War

It looks like there's way more dead in Algeria than previously reported.

Eric Margolis says Islamists are not the problem in Mali.

"Western governments and media have done the public a major disservice by trumpeting warnings of an "Islamist threat" in Mali. It’s as if Osama bin Laden has popped up on the Niger River. Our newest crisis in Africa is not driven primarily by religion but by a spreading uprising against profoundly corrupt, western-backed oligarchic governments and endemic poverty."

Western governments, with their welfare for dictators, have been promoting poverty for decades.

"France’s overheated claim that it faces a dire Islamic threat in obscure Mali could attract the attention of numbers of free-lance jihadists, many who are now busy tearing up Syria. Paris was better off when it claimed its troops were to protect ancient Muslim shrines in Timbuktu. Or it could have quietly sent in the Foreign Legion, as in the past. "

But unpopular French President Hollande has gained politically from the invasion, so that was probably the real motivation for invading.

"US air forces and small numbers of Special Forces from its new Africa Command are now entering action in Mali and Algeria. More are sure to follow as West Africa smolders."

Yet another undeclared, illegal Obama war.

US special forces reported in Mali in March, 2012.

The US has had special forces intervening in North Africa since 2004.

"Units of around 200 from the US army's 10th Special Forces Group are already installed, or are due to arrive, in Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Niger to train their armies in anti-terrorism tactics and to improve coordination with the US military.
Military cooperation with Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia - where many suspected violent Islamists detained in Europe over the past two years come from - is also being boosted."

How's all that advance work working out for us?