Mali Islamic Rebels

BlackBoxWire.com analysts are on record from before Obama unconstitutionally ordered American forces into the Libyan War warning of the fallout of this ill-conceived interventionist policy http://www.blackboxwire.com/2012/10/20/the-next-wave-of-fallout-from-obamas-failed-libyan-policy/.  The latest fallout from US actions in Libya has been the growing conflict in Mali that has now drawn French forces into open military combat.  All across the northern half of Africa Islamic militants have been resupplied with modern weapons pilfered from Libyan armories as Gadhafi’s forces were overthrown by US backed Islamists.  This injection of modern weapons compliments of horrendously misguided US foreign policy, single handedly orchestrated by Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice, has fueled the widespread resurgence of extremist Islamic forces and allowed them to attack and defeat government forces.  This growth of conflict now threatens to destabilize the entire region.

B2W identified the significant likelihood of loose weapons falling into the hands of extremists and the dire risks it posed to regional security.  We identified the loss of potential precursor elements to weapons of mass destruction, anti-armor weapons, difficult to trace plastic explosives, and air defense weapons as of the most concern.  In particular, B2W’s previous reports have tracked the proliferation of over 20,000 man-portable-air-defense-systems (MANPADS), which are shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles that will likely result in the loss of civilian airliners within the next year.  These MANPADS have already been documented to have been used to target military helicopters as far away from Libya as Israel.  It is only a matter of time before civilian targets come under fire as retaliation French for actions in Mali.  Sadly, many innocent people will no doubt be the ones that ultimately suffer for Mrs. Clinton’s support to Al Qaeda terrorists authorized by President Obama outside the consent of the US Congress.

For those that doubt the legitimacy of these claims, CNN’s Tim Lister writes in his January 17, 2013 article:

But the fall of Gadhafi opened up a black market arms bazaar across North Africa, and western intelligence agencies believe AQIM may have acquired anti-aircraft missiles along with other heavy weapons, as well as plenty of vehicles, essential in a region of few (and dilapidated) roads.

Lister goes further and directly pins the Al Qaeda in the Maghreb’s (AQIM) rise on the weapons acquired from US actions in Libya writing:

The current crisis in Mali began in January last year, when a rebellion by ethnic Tuaregs (helped by weapons brought from Libya as the Gadhafi regime crumbled) erupted.

B2W analysis is again warning that the likelihood of MANPADS being used against civilian airliners is very high.  Further, our current policy of intervention in the region to try and “fix” what our previously bad policy wrought will only double down on failure.  B2W strongly cautions the US from being drawn into this growing regional conflict and allowing it to become the next Iraq or Afghanistan.  The US simply does not have the military bandwidth, money, or effective strategy to take on another regional policing operation.  This is not the time to increase intervention in the region, but rather to quietly cover our losses and exit as quickly as possible.  On a final note, contrary to some claims, Mali does have potentially significant reserves of natural resources to include gold and oil.  As such, B2W analysts will suggest Mali’s bad guys today that were previously “rebels and students” in Libya, that were previously “jihadists” in Iraq and “insurgents” in Afghanistan, that were “Al Qaeda” on 9/11, and that were “freedom fighters” against the Soviets are again being used in the latest conflict to justify more imperialistic resource grabs that a few elites will handsomely profit from at everyone else’s expense.

Reference:

Six reasons events in Mali matter, Tim Lister, CNN; updated 6:20 AM EST, Thu January 17, 2013 http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/16/world/africa/mali-six-reasons/index.html

Links to Mali’s natural resources:

http://www.oklouranium.com/ http://www.geoexpro.com/article/Mali_A_Country_on_the_Cusp/1df58242.aspx

By: Guiles Hendrik