Tag: Sub-Saharan Africa

Where The Hell Is “Sahel”?

I am a student of history and of conflict…….I try to let my readers know what is happening around the world because eventually the US may be fighting yet another war.

I have a friend that studies the region in Africa known as the “Sahel”…..but most of my readers will be asking WTF?

Let me help out….

Image result for sahel

I have written about this region on occasion but not in-depth…..most of mine has been about the deaths of American SOF troops or the terror that is Boko Haram….but there is so much more to this region that some small posts of mine.

I introduced my reader to the “Sahel” when I reported on the deaths of American soldiers in Mali and Niger.

There is so much going on in this region with the US and France using soldiers to try and control the developing situations.

thousands of miles away, in the deserts and scrublands of West Africa’s Sahel – a semi-arid belt of land on the southern edge of the Sahara – another jihadist insurgency has been spreading like wildfire, with far less international attention.

The civilian toll in numbers

  • Civilian fatalities rose 7,000 percent in Burkina Faso, 500 percent in Niger, and 300 percent in Mali compared to the previous year
  • 440,000 people displaced by conflict, a five-fold increase over the previous year
  • 1.8 million people face food insecurity
  • 5.1 million people require humanitarian assistance
  • 157 men, women, and children killed in March in one attack in Mali

In recent months, a surge in violence in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger – three Sahelian countries with shared borders and common problems – has left more than 440,000 people displaced and 5,000 dead, as militants – some with links to al-Qaeda and IS – extend their grip across the region.

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/in-depth/sahel-flames-Burkina-Faso-Mali-Niger-militancy-conflict

The UN has isolated several problems other than the rise in terrorist activity……food, environmental, fragile economies as well as political instability……

https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2013/sahel-one-region-many-crises

Let’s be honest the Sahel is quickly becoming a hot bed for terrorist activity……

Violent extremist organizations in the Central Sahel (the Fezzan in Libya’s south, Niger and the Lake Chad Basin) are exploiting environmental change, economic grievances, and longstanding social cleavages to recruit and expand. United States Africa Command is explicitly tasked with countering significant terrorist threats but fluctuating resources and underuse of diplomatic and economic tools risks allowing extremists to consolidate their gains and establish safe havens.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2019/07/08/assessment_of_rising_extremism_in_the_central_sahel_114562.html

I admit that this region does not get the copy it deserves here on IST……a situation I shall try to rectify.

This is a region that the US has entered into with our military and that may not be the best way to handle events in these countries.

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

This Is Africa

Many Americans hold very little knowledge about the continent of Africa…..not because they may not care but because our media shows little interest in the region.

I try to be fair and write about all parts of the world and since I have some loyal visitors from Rwanda, Zambia, Cameroon, Tunisia and Kenya I try to write more often than not.

I have a few stories about both North Africa and the sub-Sahara….first Start with North Africa…..the US is slowly expanding its presence in Tunisia…..

U.S. Africa Command spokesperson confirmed in a Task & Purpose report that Marine Corps Raiders were involved in a fierce battle in 2017 in an unnamed North African country, where they fought beside partner forces against militants of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). AFRICOM acknowledged that two Marines received citations for valor but withheld certain details, such as the location—undisclosed due to “classification considerations, force protection, and diplomatic sensitivities.” The command also said the Marine Special Operations unit was engaged while on a three-day train, advise and assist operation. However, subsequent research and analysis strongly suggest U.S. involvement runs much deeper. In fact, the dramatic events described in the award citations obtained by Task & Purpose align with those that took place in Tunisia, which has been combatting a low-level insurgency in its western borderlands for the past seven years. Evidence indicates the battle occurred at Mount Semmama, a mountain range in the Kasserine governorate, near the Algerian border. There, the United States sustained its first casualty in action in Tunisia since World War II.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/america-quietly-expanding-its-war-tunisia-31492

Next stop is the West of the Continent….Nigeria….

Islamic State in Nigeria might kill healthcare workers it has held hostage since March within 24 hours, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Sunday, calling for mercy and urging Nigeria’s government to intervene.

