The Islamist extremists that conquered northern Mali have started a move south in the last 24 hours.
The Malian government which has an almost ” naked ” army asked for help. The UN had accepted an operation in December supposed to be lead by African nations. You read about it here on Definitive Lapse of Reason :
http://dlofr.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/france-syria-and-mali-a-truce-in-gaza-dark-australia-and-happy-birthday-mlady/
Why does France step up after encouraging an intra-African solution?
There are 8 French nationals held hostage by ANSAR CHARIA or ANSAR DINE, the conglomerate of rebels holding the country down to Timbuktoo. Until now, that was a reason. Africa needs to learn to take care of this type of problem by itself in order to eventually be autonomous from the ex-colonial powers ( until now ) or the USA ( about now ) or even China ( soon ). That is another reason. But the most important one is that the strange regrouping of rebels is A- spread all over North Africa, menacing to go into sub-Saharian Africa and B- now trying with its new offensive to grab the whole state.
Even though I often defended and will again in the future the right for all types of society to exist, the Ansar Charia is an extremist association. They define themselves as : “Islamist, Charia inducing ( meaning that the Koranic rules in their strictest version shall apply as National law ) and openly hope to be Al-Qaeda 2.0″.
One small example, these nice ultra-religious chaps have destroyed millenary tombs in Timbuktoo, marvels from humanity’s past, because there is a limit set by the Charia to how tall a tomb is allowed to be. Those old sepultures were Muslim, yes, but too high for their limited views!?! 100 whip strokes if you’re engaged in extra-marital sex, cutting the hands of burglars etc; the whole works are also on the menu, of course!
Moving South en masse riding their small pick up trucks, sometimes bigger ones, those very mobile units take their light cavalry ways from when they rode camel caravans across the desert. They are efficient fighters when making use of these tactics and on their ground. This explains why they are more present on average in Northern Africa as they would not be so at ease in jungles down near the continent’s center. They are progressing from Timbuktoo or more exactly a little south of it already since their present “frontier” extends from that straight line atop Niger to that straight line below Mauritania and are apparently gunning for Mopti.
There are as you see on the map quite excellent reasons why that cannot be allowed! The river called Niger is a big one and a major highway to carry stuff and people. Having passed into the lower section of the country, the rebels would cumulate psychological advantage for owning most of the land with a tactical one both by using it to advance on Bamako through Segou or to lock it up and proceed to acquire territory and create many paths to the objective. Bluntly said, out of the surroundings and counterclockwise, Senegal, Guinea and Niger are worth the helping hand and the good side of my unpalatable selection is that Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso need ALL the help they can get. So Western CIvilization is bombing wanna-be Islam’s terrorist group par excellence!
The proof of good faith from France in assuming the role is dual. President Hollande previously tried to abstain from action because of the reasons mentioned at the beginning and in the referred post. And more importantly, it has hostages down in there that the nice rebels of the faith promised to kill if French forces acted.
Well, you got it guys! You just went that much too far. Building convoys when you’re used to smaller units, following a straight axe of progression, crossing a threshold and talking a bit loud and having angered a power that be. The French government is left wing in our politics here in democracy. That means you’re lucky! They’ll only give the order because it’s needed. Had it been a right wing government, they’d have done it with spite and anger. The difference will be lost on you tough; bombs land the same no matter the intent and the soldiers are professionals. If you face them it won’t be personal, the result will only depend on whether you got a good or a very good team facing you.
What I am trying to convey here is that you show little respect for others, so much so that you aim to subject all to your rules. For all the ridicule state of unkempt that it may show at this time to which I concur, democracy under its various guises is doing quite well. The main result being professionalism and some standardization and that is in my honest opinion unpalatable also, see? So that your attempt at standardization, based neither on general good nor on ontological validation is null and non avoid. You got told by God to force others away from having fun? LOL as the kids write!
I’ve been told by my conscience to put my foot up your ass and sadly, I won’t be able too and those nice French Légionnaires and Special Forces and aviators and heck satellites will get the pleasure to do it instead. Oh, well, as they say, only the results count.
As said a friend recently, as long as you can refrain from abusing my liberty and giving yourself life and death rights over me, chances are I can address you. But you won’t!
Tell you what, thinking of you, I’ll do a post on military equipment from space down to earth tomorrow so that my readers can picture what goes on on the serious side of geo-politics represented by what’s coming your way, your fate.
What’s worst in this sad story is that, had you listened to your elders, we might not be in this situation. Or had you read my post on Islam as a religion of state :
http://dlofr.wordpress.com/2012/09/15/islam-vs-the-united-states-or-simply-islam-vs-the-state/
I was a bit off the mark by the way, it won’t be the US. 
OH? I almost forgot. LOL There are soldiers from an assembly of African Nations on Mali’s ground too and you will be facing them a lot. They are there because not only do they believe in the concept of a democratic state but their leaders already envision the pan-continental concept I already alluded to here. They might be the more motivated ones.
In general, Islam is a religion of Peace but you’re no General my extremist friend, trust me on that one … and good luck!
And a prayer from all the people that are into freedom in this world, I am sure, goes out to those 8 French hostages and the others possibly in danger by your fault.
Tay.
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Map source : http://www.undispatch.com/french-military-deploys-to-mali-whats-next
Thnx, Lesley; it feels good to get Likes even when reporting on such sad events, Tay.