Yes there are a few people outside the Sahel and Africa who wish to see the region, including Mali, face the changing environmental scene as the sands shift. That long-term objective should be kept in view.

I agree fully that the success of AQIM & allies in Mali is not a strategic disaster for the West, including France. The Quilliam paper gives us a template to think about and help the locals wage their own competition with Jihadist factions. Malians know far better now what their enemy is. Now whether they want to fight themselves is unclear.