Medical workers Hauwa Mohammed Liman and Alice Loksha were working in the town of Rann when they were kidnapped along with ICRC midwife Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa, who was killed in September, the ICRC said in a statement.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-security/islamic-state-in-nigeria-might-soon-kill-health-workers-schoolgirl-icrc-idUSKCN1MO0GA

Speaking of terrorist groups like Boko Haram….women have a role in this organization as well……

Women’s involvement in Boko Haram attacks in the Lake Chad Basin is well known. However their role in the activities of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), operating across the Sahel, appears to be less direct. What makes these groups include or exclude women from their ranks and operations?

Since it was formed in March 2017, the JNIM, a merger of four terror groups in Mali – Ansar Dine, Katiba Macina, al-Mourabitoun and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – has carried out numerous suicide attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

The group claimed responsibility for the 14 April 2018 attack on the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali and the French operation Barkhane in the Timbuktu region. Following the attack, then Barkhane commander General Bruno Guibert mentioned the involvement of a woman suicide attacker in the operation.

Two weeks later JNIM published a communiqué to deny the allegation, stating that in its doctrinal approach, women do not participate in operations or in combat. The statement said Muslim nations still had enough men willing to take on combat roles.

https://issafrica.org/iss-today/the-role-of-women-in-west-africas-violent-extremist-groups

I am ashamed of what the US and its leaders have done to Africa…..we come to help and end up doing just as much damage as the events were were there to prevent……like the recent visit of Mrs. Trump to Africa……

If Melania really wanted to warn Africans, she would have worn a pantsuit. Hawk Hillary has brought slavery back to Libya, and even was tacky enough to cackle about it on live television. Then there was that 100 million dollar donation to the Clinton Foundation, by Lundin for Africa. Um, is this charity? Lundin is an oil and mining company based in Canada. There was also a 20 million donation to the Foundation from Ethiopia’s repressive leader Meles Zenawi. And ties to businessman Gilbert Chagoury brought along shady land deals in Nigeria. Also of note is her State Department arming of child soldiers in southern Sudan. I mean this could go on and on. Between the Clinton Foundation and an ugly State Department reign, there appears to be pantsuit pollution in about every country in Africa. She’s a basket case of deplorable!

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/10/12/the-colonial-pantsuit-what-we-didnt-want-to-know-about-africa/

In closing I would like to thank all my visitors from the countries of Africa….I appreciate your loyalty….THANK YOU!

Build The Wall! (Repeat)

Closing Thought–20Sep18

Remember during the 2016 election and the chants of “Build the wall” coming from the mindless drones of the Trump camp?  And of course that Mexico would pay for it (this has nothing to do with the post but if does help the word count)…

This is Trump’s, Our Dear Leader, answer to stopping the flow of immigrants into the US.  Does everyone remember this?

It seems he is a “One Trick Pony” on the control of immigrants….he gave a Spanish minister some advice…..

Spain’s foreign minister says President Trump offered the Spanish government some very Trumpian advice on dealing with an influx of cross-Mediterranean migrants. Josep Borrell says the president suggested building a wall across the Sahara desert, even though only two small enclaves in the region are Spanish territory, the Telegraph. Borrell, who accompanied Spanish royals to the White House in June, told an event in Madrid this week that when skeptical Spanish diplomats pointed out that such a wall would have to be more than 3,000 miles long, Trump said, incorrectly: “The Sahara border can’t be bigger than our border with Mexico.” A ministry spokesman tells the Guardian: “We can confirm that’s what the minister said, but we won’t be making any further comment on the minister’s remarks.”

Since most of the immigrants  originate south of the desert and make their way north to try and find passage to Europe.

The map below shows the extent of the Sahara and to build a wall across the Southern limits of the desert is just a pipe dream…..nay it is a fucking joke from a comedian that has NO idea about the geography of the region.

Image result for sahara desert

Like is said a “One Trick Pony”.

Another wind bag GOPer that has NO idea of geography and thinks slogans will solve a problem.

 

American War Dead

WE Americans continue to die in defense of our country.  We have died in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and the list goes on.  It is a sad occasion when I have to write another post about more Americans dying in wars of no interests.

