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Richard Nicolas-Nelson / Ecpad via AP
This picture released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office shows French Mirage 2000 D aircraft flying to Mali overnight Thursday into Friday.
Updated at 3:25 p.m. ET: As French aircraft pounded rebel fighters in Mali for a second day Saturday, President Francois Hollande that France will pursue operations to oust Islamist rebels in the West Africa country.
The intervention, which Hollande said will be African-led, will step up anti-terrorist security measures. Neighboring West African states sped up their plans to deploy troops in the international campaign to prevent groups linked to al Qaida expanding their power base.
"We have already held back the progress of our adversaries and inflicted heavy losses on them. But our mission is not over yet," Hollande said.
French forces earlier launched airstrikes against Islamist rebels and sent troops to protect the capital city of Bamako in an operation involving several hundred soldiers, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
The operation has not started smoothly. A French pilot was killed during intense fighting on Friday when his helicopter was shot down during an attack -- a blow to the start of a campaign that represents the socialist leader's biggest foreign policy test since his May election.
More than 100 people including rebels and government soldiers were killed, according to military sources and witnesses. A resident in Gao, a stronghold of the rebel group, said fighters started arriving with their dead on Saturday.
In a separate incident in Somalia on Saturday, France also lost a commando and a secret agent held hostage since 2009, an operation Hollande said had been planned several days ago. His defense minister said the events in Mali and Somalia are unrelated.
Special forces dispatched
Defense Minister Le Drian said France had sent special forces into Mopti to prepare the ground.
France had additional Rafale fighter jets on standby to be deployed, he said.
French army chief Edouard Guillaud said Saturday that while its troops would help quash the rebel offensive, there were no current plans to extend operations to northern areas controlled by the Islamists.
Guillaud told reporters that extra military planes had been sent to Africa, after strikes had destroyed half a dozen pick-up trucks belonging to the rebels.
"We are in the buildup phase of operations ... As you know we have planes in Africa and have added more," he said. "The quicker the African mission is on the ground, the less we will need to help the Malian army."
Reuters' Adama Diarra and Tiemoko Diallo contributed reporting.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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French, British, German and many European nations are great in starting wars in Muslim nations.
Most of the times, they were for wrong causes and saving wrong people.
They take more interest in Syria and Iran than their masters: oil rich seventh century barabaric, bigoted Sunni rulers of House of Saud, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and other Sunni Arab League nations, oil companies and their lobbyists.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, they started their dances with good songs. Once the goings became tough, their new dances and songs of hiding in tents, non-combatant roles and withdrawals started.
In Libya also, they started their dances quite well and jumped into action.
"French army chief Edouard Guillaud said Saturday that while its troops would help quash the rebel offensive, there were no current plans to extend operations to northern areas controlled by the Islamists."
Hope they don't draw NATO forces into all their battles started with a bang!
If things don't go well in a nation, then start war.
Here France's socialist Hollande is keeping the tradition alive.
I never thought I'd say this, but yay France !
Hit them hard, and with everything you've got.
Wait... They said that the fighting was "intense", but one of the sides was French. Which part of the statement is true?
Rocky Rhode: I don't have problem if French nukes them too. But they should do it alone.
Also I don't like French, British and German trying to be too smart in Syria and Iran.
When seventh century Sunni Islamists and tenth century Shiites Islamists are battling on whose Allah is greater, can't they permit them to fight in Syria?
Not one more inch in Sub Sahara to islamic terrorists.In Kenya.Nigeria. Mali and many more countries where genocidal massacre are commited against Christians."Death to Muslim Terrorists" should be the theme for all marches and activities against this plague and cancer in the world.And not one more inch!
Rich...While I was in the Army I spent six months with the 2nd REP and if you think you're some kind of stud, take a crack at them. The French have several schools (Commando, Jungle Warfare, etc.) that are as difficult as anything we have in Special Forces or SEAL training. The French Jungle Warfare course is easily on par with the SAS course.
The French can fight, it's thier political leadership that is the weak point, sound familiar?
Darn Jonathan. Sounds like if the French had a gun on your temple you would still hate them. They can't do anything right now can they?
