Now the Wash. Post’s smear campaign against the French military and government begins. If you see “Edward Cody’s” name on an article, you know a hitman has been brought in.
He did it on Israel re the PLO/Lebanon conflicts in the late 1980’s and early 90’s.
Other WP hitpeople include Karen DeYoung, the defender of the Marxist Sandinistas; E. J. Dionne, politics; Dana Milbank, politics; Walter Pincus - intelligence, etc.
There are more, believe me.
To quote the lyrics of the song Baker Street: "You used to think it would be so easy ..."
2013 - Tombouctou...?
Once you baseline “Rules of Engagement” you end up in a quagmire. In this case, the Muslims simply melted in to the local population and that leaves the French unable to defeat them. In Bosnia, the Serbs saw the same thing, but instead rounded up the ‘locals’ of fighting age and detained them (and killed many). For that they were convicted of “war crimes”.
The Muslims know our weaknesses, and they are EXPERTS at exploiting it.
Afghanistan, but black —wow.
GREAT conflict for us to avoid totally.
VIETNAM written allllll over this one....!
“With no clear exit strategy, the French are encountering a host of problems: Mali’s interim government is weak, its military is disorganized, and a long-promised African intervention force is far from ready. Even as French troops worry about killing civilians, it is unclear who the civilians are and where their sympathies lie. Ethnic, religious and regional rivalries, as well as old and unsettled vendettas, also are posing obstacles.”
Reads just like Iraq circa 2003. NATION BUILDING IN TURD WORLD COUNTRIES DOES NOT WORK!!