Yesterday here on IST we reported of yet another American killed in Iraq and it is out sad duty to report today that 3 more Americans have been killed but this time it is in West Africa……

US officials say three US Army special operations commandos were killed Wednesday and two others were wounded when they came under fire in southwest Niger. The officials say the two wounded were taken to Niamey, the capital, and are in stable condition, the AP reports. The officials say the commandos, who were Green Berets, were likely attacked by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb militants. In a statement, US Africa Command said the American forces were on a joint patrol with Nigerien Armed Forces troops north of Niamey, near the Mali border, when they came under hostile fire.

Africa Command said the US forces are in Niger to provide training and security assistance to the Nigerien Armed Forces in their efforts against violent extremists. The White House says President Trump was notified about the attack Wednesday night as he flew aboard Air Force One from Las Vegas to Washington. The military says the two wounded soldiers will soon be transported to Germany for medical treatment, CNN reports.

These deaths made the cable news shows (show me surprised)……

At the time of this writing the names of the dead and wounded have not been released….

Our deepest sympathies go out to the families.

When Is The Death Penalty Needed

In most cases I am against the death penalty…..in most cases but there are a few that I think should be mandatory……that being when someone knowingly destroys a heritage site or a cultural site……

This guy for instance…….

The trial of a Malian jihadist, charged with war crimes for orchestrating the 2012 destruction of nine Timbuktu mausoleums and a section of a famous mosque, opened  Monday at the International Criminal Court

Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi asked for forgiveness as he pleaded guilty to the 2012 attacks on the fabled city of Timbuktum in Mali, Africa, and urged Muslims not to follow such “evil” ways at his unprecedented war crimes trial.

“Your honor, regrettably I have to say that what I heard so far is accurate and reflects the events. I plead guilty,” he said as his trial opened, admitting a sole war crimes charge of cultural destruction.

Source: Muslim extremist pleads guilty to 2012 destruction of Timbuktu treasures | Public Radio International

This prick is sorry?  He knew what he was doing….there is NO excuse!  He should fry!

This destruction was NOT an isolated situation….

The following are examples of world cultural heritage destroyed or damaged during recent conflicts.

– Mali –

The fabled desert city of Timbuktu, named as the “City of 333 saints” and listed by UNESCO, was for months attacked by jihadists bent on imposing a brutal version of Islamic law.

In June 2012, Al-Qaeda-linked militants destroyed 14 of the northern city’s mausoleums, important buildings that date back to Timbuktu’s golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries as an economic, intellectual and spiritual hub.

The reconstruction of the shrines began in March 2014, relying heavily on traditional methods and employing local masons. Several countries and organisations financed the reconstruction, including UNESCO.

Work finished on the site in July 2015, and a ceremony marking the completion was held on February 4, 2016.

– Syria –

More than 900 monuments or archeological sites have been looted, damaged or destroyed by the regime, rebels or jihadists in Syria, where a devastating war has raged since 2011, according to APSA, the association charged with protecting Syrian architecture.

In September 2015, Islamic State (IS) fighters destroyed two of the most important temples in the UNESCO-listed Syrian city of Palmyra as they pressed a campaign to wipe out some of the Middle East’s most important heritage sites.

They include the ancient city’s most famed shrine, the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, blown up a week after the destruction of the temple of Baal Shamin.

Other notable sites damaged or looted include Dura-Europos in eastern Syria, once known as the “Pompeii of the desert”, Apamea, Ebla and Tal Ajaja.

However, the IS group is not the only one responsible for ravaging Syria’s heritage, with all sides in the fighting looting and destroying ancient sites.

“Two thirds of the ancient city of Aleppo have been bombarded and set on fire,” according to UNESCO.

– Iraq –

IS has carried out a campaign of “cultural cleansing”, razing part of ancient Mesopotamia’s relics and looting others to sell valued artefacts on the black market.

In a video released by IS on February 26, 2015 militants were shown using sledgehammers to smash pre-Islamic treasures in the museum in the country’s second city Mosul, sparking global outrage.

Thousands of books and rare manuscripts were also burned in February in Mosul’s library.

According to the Iraqi government, IS militants on March 5, 2015 bulldozed and blew up Nimrud, an ancient Assyrian city south of Mosul.

They also attacked Hatra, a Roman-period site, in the northern Niniveh province.

