La bataille commence.
French troops face combat with Mali rebels ‘within hours’ - World - News - London Evening Standard
The French are going to get in the first blows against Al Qaeda in Maghreb, it looks like. We've had special forces creeping around the Sahara for years, of course. But now that the Arab Spring has really stirred up the hornets' nest, the French and by means of them the civilized West will shortly close with the Holy Warriors. Best of success to them. And no jokes, please--the French military is quite seasoned at operating in North and West Africa, and they've rescued our nationals a time or two in Ivory Coast, when unrest threatened.