Jonathan you appear to be a little confused about this event, Mali appealed to the U.N. for this type aid, since it is an ex colony of France and they still have a large presence there, France took responsibility and rose to the occasion. They were asked by Mali's government to help fight the terrorist groups that have taken over Northern Mali.
riverboy21: UN and France speak about themselves.
From their past track records, does you post need any response?
save the environment: Did French do any thing right in a long time?
Look at their leaders Sarkozy, Hollande, Straus Kahn and some more! May be they are good in chasing women and drinking!
A good wake up call for the Europeans who've largely been complacent about Moslem (Muslim) extremism in their own back yards and abroad.
But it may be too little too late though given the extremely lax immigration policies of the EU with regards to Muslims these past 20+ years.
Jonathan, the French have done a lot of good but you don't have the ears to hear it anyhow. As far as you are concerned they at least have been a good object of your hateful ethnocentrism.
Jonathan-1982062
You are off base on this one, it's about damn time someone did something, I doubt they will do enough if they don't go north but it is a start, I am shocked that the French were the one's with balls enough to take a stand. Now all of NATO should get of their azz'es and bomb the living sh!t out of the north, this can be done with massive air strikes, I don't have a problem with the use of nukes, but we have already debated this in another thread. Here's a lot more background on what is happening with comments, AP/Newsvine/Rukmini Callimachi covered it, but NBC ignored it.
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2012/12/31/16263074-ap-impact-al-qaida-carves-out-own-country-in-mali
Jonathan is here every day loving Muslims.
save the environment,
"the French have done a lot of good but you don't have the ears to hear it anyhow."
The world is full of false stereotypes about the French, and Jonathan is obviously a believer in them. All French men are ugly, but all French women are beautiful. How did so many ugly men come from such beautiful women? The French can't fight is another one. It makes you wonder how they ever built an empire stretching from North Africa through the Middle East and into Southeast Asia when they can't fight.
Well at least France has the guts to do something.
Terrorists tore down the US flag at the US Embassy in Egypt and the White House didn't even mention it.
Then terrorists kill a US Ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi and the White House does nothing.
The terrorists know in the next four years they can do anything to the US. This is why they are quietly getting stronger. They also know that the White House wants to reduce the US defense and will become weaker.
I'm glad France is stepping up to the plate because they need to be stopped in the early stages. I hope its not too late.
I hope France wastes every one of those sons of bitches.
The USA is continuing Drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen(mostly).
What Jo Ann 666954 wants is McCain-ism.
McCain-ism means the USA should be "leading" in wars all over the planet.
For this McCainism to work effectively, the Senator needs to convince his colleagues and the rest of the US, to:
1. Stop the expensive outsourcing of the US Military. (quelch doing business with Blackwater and Haliburton, etc.)
2. Means---Bring back the DRAFT. (includes females now)
3. This means---Implement the 'Supplemental War Tax' {progressive of 5% starting for everyone and up to 50% for high income earners}
Wake-up gridlock 2307416 you Liberal cynic, but will be fun to see America debate doing this!!!gridlock,
"1. Stop the expensive outsourcing of the US Military. (quelch doing business with Blackwater and Haliburton, etc.)"
"2. Means---Bring back the DRAFT. (includes females now)"
That's alright with me. Just don't bring back KP, though. They can keep outsourcing that. I joined the Air Force just before they did away with the draft, and we still had to pull KP (Kitchen Police). Working in a hot kitchen all day scrubbing grease caked giant pot and pans is no fun at all.
Yep. The french are gonna kick some butts.
The French are more than capable of taking care of this situation on their own. The good news is America is not involved. I say let the Europeans kill as many of the worlds of Muslim terrorists as possible and when they do we should all applaud them for doing so. America shouldn't have to do this filthy and costly job alone.
It's time for the Russians, Chinese and all civilized nations to step up and join the party in killing these Muslim monsters.................... wouldn't that be nice to see.
No I don't gridlock. I just want the White House to defend the US and speak out if our embassies get attacked. I want the White House to find the terrorists who killed our Ambassador.
We have had neither.
More power to France for stepping up and killing these Islamic thugs. We should send them a couple of drones as presents.
"President Francois Hollande that France will pursue operations to oust Islamist rebels in the West Africa country. "
Hope Hollande does not go on holidays after some time!