– Libya –

Several mausoleums have been destroyed by Islamist extremists since the overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

In August 2012, Islamist hardliners bulldozed part of the mausoleum of Al-Shaab Al-Dahman, close to the centre of the Libyan capital.

The demolition came a day after hardliners blew up the mausoleum of Sheikh Abdessalem al-Asmar in the western city of Zliten.

In 2013 suspected Islamic extremists destroyed the centuries-old mausoleum of Murad Agha in Tripoli, but the tomb inside withstood the attack.

Afghanistan –

In March 2001, Taliban leader Mullah Omar ordered the destruction of two 1,500-year-old Buddha statues in the eastern town of Bamiyan, because they were judged to be anti-Islamic.

Hundreds of members of the Taliban from across the country spent more than three weeks demolishing the gigantic statues carved into the side of a cliff.

In 2003 the cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley were put on UNESCO’S world heritage list.

– Algeria –

Armed Islamic groups in the 1990s destroyed several sanctuaries which dotted Algerian soil.

(yourmiddleeast.com)

There must be consequences when you destroy a nation’s cultural and historic sites…execution would suit me just fine.

 

Where The Hell Is South Sudan?

The joy of opening presents has passed and now we must face reality once again…..

A perfectly good question.  How many Americans realize that to help curb the violence in Sudan a vote was taken and the Southern part of the country became an independent nation of South Sudan in 2011.

From its inception there have been problems but that is expected after all it is the oil rich region……..the problems burst into gunfire about a week ago……with different sides wanting to gain control of the area……

So why am I writing about a common occurrence in African nations?

Well it seems that things have gotten so bad that the State Department has said that Americans in South Sudan need to get the Hell out…..and to assist have sent in troops to expediate the movement of Americans and there is where the problem is…….

Newser) – At least four US service members were wounded today when rebel gunfire hit two US military aircraft responding to the outbreak in violence in South Sudan. The aircraft were heading to Bor, the capital of the state of Jonglei and scene of some of the nation’s worst violence over the last week. One American service member was reported to be in critical condition. Officials said after the two aircraft took incoming fire, they turned around and headed to Kampala, Uganda. From there the service members were flown on to Nairobi, Kenya for medical treatment, the officials said.

The aircraft were there as part of an attempt to evacuate Americans from the area, reports CNN. South Sudan President Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, said this week that an attempted coup triggered the violence now pulsing through South Sudan that has left hundreds dead and raised the prospect of a full-blown civil war. He blamed the former vice president, Machar, an ethnic Nuer. But officials have since said a fight between Dinka and Nuer members of the presidential guard triggered the initial violence late Sunday night. Machar’s ouster from the country’s No. 2 political position earlier this year had stoked ethnic tensions.

You may say…”not good that Americans were killed because of the situation”……and you would be right!

(Newser) – Washington is getting in deeper: About 150 US troops are heading toward South Sudan today to help secure the US embassy and evacuate more Americans from the war-torn country, military officials said. The troops will likely first travel to Djibouti via Spain, CNN reports. The move follows a letter from President Obama to Congress yesterday saying he would take “further action” to protect US interests in Sudan. The State Department flew out 15 Americans yesterday from the flashpoint town of Bor.

South Sudan officials say that Bentiu, the capital of an important oil-producing state, has been seized by rebels. “Bentiu is not currently in our hands,” the government tweeted. “It is in the hands of a commander who has declared support” for former Vice President Riek Machar. An official said that People’s Liberation Army troops were headed for Bentiu, as well as Bor, to take control. President Salva Kiir blames the crisis on a power grab by troops committed to Machar, his longtime rival.

And there you have the beginning of a possible American excursion into yet another third world country…..if we are not careful this could blow up in our face…..

Some may say I am an alarmist…..could be….but I have been in the service of my country in place that began with far less loss of American life…..I worry and I hope that more American soldiers  do not have to put their lives on the line for far away places that could care less……

A side note…….the problems in Central African Republic could add to the violence in South Sudan because of the closeness of the two countries….something to watch.

In The Heart Of Africa

Continuing down the foreign policy path……let us move on to the “Dark Continent”…….

