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David,

At the root of a lot of the problems in the Sahel region is state legitimacy and the deeper issue isn't whether the states could be made to function better but whether they should exist in...

David,

Debby owes his presidency to the French, so he was very enthusiastic about committing troops to Mali.

Having said that, other African presidents don't want to be stuck with the Malian...

David,

Nigerian soldiers and their North Korean trainers:

http://odili.net/news/source/2012/feb/3/tribune/images/abachaforce[1].jpg

Since the Nigerian Army has links with North Korea, some...

davidbfpo,



I don't think it achieved much. The Algerians have their methods of fighting terrorists (and I don't think the US changed them one bit).

As for Nigeria, grapevine suggests that...

A native talks about the situation there, very important article. I think we should read it and understand..........



http://dekhnstan.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/a-disaster-50-years-in-the-making/

This seems fairly recent:



http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130120/178905852/Russia-Offers-Help-to-Transport-French-Troops-to-Mali.html

Still waiting for comments from the Russians (as to what sort...

Russia to help with transport in Mali. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/01/20/284590/russia-to-help-transport-troops-to-mali/

How significant is that?

Nigerian Army arrives Bamako. They seem better equipped and hopefully, better prepared than the bunch that went into Sierra Leone / Liberia.
...

South Sudan is an externally imposed solution. It is tricky, but inevitable. Expect more in future.

"We" refers to the International Community (especially ECOWAS). Mali has to renegotiate its internal political architecture to ensure sustainable peace.

You know about South Sudan? South Sudan is...

No, it didn't (if you consider the very real issues that simmered under the surface in the North, but were ignored by both the West and the Southern-led Malian government).

I know the discussion over the next few weeks is going to be about tactics, "counter insurgency", training, how the West can better partner with African armies etc. I think that misses the big...

Dayuhan,

Thanks for your kind response.

I just need to point out that it is always the US government, US news media and US academics who fret the most about the US losing its competitive edge...

Dayuhan,

Thank you for your observations.

African governments and the African public are not as interested in the relationship between US corporations and the US govt as they are in who is most...

Interesting article on US policy (or lack of it) in Africa.



http://africanarguments.org/2012/12/06/the-u-s-pivots-slightly-toward-africa-by-michael-keating/

Davidbfpo,

I think the West should stop seeing Africa through the prism of "Global War on Terror" - and see what is happening for what it is - the normal process of state formation and a sneak...

Before another season of folly starts, please take a look at the Sahel - it is vast.

There are too many unemployed young men in that part of the World. Too many for us to promote an aggressive...

Seems like the World has forgotten Mali and is resigned to two states - Mali in the South and "Azawad" in the North.

The longer Azawad remains a de-facto state, the more difficult it would be to...

Africa hasn't seen a US commerce secretary in 12 years. Meanwhile, US Army generals visit every month.

Warped priorities.

But where will these troops come from? I don't see them coming from Nigeria.

Sorry if I came across as dismissive, but having spend a fair amount of time in an "African democracy", I tend to be sceptical about "African democracies" especially when they are praised to high...

Those statistics are arbitrarily defined. We should look at easily verifiable statistics such as GDP per capita, economic growth rate, literacy rate and employment rate.

Totally unrelated. Coup in Guinea Bissau.

Is this the new normal? I'm no expert in democracy, but it clearly has not delivered the goods in Africa. There is no evidence that life in "democratic"...

A few problems with that:

1. There is no shortage of extremely fragile states from which to operate from. "Starving them out" will simply transfer the problem to these states, from which they can...

Unrelated. Talks about the proliferation of weapons from Libya. If Somali pirates have them, then they are most certainly in Mali/Nigeria.


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