Hope Hollande and his pals like British Cameron, German Merkel won't support Sunni Syrian rebels, who are supported by al Qaida, MB, Salaffi and other Sunni Islamists against Assad.
Sarkozy used to bark a lot during his times. Whatever deal he did he took kickbacks in the deal.
Sarkozy took monies even from Gadhafi!
What can you say much about these French leaders?
Isn't this how Vietnam started?
The USA is the country that invades and destroys, then goes broke trying to make up for the mistakes. The French could have wiped out Bin Laden and Saddam with a small strike force. A hit force. (Actually, we needed Saddam but that is another, sad story).
Duhbya [sic] liked to say that the USA needs a strong leader. He forgot to mention that what we had was an arrogant leader taking crash courses in geography. Smart leaders with a sense of history is what the west needs.
HeinrichKroll,
"Isn't this how Vietnam started?"
As a matter of fact, yes. There are some similarities with Vietnam. Both Vietnam and Mali were former French colonies. In the case of Vietnam, the French were fighting there to keep it a colony before the U.S. got involved. The difference is that Mali hasn't been a French colony for quite a while, and, in the case of Mali, the government asked France for support. Nevertheless, it could turn into another Vietnam or Afghanistan for France. I just hope the U.S. has the sense not to get dragged in this time.
Not quite. Muslims weren't involved just a people that had been controlled by a foreign country for over a hundred years. In Viet Nam the French got the hell out and stayed out, they also told us not to get involved but America can't resist creating and supporting puppet governments that the people hate and will eventually overthrow.
wrong, check history the french wanted us to get involved. Which we did unfortunetly.We should have left them alone, if they wanted to be communists well thats thier choice.
James - the problem with communism is the same one with Islam. According to them, everyone has to be the same as them. There is no freedom of choice. Extremist Islam is starting to become a plague of epidemic proportions. Just like communism started to do in the 40's,50's & 60's.
Dick,
"Not quite. Muslims weren't involved just a people that had been controlled by a foreign country for over a hundred years. In Viet Nam the French got the hell out and stayed out"
You're right, of course. Vietnam did not involve Muslims. That is another difference. The French had the sense to get out after a major defeat in the battle of Dien Bien Phu. But the U.S. was foolish enough to get involved afterward on the basis of the so-called "Dominoe Theory". Still, I think HeinrichKroll is right. There are some similarities with Vietnam, and there are many differences as well.
France Sucks....
Communism is a political forum and Islam is a religion. Communism vs Capitalism, Islam vs Christianity. Anyway these old communism arguments are obsolete and almost as humorous as the argument that men never walked on the moon. If you think all communist are the same you are missing out on the understanding of a political philosophy. China, everybody is the same?
Communism propelled China to be the 2nd largest business economy in the world and Viet Nam has moved fast stepped into the world economy also. Viet Nam, under capitilism, has become a unified, productive and very open country anxious for you to visit and make as many tourism choices as you can afford.
Dick,
"Communism propelled China to be the 2nd largest business economy in the world and Viet Nam has moved fast stepped into the world economy also."
You're right. Communism has lost all its original meaning, it seems. Karl Marx must be rolling over in his grave about now.
Dick, we " propelled ?" China by buying their cheap products in the late 70's as an alternative to war against communism. Now they are just communists with money. We failed again because we can't win against a mindset to go backward. They are like a sponges. Engaging them is a way to transfer energy to them.
French are good in starting a war and better in running away from it!
French are good in starting a war and better in running away from it!
we are developing the same problem here with "christian" extremists that don't want anyone to have any choice but the ones they claim "god decrees".
The French in Viet Nam were Vichi(sp?) French colonials, or Nazi French from WWII, who were reinstated into Indochina when the Japanese lost their holdings in the Pacific, at the close of the war. They were there for the rubber plantations. It was these French which lost at Dien Bien Phu (sp?). So adding up the success of French Military Strategy, the French lost to Germany in WWll, who established the Vichi French. Germany subsequently lost the war to the allies, who inadvertently put the Vichi French back into Indochina, where they lost to the Communists. America has bailed France out for a very long time. We bailed them out in the First World War. When they had colonies in Africa, such as Algeria, they lost that one... and the Algerians moved to Paris. The French military hasn't had a good track record since Napolean... and he lost twice. So if Mali is going to be the glory of French military strategy in the modern age, let's hope it isn't defined as a new age "first Domino" in a Domino Theory of Africa, and the US get's involved in bailing them out.