Some say that the heart of Africa died on 05 December, Nelson Mandela, which may be very accurate….but in this case I am talking about the actual heart of the continent…..the Central Africa Republic…….

What a couple of decades ago was known as the Central Africa Empire….in 1976 the empire was formed by Boukassa and in 1979 the French assisted in throwing him out of power……and since then it has been known as the Central African Republic…..but things did not go as well as the French and others had hoped…..nothing went well leaders were sworn in then thrown out…the longest lasted about 10 years and during all this time there has been a simmering resentment among the various factions and at times has erupted into bloodshed…….

And finally the French have flexed its muscle….like they did in Mali…looks like they are trying to keep their old colonies in line…..

(Newser) – As sectarian fighting rages on in the Central African Republic, France has seen its first casualties since announcing it would deploy more soldiers to the country, says the office of French president Francois Hollande. Two soldiers were killed late yesterday in Bangui, the AP reports. The paratroopers were involved in fighting near the airport, says a French official. “They were injured and very quickly taken to the surgical unit, but unfortunately they could not be saved.”

Yesterday, French and African troops began disarming militias and fighters who call themselves part of a new army in the CAR, the BBC reports. Following a South Africa memorial for Nelson Mandela, Hollande himself is due in the country later today, where some 10% of the population has fled from home and more than a million need food, the BBC notes.

So with all this chaos……..what will the US do….will it aid an allyt or will it stay away from entanglements that could have wider implications?

Here’s your answer!

(Newser) – Now the US is getting involved: Washington has agreed to fly European and African peacekeepers into the Central African Republic to help quell the bloody strife between various Muslim and Christian groups and other rebel militias, CNN reports. US military aircraft will fly troops—including a few French ones—from Burundi into Bangui, the Central African Republic’s capital. The operations will likely be small, but the US will have to secure its own planes and hasn’t said how many of its troops will be involved. Violence on the ground will be “a big factor,” according to a US official.

The US agreed to get involved after a direct plea from French and African Union peacekeepers, who have already been on the ground in the Central African Republic. Today’s development comes after the UN Security Council approved military intervention in the beleaguered African nation, where rebels overthrew the president in March and agreed to share power with the government—but the country has since devolved into near collapse. Defense Department officials are expected to make an official announcement today.

Now we get to see just what our aid will produce……..I worry every time the US helps its allies…..more than one war has been started by our assistance….

Since I wrote this draft more news has come to light…….from AJE

Some European countries will send troops to support a French-African mission to restore order in the Central African Republic, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.

France has deployed 1,600 troops to its former colony to prevent worsening violence between Christian militias and the largely Muslim Seleka rebels who ousted ex-President Francois Bozize.

While European nations including Poland, Britain, Germany, Spain and Belgium have provided various forms of assistance, French troops are intervening alone for the second time this year after ousting armed rebels in Mali, another former French colony.

Diplomats said the ground troops involved could come from Belgium and Poland and may be used to relieve French forces who are securing the airport in Bangui.

Is this the beginning of a wider war?  Just what will be the US part in this conflict?  Is this a new chapter in the old imperialism book written for Africa more than a century ago?  Where does this stop?  Who will make it cease?

Questions….I have questions…..to quote Roy Batty.  (You know you are a nerd if you get that reference)…….

France Flexes

I guess I will take this opportunity to update my reraders on what is happening in the world (probably NO one cares a crap…but what the Hell….I do and that is what matters the most)……..

With all the manure being spread in DC and by the MSM….lots of news has been missed….I mean the rest of the world does not give two shakes about the ACA website or for that matter whatever antic the Congress has up its sleeve for the next week or two……but while Americans were busy condemning and consoling each other over the news of the day……much has been going on that seems to always take a back seat to the crap of the day……..

For instance, France………..for years it had this seemingly isolationist attitude to foreign policy……then a dude named Hollande burst onto the scene….a socialist ta boot……but all the timidness of the past has been broken…recently the West African country of Mali had a small insignificant civil war…the French were quick to come to the aid of their former colony by sending in French troops in support of the government….and NO one noticed.

There is an African country that use to be called Central African Empire, but today it is called the Central African republic…..anyway this was a former French colony….and today it is embroiled in a insignificant civil war that has been brewing for a couple of years…….why do I point to this situation?

