Op PRESENCE/Mali (Cdn mission/s, sitreps, etc. - merged)

[Kat Stevens]

You make it sound like the kraken.

More tentacles than the Kraken.

 

[Armymedic]

Deploy the CJIATF!

WTF is that?

 

[PPCLI Guy]

WTF is that?

Combined Joint InterAgency Task Force.....

 

[Armymedic]

Combined Joint InterAgency Task Force.....

Combined, Joint, Interagency.....?

I understand those terms independently of each other; but who or what is that?

 

[SeaKingTacco]

It just sounds cooler when you put all those words together.  Just go with it, Man.  8)

 

[PPCLI Guy]

Combined, Joint, Interagency.....?

I understand those terms independently of each other; but who or what is that?

It is how 1 Can Div is re-branding themselves: Canada's Deployable CJIATF.

A word to the wise:  Comd 1 Can Div gets irate when you misspell Deployable as Deplorable

 

[Armymedic]

My daily military subject is complete for another day.

 

[dapaterson]

It is how 1 Can Div is re-branding themselves: Canada's Deployable CJIATF.

A word to the wise:  Comd 1 Can Div gets irate when you misspell Deployable as Deplorable

I don't see a typo there...

 

[The Bread Guy]

NATO said Wednesday that it had not been asked to assist a military alliance in resolving the armed conflict in Mali as Burkina Faso's president pushed for renewed talks between Islamist fighters and the Malian government.

According to NATO, no request was made for it to assist West African forces in retaking control of Mali's north. The organisation was responding to comments made on Tuesday by the African Union chairman, Benin's President Thomas Yayi Boni, urging NATO to intervene.

"There has been no request or discussion on a possible role for NATO in Mali," said a NATO official who asked not to be named.

"NATO is not involved in this crisis but the situation in northern Mali is of course of grave concern to us all. It threatens the security and stability of the country, the region and beyond," the NATO official said ....

AFP, 9 Jan 13

 

[a_majoor]

GoC makes the call. Dodged another bullet, for now...

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/01/09/kelly-mcparland-harper-makes-the-right-call-on-military-mission-to-mali/

Kelly McParland: Harper makes the right call on military mission to Mali
Kelly McParland | Jan 9, 2013 10:44 AM ET
More from Kelly McParland | @KellyMcParland

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ruled out any direct Canadian military action in Mali, an African country faced with a growing terrorist threat from extremists linked to al Qaeda. In doing so, he rejected a personal plea from Thomas Boni Yayi, the president of Benin and the head of the African Union, who travelled to Ottawa to seek Canadian assistance.

Mali’s need is very real, and the situation across northern Africa is a vital concern to the international community. But Mr. Harper’s decision was the only sensible one he could make. If we have learned anything from Canada’s decade in Afghanistan, it must be that western nations, no matter how sympathetic or well-meaning, are limited in what they can accomplish when they get involved in armed disputes in remote countries with strong cultures that are sharply different from our own.

Mali is a sparsely-populated desert country that sprawls over a large expanse of northwest Africa. The living conditions are some of the harshest in the world. This is particularly so in a northern region the size of France, which has for years been the object of fighting among tribal groups hostile to the ruling powers in the south. In recent years terrorist groups linked to al-Qaeda, and spouting the same sort of anti-western hate messages, have moved into the northern area to exploit the lack of government control.

Other African governments recognize the threat represented by the terrorists. Borders in the desert are porous, to put it mildly. An extremist movement that gains a foothold in Mali could quickly spread to other countries like Algeria and Nigeria, where like-minded groups are already a concern. A regional organization, the Economic Community of West African States, has plans to send 3,300 troops to help Mali’s army confront the rebels, and has United Nations support. The UN has also asked western powers to join in the effort.

But while western powers, including Canada, may want to help, the practicality of doing so is doubtful. The Malian army is divided. Angry at the ineffectiveness of earlier campaigns in the north, soldiers launched a coup last March that ousted the government of Amadou Toumani Touré. In December, Amadou Sanogo, who had been named prime minister of an interim government, was arrested by the military and forced to resign. Although Malian military leaders insist on leading any incursions into the north, they lack the capability. “The Malian army is split, demoralised and doesn’t have the experience and coherence in terms of structure and hierarchy to be able to partner any international force,” Kwesi Aning, an expert at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana, told the BBC.

Thus Ecowas would play only a supporting role to a weak domestic force, and any western troops would be expected to fit in somehow, perhaps providing drone attacks or air support. It’s unclear, however, whether Ecowas can even muster the 3,300 African troops it is seeking. Nigeria, the dominant and most experienced regional power, is financially strapped, inexperienced at harsh desert warfare, and has its own Islamist threat to deal with in the form of Boko Haram, a jihadist group that has gained support in northern Nigeria.

