Finally! It looks like the cavalary, or le cavalary in this case, has finally arrived. French troops and jets are pushing back the Islamic fighters-and doing it in a rather convincing fashion. Britian and US have offered logisical support, which will probably include drones. The neighbours are sending troops immediately. It seems like only yesterday that sources were saying that nothing would happen until the fall.
It appears that the rebels were a victim of their own sucess. Their latest offensive was so effective that Western powers started to worry that they might drive right to Bamako. If they had succeeded in that, our investment would have been lost entirely-from the brink of disaster to victory!
Its not over yet but with a major western partner having put boots on the ground its hard to see how they can accept anything other than total victory over the insurgents. This is shaping up as definitive showdown between Al Qaeda and Western democracies-the consequences of losing are unthinkable and every major power knows it. I agree with Max-this year is shaping up as a great one for Merrex. I just wish that Mr Harper, who I voted for, had showed a little more courage in this matter.