| Tango01 | 06 Oct 2021 9:40 p.m. PST |
… Mercenaries "Add U.S. military officials to the crescendo of voices warning Mali's interim government against brokering any deal to use mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group to help with security and counterterrorism. For weeks, U.S. and French officials have publicly tried to dissuade Malian leaders from moving forward with a reported deal that would pay Wagner $10.8 USD million a month for 1,000 mercenaries to train Mali's military and provide security for senior officials…" link Main page
link Imho…this warning seems as a joke. The US suspended support following the August 2020 coup that saw elements of the Malian military depose the country's elected leaders….The US has very little leverage…. As for the Europeans, they are hoping a new task force will be more successful in the war against the militants in Mali New European Taskforce Takes on Mali's Elusive Militants link
Armand
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| John the OFM | 06 Oct 2021 11:28 p.m. PST |
Why is the US involved at all?
It's France's old colony, France's problem. |
| HMS Exeter | 07 Oct 2021 2:33 a.m. PST |
Do let's let the Wrusskies have the opportunity to cultivate a worldwide perception of an "ugly Ivan." They've laid down such productive effort in Syria already. |
| Tango01 | 07 Oct 2021 12:05 p.m. PST |
Hey!… France help you in your Afghan colony…! (smile)
Armand
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 Legion 4  | 07 Oct 2021 2:03 p.m. PST |
And in the AWI too !!!! Viva le' France' !!!!! |
| Tango01 | 08 Oct 2021 3:22 p.m. PST |
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| John the OFM | 08 Oct 2021 4:21 p.m. PST |
If His Most Catholic Majesty, the Bourbon king of France needs our help, all he needs to do is ask. |
| Legion 4 | 09 Oct 2021 11:40 a.m. PST |
Did not they just pull their Ambassador out of the USA for the first time in history ? Just say'n … |
| Tango01 | 09 Oct 2021 10:09 p.m. PST |
Africa Is Changing—and U.S. Strategy Is Not Keeping Up
link
Armand |
| Legion 4 | 10 Oct 2021 9:57 a.m. PST |
No surprise there … But can much of Africa ever not be dependent on Europe and the USA for many things ? Someone tell me where I am wrong. |
| Tango01 | 10 Oct 2021 3:22 p.m. PST |
I prefer they depend from Occident…. Armand |
| arealdeadone | 12 Oct 2021 5:50 p.m. PST |
You'd think the Americans would be happy to feed a few more Russians into an anti-Islamic meatgrinder. And also rank hypocrisy given US turns a blind eye to UAE using Russian mercenaries in Libya. |
| Legion 4 | 13 Oct 2021 8:13 a.m. PST |
That would require the elected & appointed leadership at the top to actually know what they is doing. E.g. Escape from Kabul … |
| jamemurp | 14 Oct 2021 10:58 a.m. PST |
The West has not been terribly interested in Africa for anything other than resource exploitation for a long time. The SU and now Russia have been active throughout the continent for a long time. The US definitely needs to take a more active role in assisting countries like Nigeria and helping to support more productive and stable systems. This doesn't mean unilateral finger wagging- forming coalitions with other countries based on experience in issues affecting the region (ie Malaysia for anti piracy measures,) would have long term dividends. Contrary to what the constant political sniping would indicate, the current administration has made some progress in Africa, supporting Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, reconsidering trade negotiations with Kenya, and joining in calls to curb Egyptian attacks on free speech and assembly, for example. However, the administration has also retained a large portion of the previous administration's policies that largely ignored the region. |
| arealdeadone | 14 Oct 2021 3:15 p.m. PST |
The US definitely needs to take a more active role in assisting countries like Nigeria Why? Many of these countries and especially Nigeria are nearly failed states with endemic corruption and criminalized elites who view the countries they lead as a personal bank account. They are driven by tribal and sectarian loyalties. There is no functional civil society. Every single institution is often corrupt and dysfunctional.
There's nothing you can do for them.
Any resources you pour into them is the equivalent of flushing money down the toilet.
Mali is actually a great example of this.
1. Central government was corrupt and oppressive. 2. Central government oppressed Tuareg minorities for decades. 3. Tuaregs launched several failed rebellions. 4. US and friends destroy Libya and allow flow of its massive arsenals across Africa and jihadis to set up shop. 5. Tuaregs chum it up with Islamists and make some headway. 6. French intervene in 2013 and are still there 8 years later. 7. Mali government is toppled by coups twice in two years (2020 and 2021).
8. Despite total collapse of Malinese government stability and Mali's army mainly being interested in coups, not fighting Islamists, the west stays and wastes money on an unfixable problem they created by supporting the Malinese in their oppression of minorities and then destroying Libya.
So how is the French intervention of any value? It's just another forever war fought to preserve a corrupt useless Malinese elite who can't run the country and are more interested in power games than actually making the country a better place.
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| Tango01 | 14 Oct 2021 3:50 p.m. PST |
"The West has not been terribly interested in Africa for anything other than resource exploitation for a long time…."
Where they didn't ?? (smile)
It's always a matter of businesssssss…
Armand |
adds APCs to his Israeli forces.