Robert Fowler, a former Canadian diplomat who was held hostage for 130 days by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, insists Canada has an obligation to oppose the expansion of extremism before it becomes too powerful to stop. “Should al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb even partly succeed – in concert with their murderous jihadi brothers in Boko Haram and al Shabaab – it would create an economic and humanitarian disaster of barely imaginable dimensions,” he wrote in The Globe and Mail. He argues that Canada helped exacerbate the problem by supporting the revolt in Libya, which resulted in a flood of arms flowing to extremists.

But wanting to help and the ability to do so effectively are two very different things. Mali has no stable government, no reliable fighting force of its own, no regional backing of serious consequence, and little chance of maintaining any gains that western powers might win for it. It goes without saying that, no matter how capable and courageous they may be, Canadian troops are hardly experts at battling guerrilla fighters in the middle of the Sahara.

There are things Canada can do: We could assist in training, in providing logistical and technical assistance, in humanitarian aid, in establishing a stable and more democratic government (if Mali’s uncertain leadership co-operates) and in support for greater regional backing. But a fighting force is not in the cards. Mr. Harper made the right decision.

National Post

 

[The Bread Guy]

French forces arrived Friday to help Malian soldiers fight against radical Islamists, drawing the former colonial power into a military operation to oust the al-Qaida-linked militants nine months after they seized control of northern Mali.

The arrival of the French dramatically ups the stakes in a conflict taking place in a swath of lawless desert where terrorism and kidnapping have flourished.

It also comes as the Islamists advance ever closer toward the most northern city still under government control and after they fought the Malian military for the first time in months.

French President Francois Hollande said Friday that the operation would last "as long as necessary" and said it was aimed notably at protecting the 6,000 French citizens in Mali. Kidnappers currently hold seven French hostages in the country.

"French army forces supported Malian units this afternoon to fight against terrorist elements," he said ....

AP, 11 Jan 13

Edited to add:  Maybe with some help from the Germans?
http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_01_11/French-German-troops-land-in-Mali/

 

[The Bread Guy]

Let's see how well it goes for France....
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/1091/post-1200714.html#msg1200714

 

[on-hold]

Being a former french colony, and its distance to the french mainland, it seems to be a rational decision by France. Hopefully more countries step up if need be.

 

[GAP]

Well, that didn't take long.....

Malian army beats back Islamist rebels with French help
Fri, Jan 11 18:20 PM EST
Article Link
By John Irish and Bate Felix

PARIS/BAMAKO (Reuters) - Malian government troops drove back Islamist rebels from a strategic central town after France intervened on Friday with air strikes to halt advances by the militants controlling the country's desert north.

Western governments, particularly former colonial power France, had voiced alarm after the al Qaeda-linked rebel alliance captured the town of Konna on Thursday, a gateway towards the capital Bamako 600 km (375 miles) south.

President Francois Hollande said France would not stand by to watch the rebels push southward. Paris has repeatedly warned that the Islamists' seizure of the country's north in April gave them a base to attack neighboring African countries and Europe.

"We are faced with blatant aggression that is threatening Mali's very existence. France cannot accept this," Hollande, who recently pledged Paris would not to meddle in African affairs, said in a New Year speech to diplomats and journalists.

The president said resolutions by the United Nations Security Council, which in December sanctioned an African-led military intervention in Mali, meant France was acting in accordance with international law.

In Washington, a U.S. official told Reuters that the Pentagon is weighing options in Mali, including intelligence-sharing with France and logistics support.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius confirmed that France had carried out air strikes against the rebels to prevent them conquering the whole of Mali. He refused to reveal further details, such as whether French troops were on the ground.

France's intervention immediately tipped the military balance of power, with Malian government forces quickly sweeping back into Konna, according to local residents.

"The Malian army has retaken Konna with the help of our military partners. We are there now," Lieutenant Colonel Diaran Kone told Reuters, adding that the army was mopping up Islamist fighters in the surrounding area.

EU SPEEDS UP DEPLOYMENT

A military operation had not been expected until September due to the difficulties of training Malian troops, funding the African force and deploying during the mid-year rainy season. However, Mali's government appealed for urgent military aid from France on Thursday after Islamist fighters took Konna.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called on Friday for "accelerated international engagement" and said the bloc would speed up plans to deploy 200 troops to train Malian forces, initially expected in late February.

The capture of Konna by the rebels - who have imposed strict Sharia Islamic law in northern Mali - had caused panic among residents in the towns of Mopti and Sevare, 60 km (40 miles) to the south. Calm returned, however, after residents reported Western soldiers and foreign military aircraft arriving late on Thursday at Sevare's airport - the main one in the region.

