After Promising That No U.S. Troops Will Be Sent To Mali, The White House Has Ordered The Deployment Of U.S. Troops

Pentagon Deploys Small Number Of Troops To War-Torn Mali -- Washington Post

The Pentagon has deployed a small number of troops to Mali to support allied forces fighting there, despite repeated pledges by the Obama administration not to put “boots on the ground” in the war-torn African country.

About 10 U.S. military personnel are in Mali to provide “liaison support” to French and African troops but are not engaged in combat operations, said Lt. Col. Robert Firman, a Pentagon spokesman. Twelve others are assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Bamako, the capital, he added.

The Pentagon had previously said that it had no intention of sending troops to Mali and that it would involve itself in the conflict only at arm’s length — by providing aerial refueling to French warplanes and sharing intelligence with allies. It also said that it would ferry soldiers from neighboring African countries to Mali on U.S. troop transport planes but that the aircraft would not remain in the country.

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Update: U.S. ramps up support for Malian mission -- UPI

My Comment: The contingent that has been deployed is about two dozen soldiers .... but one has to question if this is the start of something bigger.

No U.S. Troops To Mali (For Now)

Still No Plans To Send U.S. Troops To Mali -- Army Times/USA Today

WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials said Thursday that France will lead the fight against terrorists in north Mali without U.S. combat support, but one adviser to U.S. forces in Africa warned that the United States may not be able to avoid direct involvement.

French and Malian forces continue to fight remnants of jihadist Muslim militias in north Mali that are headed by al-Qaida’s North African franchise, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday, Obama officials from the State Department and the Pentagon said the militias pose a significant threat to U.S. interests and security. But the United States will not send troops to aid the effort.

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My Comment: Even if the French were not involved in Mali, I doubt that the U.S. would have committed troops to oust the Islamists .... and the reason why is very simple .... too many commitments at too many places around the world.

Is The White House Clueless About Al Qaeda In The Maghreb?

U.S. Sees Hazy Threat From Mali Militants -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — As Islamic militants methodically carved out a base in the desert of northern Mali over the past year, officials in Washington, Paris and African capitals struggling with military plans to drive the Islamists out of the country agreed on one principle: African troops, not European or American soldiers, would fight the battle of Mali.

But the surprise French assault last Friday to blunt the Islamists’ advance upended those plans and set off a cascading series of events, culminating in a raid on Wednesday by militants on a foreign-run gas field in Algeria. That attack threatens to widen the violence in an impoverished region and drag Western governments deeper into combating an incipient insurgency.

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My Comment: When I learned today that the White House has no leads in the Benghazi consulate attack, cannot assist France in Mali because of legal issues !?!?!?!, and still does not know if American hostages in Algeria are alive or dead .... I will have to say that this is not only a major intelligence failure, but a total dereliction of focus from the White House on this critical region.

Update #1: Al-Qaida Resurgent As Terror Spreads Across N. Africa -- IBD Editorial
Update #2: Obama administration warns of Mali violence spillover across western Africa -- The Hill

How A Car Accident Ended Up Revealing A Secret U.S. Military Presence In Mali

Mysterious Fatal Crash Offers Rare Look At U.S. Commando Presence In Mali -- Washington Post

In pre-dawn darkness, a ­Toyota Land Cruiser skidded off a bridge in North Africa in the spring, plunging into the Niger River. When rescuers arrived, they found the bodies of three U.S. Army commandos — alongside three dead women.

What the men were doing in the impoverished country of Mali, and why they were still there a month after the United States suspended military relations with its government, is at the crux of a mystery that officials have not fully explained even 10 weeks later.

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Update: Three Prostitutes Were Involved In That Fatal US Army Car Crash In Mali -- Business Insider

My Comment: When I read this story .... and this one .... it sort of gave me a heads up in June on what the US was doing in this region.