(AP) – France will send 1,000 troops to the Central African Republic to keep growing chaos at bay, the defense minister says, announcing his country’s second military foray into a troubled former colony this year. The announcement came a day after a top UN official warned of mass atrocities and possible civil war in one of the world’s poorest countries, which has been in turmoil since rebel groups joined forces in March and overthrew the president. The rebels have been accused by rights groups of committing scores of atrocities including killings, rapes, and conscription of child soldiers.

“It’s in collapse and we cannot have a country fall apart like that. There is the violence, massacres, and humanitarian chaos that follow a collapse,” the minister said. “It will be a short mission to allow calm and stability to return.” He rejected comparisons to the operation against al-Qaeda-linked rebels in Mali, where France still has 2,800 troops. “In Mali there was an attack of jihadists, terrorists who wanted to transform Mali into a terrorist state. This is a collapse of a country with a potential for religious clashes,” he said. France will accompany an African force of troops from neighboring countries in a mission expected to last about six months.

Once again France is trying to shake the timidness in foreign policy from the past…….it seems that the government in Paris is trying to assert itself heavily into the internal affairs of other countries…..and the involvement does not stop there……

It hasn’t been all that long since the last of US troops left Iraq and already another nation, France, is showing some designs on their own presence in Baghdad.

French Ambassador Denys Gauer raised the issue today in a speech, suggesting his nation was prepared to provide “equipment, training and intelligence” to Iraq’s military in quelling the growing sectarian unrest in their nation. Gauer went on to add that this “of course” included sales of weapons to the Maliki government.

“This is an additional area in which we are totally open to cooperate with the Iraqi authorities, and to meet their needs.” Details of the offer were unclear, though training operations could well involve a French military presence.

It’s quite a shift from 2003, when French officials opposed the invasion of Iraq. Yet the Hollande government is far afield of the Chirac government, and has shown itself eager to engage in military entanglements the world over. Involvement in Iraq would be in keeping with their recent, aggressive foreign policy.

France is working overtime to re-establish itself as a world player and a willing protectorer….where will they go next and who will they assist…….any ideas?

A War In Mali–What Could Happen?

I know that there are many people that care about the situation taking place in the African country of Mali…..but that should change…..the US is about to enter into the fray in support of our ally, France………

Just in case you do not know where Mali is located…….allow me to help……..

Our French brethren have commenced a ground assault on the militants in Mali….in the North of the country……could this be a 6 day war or will it continue to fight on and on?  And what could be the results of the fighting?

………… the military action was expected to be “difficult” for France.

“Ansar al-Dine and other armed rebel groups that have control of the area know the terrain very well, and they have very sophisticated weapons,” she said, referring to the rebel-controlled northern part of Mali.

She said the first Nigerian contingent of about 190 soldiers was due to arrive in Mali on Thursday.

The parliament in Niger was waiting for approval to send its own contingent of more than 500 soldiers, currently waiting at the border, Al Jazeera’s Moshiri said.

For those who care — and we suggest you do — the democratically-elected government of Mali was thrown out in March by a faction of nomadic people living in the north of the country called the Tuareg. But the separatist Tuareg got more than they bargained for when they asked a local Islamist militant group, the Rebels of the Ansar Dine, to help. They helped all right: they called in their friends, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which swiftly moved to displace the Tuareg, imposed a strict interpretation of Sharia law on the moderate Sufi Muslims there in the north, and rendered Timbuktu — an ancient, bustling center of trade and tourism — a “ghost town.”

By the way, according to reports, the Ansar Dine and AQIM are apparently “flush” with weapons, thanks to the looting that occurred after the U.S.-led regime change in Libya. Furthermore, the leader of the Tuareg military coup, which opened the doors to what Bruce Riedel calls al Qaeda’s largest foothold “since the fall of Afghanistan in 2001,” was none other than Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo, who came to the United States several times for “professional military education, including basic officer training,” according to The Washington Post.

“Three things emerge from the haze. First, fierce fighting in the North and the East, with French forces in the lead, will open up a whole new set of dangers. With Islamist forces on the attack, foreign intervention was necessary, and many Malians at home and abroad welcomed it enthusiastically. Still, this remains a dangerous moment all around.