If they want aid, send them all of the unwanted clothing and stuff that was sent to Sandy victims in New York and New Jersey which no one cares for, used FEMA trailers with too much formaldehyde in the paneling, and tens of thousands of teddy bears.
Steve Herbert,
"America has bailed France out for a very long time."
Maybe America has just been repaying an old debt. The French helped bail us out during the Revolutionary War and gave us the Statue of Liberty as a gift.
dick - I understand that one is political and the other a religion. However, they both will not tolerate anyone not believing the way they do. In China are you allowed to be anything other than communist? NO. In the middle east are you allowed to believe in a religion other than Islam? For the most part, NO. Suadi Arabia does not even allow the Bible in country. In those aspects they are the same. That was the point I was making. I'm sorry if you didn't catch the obvious.
NVArt,
"I understand that one is political and the other a religion. However, they both will not tolerate anyone not believing the way they do."
I agree. Communism is an economic and political system, but there have been many writers in the past who have pointed out its similarities to religion: dogma and doctrine, processions, the use of icons, etc. The same can be said of Nazism. They're both forms of statism, worship of the state. It wouldn't be too far-fetched, I think, to call it a political religion. It all depends on your definition of religion. Religion does not necessarily require belief in the supernatural. Most people consider Buddhism a religion, yet there is no concept of God or the supernatural in Buddhist philosophy.
mali is protected by france good lack mali'm
I don't get it and I'm white! All those white majority countries that are bankrupt with high unemployment are invading other countries and telling them how to run their countries & in many cases killing 100's of thousands of those countries citizens and in some cases engineering the killing of their presidents. Then they borrow money to rebuild what they destroyed & raise taxes on their own citizens to pay for it. In the end, they have created even more enemies. Huh??
France has to look no further then its own borders with over 20 million Muslims in there country. All of Europe needs to rid themselves of Radical Muslim incursion by any means possible.
Ray,
20 million Muslims in France? The correct number, my friend, is something like 5 million.
What's a few million when you are trying to make a point? If facts were required on these post we would read about 5 each day.
That fact is true. Thier are only about 5 million.
You are among the stupid and ignorant american !! France doesn't have 20 millions muslims, it has 6 millions ! Educate yourself instead of spreading your ignorance on the internet ! I live in france by the way.
A Pew Forum study, published in January 2011, estimated 4.7 million Muslims in France in 2010 (and forecasted 6.9 million in 2030).
According to Jean-Paul Gourévitch (fr), there were 7 million Muslims in France in 2007.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_France
That's way too many. France should evict every last one of them. Europe, Australia, China, Russia, and Pacific nations and the the Americas should do the same.
France has one of the highest percentage of Muslims in Europe.
They form more than 10 percent and that is more than enough for the downhill of a nation to start.
With less than five percent of Muslims in the US, see the damages they are doing.
Already Dearborn, Michigan has started. There have been many Islamic terror plans and some terrorist acts too.
americanfools2008.............you have my condolences!
Won't France quit like always? All they are good for is body odor and hating Americans.
"Neighboring West African states sped up their plans to deploy troops in the international campaign to prevent groups linked to al Qaida expanding their power base."
In Mali al Qaida is bad.
In Syria al Qaida is good!
So it does not matter whether French, British, Germans and EU support al Qaida in ousting Assad.
Let us hope UN, human rights groups/watch open up huge "rights" manuals in Mali. Mirage 2000 appear to be great in photo!
Maybe the French will learn from our mistakes...Kick the crap out of them and then go home.
The French still fight?
Yes, lee, they still do. They've been fighting, on and off, for well over a thousand years now.
By the way, thanks to Charles Martel Europe is not Muslim now.
And thanks to Guillaume le Conquerant you speak the language that contains so many words with French roots...
Lol, and then they quit and whine about America.
