Fight for Gadfy 1st, now become AQIM linked?
Chowing commented:
Quote:
AQIM is linked with the Malian rebels recently returned from fighting in Lybia.
The rebels in most reports I have read were mercenaries for Gadafy and fought against a coalition that included jihadists. Returning home before the end, along with heavy weapons - which the Malian army had nothing to compare. Film footage tonight showed "technicals" and lorry-mounted rocket launchers.
So how do these men now become linked to AQIM?
Was the Mali coup leader trained in the U.S.?
What do you think?
Quote:
An interesting nugget from the AP's latest dispatch from Bamako:
A diplomat who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press said that [Capt. Amadou Haya] Sanogo, the coup leader, was among the elite tier of soldiers selected by the U.S. Embassy to receive military counterterrorism training in America. Sanogo, the official said, traveled "several times" to America for the special training.
That means that he had to pass a background check indicating that he was not complicit in any human rights crimes. The official requested not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
As blogger Laura Seay quips, "your tax dollars at work."
The U.S. hasn't yet made a decision on whether to cut off military assistance to Mali following the coup. According to State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, annual U.S. assistance to Mali is around $137 million, about half of which is humanitarian aid. France suspended its military cooperation with Mali yesterday.
See also: Elizabeth Dickinson's post from 2010 on why coups always seem to be led by captains or colonels not generals.
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/...ined_in_the_us
About Dickinson - We've never had a successful junior officer coup in Nigeria.
Mali capacity building info?
Can anyone link me to some more current info on USG security capacity building efforts in Mali?
In 2010, according to DSCA they received a paltry 200k in FMF monies. But, the Trans Saharan Counter Terrorism Initiative is funded under a different line by Congress. Am I correct? Is the TSCTI primarily implemented by AFRICOM? From what I can ascertain, AID and DoS also have a role, but I'm concerned more with the CT training part of it.
Essentially what I'm trying to answer is: How much does the USG have invested in counter-AQIM efforts in Mali and how will these efforts be set back by the recent coup?
I know the USG tends to work with whomever is convenient, but I doubt relations with the ruling junior officers will continue as normal.
I'd love a link with some more solid information on training, but please do weigh in any way you see fit.