US military meddling in civil war in Mali

This is a video of music from Mali: Madan–Salif Keita – Made in Mali Version – Kourtrajmé Africa.

Apparently, for George W. Bush, war in Iraq is not enough. War in Afghanistan is not enough. War in Somalia is not enough.

Also civil war in another African country, is interpreted as part of the so called ‘global war on terror’, tarring all domestic conflicts in all countries with the same brush (maybe as a self-fulfilling prophecy??).

From British daily The Independent:

Tuareg rebels attack US plane as insurgency in Mali intensifies

By Claire Soares

Published: 14 September 2007

Tuareg rebels opened fire on a United States military aircraft that was yesterday flying in supplies for beleaguered Malian troops, pinned down on the fringes of the Sahara Desert.

Mali’s forces have been battling a Tuareg insurgency in the north of the country in recent weeks after a spate of raids and ambushes. The United States, worried that West Africa might become a haven for al-Qa’ida and other Islamic militant groups, has been sending military experts across the lawless unpoliced deserts of the Sahara for several years to provide counter-terrorism training but this is believed to be the first time the US military has lent a helping hand in a domestic operation.

“It was not a normal event. We do not do this day to day,” Major John Dorrian, spokesman for the US European Command that also covers Africa, said yesterday.

Bush’s plans for a separate US military command for Africa: here.