European troops have begun training Malian forces to help ensure security and stability following a planned French withdrawal in July. From the start, the mission is unlikely to succeed. The program has too few European trainers and will train a paltry four Malian battalions—roughly 2,600 soldiers—to secure a country twice …
In his State of the Union address, President Obama showed a stunning lack of reality on terrorism and the Arab Spring. The President’s statement saluting “the courage and sacrifice of those who serve in dangerous places at great personal risk” unfortunately rings hollow when one considers the Administration’s treatment of the …
Yesterday, Islamist militants seized a foreign-owned gas field in Algeria and took dozens of Western hostages, including several Americans. This attack was allegedly in response to Algeria allowing French warplanes to transit Algerian airspace to strike militants in neighboring Mali. Even though U.S. citizens are being held at gunpoint in …
As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) prepare to retake northern Mali from Islamist militants, the European Union (EU) formally agreed to the deployment of an EU-led military force to train the Malian army to undertake this mission. The challenges of the task …
As members of the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union scramble to find a solution to the crisis in Mali, Islamist forces in the north are being strengthened by foreign fighters. Though the occupation of territory by external entities will undoubtedly strengthen the hand of Mali’s …
On Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Algeria to discuss the ongoing security crisis in Mali. Clinton’s visit not only revealed Washington’s increasing openness to military intervention in northern Mali, but it also highlighted Algeria’s regional influence and complicated relationships with its southern neighbors. Since Islamist militants occupied …
Less than four minutes into last night’s presidential debate, Governor Mitt Romney listed northern Mali as one of the hot spots affected by the proliferation of international terrorism. Romney’s mention of a country in a region of Africa (the Sahel) that few Americans have heard of had many viewers scratching …