Military analysts said the Western soldiers may have been the first deployment of French special forces.

They voiced doubt, however, whether Friday's action heralded the start of the final operation to retake northern Mali - a harsh, sparsely populated terrain the size of France - as neither the equipment nor ground troops were ready.

"We're not yet at the big intervention," said Mark Schroeder, director for Sub-Saharan Africa analysis for the global risk and security consultancy Stratfor. He said France had been forced to act when the Islamists bore down on Sevare, a vital launching point for future military operations.
More on link

 

[Armymedic]

French troops on the ground, and French Air Force have engaged the Islamists around city of Konna, north of the strategially vital city of Mopti.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/01/201311225344135492.html

Looks like Canada may have missed the boat on interventions in Mali. Not that that is a big deal, as there is no public support for a CF deployment to another country right now, and the government is busy dealing with the FN chiefs and that "crisis".

 

[Armymedic]

Well, it is not Mali....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-to-train-forces-in-niger/article7279904/


Ottawa to train forces in Niger.

 

[Journeyman]

Ottawa to train forces in Niger.

Interesting headline.  It's not "Canadian Forces" or even "Canada".... it's "Ottawa." 

Maybe they're sending over a bunch of civil service bureaucrats. 

 

[Edward Campbell]

Interesting headline.  It's not "Canadian Forces" or even "Canada".... it's "Ottawa." 

Maybe they're sending over a bunch of civil service bureaucrats. 

Yes, please, official Ottawa could go minus about 10,000 well paid bureaucrats* and notice nothing but a slight increase in productivity.


-----
* The more lowly paid and extremely well paid ones are, generally, more useful and quite productive - but 10,000 fewer policy analysts, administrators and, above all, IT managers would be a blessing

 

[Retired AF Guy]

The BBC is reporting that a French helicopter pilot was killed in the Mali fighting. Also, one, possibly two French soldiers were killed in a failed attempt to rescue a French hostage in Somalia. Its still unclear whether the hostage was killed in the rescue mission or whether he is still alive.

 

[larry Strong]

Here is some info on the Somalia raid:


Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/12/world/africa/somalia-helicopter-raid/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) -- French forces swooped into Somalia for a rescue mission under the cover of darkness, leading to a fierce gun battle with militants who killed the hostage, the French defense ministry said Saturday.

The raid Friday night also left a French soldier and 17 Islamist fighters dead, according to the French ministry. Another soldier went missing.

Hostage Denis Allex died at the hands of his captors, the defense ministry said in a statement.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also told reporters in Paris Saturday that "everything leads us to believe that Denis Allex was gunned down by his captors."

But the al-Shabaab militia, which is affiliated with al Qaeda, claimed that the hostage is unharmed and being held at a new location.

The militants said in a statement on their Twitter account that they will decide the hostage's fate in the next two days.

Profile: Who are Al-Shabaab?

The racket of helicopter blades and volleys of gunfire startled Bulo Marer town residents out of their sleep Friday night, when French paratroopers descended on the camp.

Three helicopters initiated a heated gunbattle with captors under the cover of darkness in the town about 75 miles northwest of the capital Mogadishu, eyewitnesses said.

French soldiers leaped from the aircraft to engage the Islamists on the ground.

Al-Shabaab 'recruiting U.S. citizens'

The French commandos faced strong resistance from the outset, the defense ministry said in a statement. "In the course of the assault, fierce fighting took place."

Al-Shabaab claimed the French soldiers left behind combat gear and a wounded comrade before disengaging.

"The injured French soldier is now in the custody of the Mujahideen," al-Shabaab said.

Allex was abducted on July 14, 2009, while on an official mission in Mogadishu in support of the transitional Somali government, the French defense ministry said.

French media reports suggest that Denis Allex is a pseudonym for the military serviceman.

France said it decided to undertake the rescue attempt after the terror group failed to negotiate for the hostage's release for three and a half years while holding him in inhumane conditions.

Le Drian expressed his sympathy to the families of the French servicemen lost in the attempt.

"The soldiers' families, who are suffering, have been informed about the situation, especially Denis Allex's spouse, whom I have met several times," he said.

The defense minister added that there was no connection between the operation in Somalia and a simultaneous deployment of French troops to Mali.

A French helicopter pilot was fatally wounded during aerial raids in support of Malian forces combating Islamist forces Friday afternoon.

The rescue attempt in Somalia might well have been undertaken sooner had if weather conditions had allowed, Le Drian said.

New home for Somalia?

Larry