Mali

President Hollande’s decision to send troops to Mali should be fully supported. It is time to stop the armed men that are trying to destroy the country’s fragile institutions and peaceful, tolerant way of life the Malians have gotten used to.

Those men are just fighters without a cause, hiding behind a very simple and brutal way of looking at religion. They come from an old tradition of razzias combined with the lack of economic opportunities in a vast arid area. For years, their leaders and many of them served Kaddafi’s dreams of an African legion. This was a great source of money, weapons and military training, even if substandard.

The West African nations are in no position to militarily oppose these raiders. These are countries with very weak, ineffectual armies. To believe they can put together a credible force and fight the radicals from Northern Mali is a serious mistake. Furthermore, these armies have no training to combat in desert areas. For these reasons, a larger support, from France and elsewhere, is a must.

And the UN needs to reconsider its position and be real about what can be done and who can do it in Mali. The French and other nations from the broader international community can.