“Second, while the latest crisis might not break the political deadlock in Bamako, it has already changed the dynamic. And third, despite the sorry state of mediation efforts to date – both within West Africa and beyond – savvy diplomacy is needed now more than ever.” – Gregory Mann, commenting on January 14 on the situation in Mali.

For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on Mali, including in 2012, see http://www.africafocus.org/country/mali.php

For a recent article with additional background on previous U.S. counter-productive support for Mali’s military, see “French Strikes in Mali Supplant Caution of U.S.”, New York Times, Jan. 14, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com / direct URL – http://tinyurl.com/boxv8va

For an article with background on the U.S. role past and present, see “U.S. Prepares Support for French Military Intervention in Mali” IPS, January 15, 2012 http://allafrica.com/stories/201301150071.html

For a pair of articles from last fall, by Gregory Mann and Simon Allison, respectively supporting and opposing military intervention, appearing in African Arguments and in the Guardian, now moot but with much useful background, see http://tinyurl.com/cofaqvv and http://tinyurl.com/clh4bnt

Mali is a hop skip and jump from Nigeria and Nigeria is home to many oil fields which the US gets oil…….if Islamists are successful in Mali, it will be only a matter of time before they start looking South……..and then the US will certainly have just cause for intervention…….

Also the French have embarked into the same situation that sucked in the US in Somalia…..this could be disastrous in the end results…..

As I have said……..I want to be optimistic……but I am too old to be so……

Let’s Look Ahead

The Olympics are history….the USA did well, as always….only Spain gave the egocentric B/Ball players a bit of a scare…….it has been lovely trying to avoid the silliness of the election and now the MSM has something to talk about besides Mitt’s taxes….his choice of a VP…..so another few weeks of sanity and I will return to the wonderful, delightful world of politics after the conventions……I am enjoying my break and am not missing the name calling or the insults from partisanship…….

What is the projected growth of GDP for the United States for the next or two?  If memory serves me it is predicted to be a bout 2% or less……with growth at that slow pace what will the rest of the world look like?  Will the US be one of the few countries with growth?

The truth of the matter is that some of what we call “the third world” will do a whole lot better than the US……..the Middle East and North Africa will see about the same growth rate as the US……

Economic developments in the Middle East and North Africa region continue to be heavily influenced by the disruptions caused by the social unrest that started more than 18 months  ago. In addition to the challenges posed by societal violence in some cases and sometimes fundamental political change, the external environment for the region is weak because of its close ties with high-income Europe. GDP growth for the aggregate of the developing region eased to 1 percent in 2011 from 3.8 percent in 2010, on weaker outturns for Egypt and Tunisia; and declining output for those countries in civil conflict. Output is projected to strengthen in 2013 and 2014 on the back of increased political stability,  improved conditions in Europe, portending a return of FDI and tourism flows. Nevertheless, regional GDP is projected to rise by only 2.2 and 3.4 percent in 2013 and 2014 – well below the 4.8 percent average growth recorded during 2000-2008.

However this is expected….since the region is trying to sort out the economy with the Arab Spring uprisings……

What about the other area of my interests…..sub-Saharan…..How will they fair in the coming year?

Despite the turbulent global economic environment in 2011, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa remained robust, steadying at 4.7 percent in 2011 – just shy of its pre-crisis average of 5 percent. Excluding South Africa, which accounts for over a third of the regions GDP, growth in the rest of Sub Saharan Africa was stronger at 5.6 percent in 2011, making it one of the fastest growing developing regions. Looking forward, still high commodity prices, ongoing investments in new mineral discoveries, policy loosening in some countries, and lower inflation rates, should support robust domestic demand, with GDP growth projected at 5 percent in 2012, with a pick up expected in 2013 as the global economy rebounds. Nonetheless risks to these forecasts remain tilted to the downside, as the global economy remains fragile, and weaker growth in China could curtail growth in the resource-dependent Sub Saharan economies.

Appears that the economy and economic growth looks better in sub-Sahara than the rest of the area….why?  Could it be more that large banks are not as heavily involved as the rest of the globe….or could the World Bank be using its influence to set the region up for more exploitation?