Last Spring, in an attempt to overthrow the president, Malian military forces threw a coup against the government. Although the coup effectively seized power of the country, the newly instituted democracy was too weak to defend the country from the Tuareg rebels in northern Mali, who were allied with al Qaeda, and these rebels were able to take over that region, conquering nearly half of the country. This past week, the al Qaeda-led rebels began battling to expand into central Mali. Malian government forces were unable to remain in control of these cities, and were again defeated, allowing the Islamists to gain more territory. The crisis is so severe that the U.N. is attempting to put an international coalition together to bail out Mali, and the recent expansion of the rebel groups could force the U.N. to act quickly. I think that it is necessary for the U.N. to act soon, despite the concern expressed by some that they will be insufficiently prepared if this happens. Otherwise, Mali may be completely overthrown by the Islamist groups, who are gaining momentum by the day. Without foreign military aid, I doubt that Mali has any chance of avoiding a total collapse, and if so, the country would at least be permanently split into two territories− northern Mali controlled by the rebels, and southern Mali controlled by the unstable government. Do you believe that the U.N. should send military forces to defend Mali against the quickly advancing rebels? If not, do you think that Mali would be able to protect itself from an absolute defeat?
Great topic, great post!
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