The UK and others joining France in Mali conflict

How did the islamists get all the sophisticated weaponry which they have now used to already down two French helicopters?  The totally foolish Judeo-Christian nations of the world, manipulated by Saudi Arabia,  flooded the Libyan rebels with all types of weapons to fight Gadhafi's army.  God alone knows how much arsenal was smuggled out of Libya by islamists, all obtained absolutely free of cost.  How ironic isn't it that the Judeo-Christian nations' helicopters are being downed by weapons supplied by them?

I hope the French go after the islamists fleeing into the desert and kill them dead and not leave the job half done.  I also hope they don't linger for nation building like NATO did with Afghanistan.


The pics are from a protest by UK Muslims at the French embassy in London.  Nice, eh?!

Owen Jones writing at TheIndependentUK:
The war in Libya was seen   as a success, now here we are engaging with the blowback in Mali. Our Government and media may often ignore the price of Western interventions, but in future conflicts and fuel for radical Islamist groups, it is still paid nonetheless.

No scrutiny, no build-up, no parliamentary vote, not even a softening-up exercise. Britain is now involved in yet another military conflict in a Muslim land, or so we have been informed. British aircraft are flying to Mali while France bombs the country, arguing that Islamist militia must be driven back to save Europe from the creation of a “terrorist state”. Amnesty International and West Africa experts warned of the potential disaster of foreign military intervention; the bombs raining on the Malian towns of Konna, Léré and Douentza suggest they have been definitively ignored.

Mali’s current agony has only just emerged in our headlines, but the roots go back generations. Like the other Western colonial powers that invaded and conquered Africa from the 19th century onwards, France used tactics of divide-and-rule in Mali, leading to entrenched bitterness between the nomadic Tuareg people – the base of the current revolt – and other communities in Mali.....

From AP via NationalPostCanada:
BAMAKO, Mali — France claimed new successes in its campaign to oust Islamist extremists from northern Mali on Sunday, bombarding the major city of Gao with airstrikes targeting the airport and training camps used by the al-Qaeda-linked rebel group controlling the city.

France’s foreign minister also said the 3-day-old intervention is gaining international support, with communications and transport help from the United States and backing from Britain, Denmark and other European countries.

Afua Hirsch and Nick Hopkins writing at TheGuardianUK:
Islamist militants are fleeing major towns in northern Mali after two days of air strikes by French troops, which sources say have left scores of rebels dead.

French fighter jets have pounded insurgent training camps, arms and oil depots as the French defence ministry confirmed reports of Islamist deaths, together with at least 11 civilians including three children.

"Mali is now at the mercy of the French army. They are bombing the north, they have killed many terrorists," said a well-connected Malian official in Bamako. "The Islamists have been running into the desert – they have deserted Gao and Timbuktu."
Residents in Gao confirmed French jets had struck the airport as well as the building that served as the base for the town's feared Islamic police. "The planes are so fast you can only hear their sound in the sky," Soumaila Maiga told Reuters. "We are happy, even though it is frightening. Soon we will be delivered."...