj http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali
More evidence that the ridiculous right-wing claim that Obama is an extreme liberal is patently wrong + laughable.
We need some more war trophies. We might be able to bring 500,000 here if we do it right. Look at all of the Somalians we got when Clinton sent just a few troops to Somalia. That was a real successful mission.
I doubt that the Malian government will allow this , calling the devil in will damage their profile .
If the gold connection is true, and adding the GWB Iraq/Oil connection, it simply proves that the USA under Dem and GOP POTUS uses it's military to support private enterprise. Exactly the same can be said when the US sends the navy to deal with Somalian pirates; all this is is protecting private shipping. Furthermore, it's what other Western powers are doing and have been doing for 100's of years!
Mining isn't new in Mali. Check out the blue people.. the Tauregs.. They were fighting back in 2005 as well.
Granny says, "Dat's right - we always helpin' the Frenchies get dey's butts outta a sling... France says US is helping support Mali operation January 13, 2013 -- French fighter jets bombed rebel targets in a major city in Mali's north Sunday, pounding the airport as well as training camps, warehouses and buildings used by the al-Qaida-linked Islamists controlling the area, officials and residents said. See also: No easy exit for French fighting terror in Mali Jan 14,`13 -- France, breaking its own rules with a surprise military intervention in Mali, appears to be halting the lightning advance of radical Islamists seen as a threat to Europe.
France has a number of defense agreements with its former colonies and this is what that's about. France is a major US ally and this action is aimed at preventing a takeover by Islamic insurgents. As a common enemy to both France and the US, I think limited support against this kind of enemy is no real surprise. For now, it appears that the US is assisting with drones, transports and tankers and the UK is also chipping in as well. I'd get worried and ask serious questions if the US got involved on the ground in some capacity. Until then, it just seems like a standard case of allies helping each other out in a very limited capacity against a common enemy. The last thing the world needs is another terrorist safe haven like Somalia in western Africa and I'm sure the US is keen to prevent any takeover.
I'm not saying I believe the OP's "link", I'm simply pointing out that this is hardly new and the GOP has spent far more on the military (in terms of $$$ and American lives) doing the exact same. - - - Updated - - - So this would then be a continuation of GWB's "tough" and well GOP supported stance on terrorist havens and not in any way special to Obama. The reality however is that it is somewhat the same as pushing your finger into a balloon, the air just pushes out elsewhere.
I agree with you about the reality of the situation, yet some would describe it as supporting a major long-term ally. That's despite the fact that France didn't assist the US in the Iraq invasion in 2003 (a sensible decision). I don't think this is surprising considering Obama's use of drone strikes across Waziristan, Yemen and Afghanistan. Considering the current US thought process, the people in those countries/places represent a similar threat to those in Mali.
Obama wants to gut national defense. I guess some libs don't realize that military intervention costs money. - - - Updated - - - Obama wants to gut national defense. I guess some libs don't realize that military intervention costs money.
How come French operations in Mali have again to do with US domestic issues? Where the hell Obama sticks in all this ? Mali is a landlocked country and France has already bases around it , the only way US can reach it is by crossing countries where tensions are already present , i doubt that anyone is such an idiot to plant new hell holes.
