Mali Rebels Push On Despite French Strikes

The Wall Street Journal ^ | January 14, 2013 | By DREW HINSHAW in Bamako, Mali, and DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS in Paris

[MinorityRepublican]

Islamist rebels chased Mali's army from a garrison town deep in its own territory on Monday, striking back at the weakest link in a nascent coalition after French fighter jets hit militant bases deep in the Sahara.

The surprise move by what witnesses called a well-armed rebel force highlights the risk that the French campaign in Mali could widen as al Qaeda militants spread across the heart of the world's largest desert.

The advancing fighters took control of the small barracks town of Diabaly after attacking and defeating the Malian army there, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

The once-remote conflict in northern Mali is now within 250 miles of Mali's capital, Bamako, posing a grave test for the country's ramshackle military and adding to the mounting pressure for other foreign forces to get involved.

"Our role won't be to remain alone alongside Mali," France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday.

Mr. Fabius said the U.S. was helping with transport, communication and intelligence-gathering capabilities, while the U.K., Belgium and Denmark were providing transport assistance. Several West African countries, including Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and Senegal, have pledged to dispatch hundreds of soldiers, but the timetable for their deployment has yet to be determined. Algeria, which has traditionally opposed intervention, allowed French combat aircraft to fly through its airspace to reach targets in Mali on Sunday.

The European Union said it would accelerate the deployment of its own mission to train Malian soldiers, but ruled out any potential combat engagement.

[1010RD]

Thanks to Obama’s Libya policy.

[1010RD]

Drones.

[1010RD]

You’d have to suppress the news images. The West doesn’t have the stomach for napalm.