Yes, dispatching a sortie of Nieuports to carpet-bomb the enemy with full bottles of California Vintages labeled 'Made In USA' for decoy purposes qualifies as fighting. And here you may have thought open cockpit planes were obsolete.
Yes they fight & many Americans are members of the French Foreign Legion. The French get a bad rap from those uninformed ignorant people of the world. I'm not French by the way.
They fought on American soil against the British. The French Foreign Legion fought in Iraq with NATO forces. The French resistance in WWII fought bravely against the Nazis. Do some research and you will learn they are a force where it would be a mistake to underestimate their abilities and bravery. They fight in conflicts all over the world; but, just don't go around with the bravado and chest pounding some other countries politicians and generals do.
Zheng He: Germans took less than a week to run over France.
NATO forces are not able to win any major wars these days.
It is because of cowards like the French, who run at the first opportunity giving some excuses.
French resistances during WWII were confined to bars, br****els and restrooms!
British are equally good!
In Iraq, when the fighting became tough in Basra region, British hid in tents.
After some time, even that did not work.
British troops did deal with Iranian based Shiites millitants. Iraqi President got so much fed up with British soldiers' bravery that he asked them to get out at the earliest!
Rafal W: So French, British, Germans and the US joined together and invented seventh century Wahhabi (only in Europe) Bosnia!!!!!
French Special Forces conducted airstrikes in 3 different Islamist rebel locations in Northern Mali- and Mali g'ment forces were able to drive the Islamists from Konna (a central city 700 km/400 miles from capital Bamuko). The helicopter pilot ,who belonged to French Special Forces died of his wounds suffered in the fighting. Mali is 3rd largest gold producer in the world, a major cotton grower and home of Timbuktu- an ancient trading hub- and an UNESCO World Heritage site. France has issued a red alert in Mali and neighboring Mauritania and Niger- the Islamist terrorists are holding 8 Frenchmen in captivity in the Sahara who were kidnapped previously. Somalia- French Speciall Commandos raided al-Shabaab site in Somalia- the kidnapped Spec.Forces soldier Denis Allex was killed (by al-Shabaab) and during the fighting 2 French Special Forces commandos were killed and 17 Islamist terrorists (al-Shabaab). At least France makes sure that the Islamist terrorists (with AQ) cannot sieze a Northern African State to start their terror attacks in Europe unhindered. Pres.Hollande acts.
Mimi, unfortunately AQ has already set up bases and has an entrenched, well armed stronghold in Northern Mali.
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2012/12/31/16263074-ap-impact-al-qaida-carves-out-own-country-in-mali
Thank you Mimi. I always learn something new from your insightful and level headed posts.
Islamic jihadists need to be wiped out wherever they are found just like the vermin that they are. The french happen to be very good at doing it without the qualms that other nations (us included) seem to have!
Yep , then the Frenchies will put out a call to NATO for help. And if the US shows up to help, we get a knife in the back again. Vietnam started out this way, and NO, we don't need another, we got one going in Afgan-NAM. Bring all of our troops home, let someone else be the worlds cops.
Strictly speaking as a whole, NATO isn't worried about France and when they go on their 'excursions' into Africa. Just like NATO isn't worried when the US runs around blowing up little stuff all over the world. The big 5, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and the US don't worry about each other too much, they worry about the little members, Turkey Poland, Bulgeria....
Sally,
The French military has been active in the former French Africa for decades, without calling for NATO help.
And the French do fight alongside Americans in Afghanistan, they've been there since 2001. Maybe you should check NATO casualties in Afghanistan.
these muslims never quit. brainwashed inbred zombies
Their inbreeding is decimating the goat population of the world.
The reality is that Islamoterroists are in Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, and other areas. They are supported by the Arab/Persian petro $$$ and will continue to wreak havoc on the rest of the world.
The West, Russia, India are at war with these terrorists and this will be ongoing and will grow (look at Egypt) and the foe is Islamist Facisim.
Any opportunity to strike a blow at these heathens and enemies of world culture is worth the effort and the French in Mali are is just one instance. For those who compare this to Vietnam and the like are the Neville Chamberlins of the 21st Century. The enemy is Islamo Terrorism and this war will continue for a long time!!
.
