[Sanogo, the coup leader, . . . attended English language training courses at
Lackland Air Force Base in Texas from 2004-2005 and then again at Fort
Huachuca, Arizona, in 2008. According to the Times, he also "attended the
Army's prestigious infantry course at Fort Benning, Georgia, from August
2010 to December 2010."--Jacob G. Hornberger, "Mali: Another
Imperialist "Success" Story," fff.org, March 26, 2012]
[Now that the Western intervention in Libya has horribly destabilized nearby
countries, particularly Mali which is now de-facto partitioned, the
Washington Post has looked in the mirror and decided that the answer to this
instability, which was obviously caused by Western military intervention,
is . . . another Western military intervention!--Mark Adomanis, "The Washington
Post Jumps the Shark (No, We Shouldn't Intervene in Mali)'," Forbes,
April 6, 2012]
[Northern Mali promises to be the graveyard of scores of innocent people if
African countries don't collectively challenge Western influence in the
region.--Ramzy Baroud, "The
Afghanistan of Africa," counterpunch.org, August 2, 2012]
[Mali could get nasty: neighbors Algeria, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, and
Ivory Coast are unstable. The Saharawi of Western Sahara have fought for
decades against Morocco for their own state. They are backed by Algeria.--Eric
Margolis, "Beware
Those Wicked Malians," ericmargolis.com, October 13, 2012]
[China's influence in Africa, characterized by large sums of money with few
strings attached in exchange for mineral concessions, is a concern for the
US.--Joe Glenton, "Don't forget the critical role of
China in Mali," independent.co.uk, January 15, 2013]
["In the long term, France has interests in securing resources in the Sahel
- particularly oil and uranium, which the French energy company Areva has
been extracting for decades in neighboring Niger," said Sold.--Rachel Baig, "The interests behind France's intervention in Mali,"
washingtonpost.com, January 16, 2013]
[French political, financial and military advisors and intelligence services
ran West Africa from behind a facade of supposedly independent governments. . . .
Overthrowing African regimes was OK for France, but not for locals. When
Mali's French-backed regime was challenged, France feared its other West
African clients might face similar fate, and began sending troops to back
the Bamako regime.--Eric Margolis, "On To Timbuktu
II," ericmargolis.com, January 18, 2013]
[Mali - along with Ghana - accounts for up to 8% of global gold production.
So if you're desperate for the genuine article - physical gold - you've got
to control Mali. Imagine all that gold falling into the hands of... China.
Now follow the uranium. As everyone who was glued to the Niger yellowcake
saga prior to the invasion of Iraq knows, Niger is the world's
fourth-largest producer of uranium. Its biggest customer is - surprise! -
France; half of France's electricity comes from nuclear energy. The uranium
mines in Niger happen to be concentrated in the northwest of the country, on
the western range of the Air mountains, very close to the Mali border and
one of the regions being bombed by the French.--Pepe Escobar, "War on
terror forever," atimes.com, January 23, 2013]