Whatever happens let the french do it. NO US INVOLVEMENT!
Hey...anyone that want's to go out and kill a bunch of Muslim extremists have got my vote.
Good to hear that, for a change, some other country besides the U.S. is dealing with this crap.
Go Frogs!!
I'll have a croissant today, just for you.
You know that if the rebels control the north of Mali, that's where the attacks should be happening, not in the south. You can't eradicate a nest of ants by attacking the trails they use to bring food to the nest. You must hit them at the center of the nest and keep them from leaving the nest to hide and build another nest. Then you must ring the nest with a deterrent to keep them from spreading again. With ants, poison works. With Muslim terrorists, the 'nest' is Mecca and it is too late to keep them from spreading.
They aren't rebels, it's Al Qaeda
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2012/12/31/16263074-ap-impact-al-qaida-carves-out-own-country-in-mali
I hope the French kill as many as possible. No quarter and no mercy, kill them all for Allah's sake.
Nice to see the French grow a pair and get down to kicking some Muslim behind. I hope the 10,000,000 muslims that have working in France don't take offense.
France, Merci Beaucoup! While you're at it, how about going east to Iran.
Ask any American soldier that has trained with them, and they'll tell you French Special Forces are top notch.
So, once again, the islamists show to the world what real pieces of terrorist, murdering, woman and child killing pieces of garbage they really are.
And the murdereous hoards claim to be doing this in their gods name, well what the frick kind of god allows garbage scum to continue to murder children?
Wow, what a wonderful piece of religeous trash the islamists really are.
IMO I have one thing to say to these scum bags,
PHUCK YOU. You will never be accepted by the rest of mankind. And your days are numbered on this earth.
I wonder if Obama will give Al-Shabbab any F-16's?
moneyos1...that's not your real photograph is it.
Nah, I didn't start smoking until I was three..
Islamists now warn that they will attack French citizens anywhere they find them in the Muslim world. Now, it's the 'Muslim world' an not any specific country. These violent radicals seem to believe it is fine for THEM to kill people in the name of their god, but it is not OK for anyone to attempt to protect themselves from Muslim terror. It is time to pull the plug on 'political correctness' when dealing with Islam. These people are murderers and rapists who only want the power over the people they conquer -- plus all the natural resources of the countries they overrun. Stand up to radical Islam and keep them from ruining this planet for everyone.
backtobasics,
"These people are murderers and rapists who only want the power over the people they conquer -- plus all the natural resources of the countries they overrun."
Only some of them; not all of them. If all Muslims were murderers and rapists you would be up to hips in blood and tripping over corpses. There are well over a billion Muslims in the world.
My uncle was stationed in, I think it was Algiers, at an airbase in the late fifties. He said that we hired many Algerians to work at the base. The Algerian truck drivers made a great sport of running over French bicyclists, in American trucks. So what else is new?
the bad Muslims are making Muslims look bad more all the time. its funny the so called good Muslims don't speak up and denounce the scum that are the criminals and trouble makers. i don't know who the good ones are they don't say anything or do anything that i hear of.
tony,
"its funny the so called good Muslims don't speak up and denounce the scum that are the criminals and trouble makers."
Many of them do speak up against terrorism, but their voices are drowned out by the media coverage of the bad Muslims. Terror gets more attention than peace efforts do. It just sells better.
Right on Mickey. Most Muslims are still people, and most people want to be happy and live a normal life. A small percentage of them are the problem.
Yeah mickey, it's like guns. They really play up the insane mass murderers that they have instigated but hardly ever mention people using guns in self defense.
Are the French in Mali to colonize or just under NATO umbrella defending European Union against terrorists while doing some terrorizing themselves ? .No wonder they had to use "mild persuation' in Libya to get a base. I read that anti-terror measures are a paranoia in which the Globalists live now. Globalist tyranny is more real than the Al-Queda threat , but unfortunately most people do not seem to have a clue.
AQ threat is very real, as illustrated by 9/11. The only reason we haven't had any more major occurrence is that we stepped up our efforts against them. We take our guards down, they'll be back. We are in this fight for decades, just like we have been in the fight against Communism dictatorship style for decades. AQ threat is the new norm. We can do this.
I don't know about your globalist theory.