Pushed back his country's troops began earlier this month in Mali's Islamic insurgency, the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius stressed that: "our friends in Africa needs to take the lead in defending the North African countries and regions.
Mr. Fabius in Africa, West Africa's military leaders summit. But his request missed an obvious example: Mali officials have requested the intervention of the French, if they or their regional partners have the ability to roll back the rebels.
Two decades have passed since the end of apartheid in South Africa - the final dividing line with the colonial era. During this time, the leaders of the African continent has been steadily establishing new regional and Africa-wide economic and security structures, the promotion of development and the war to break the seemingly intractable exist.
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The idea is that a collective effort can make up for the weakness of the state of the personal. This effort may help the economy. Sub-Saharan Africa has released some of the world's highest sustained rate of economic growth in the past decade. However, the joint military deployment in Africa have achieved success in the continent's most serious hot only fleeting.
American outpost of Benghazi, Libya, in September last year, in the month of the Islamic insurgents attack a natural gas processing plant in Algeria so that the whole of Africa for several reasons lasting security vulnerabilities.
First, the regions of the multinational force and the larger African Union requires Member States to the contribution from the financial and personnel. Both the lack of adequate supply. Most sub-Saharan African countries are still the poorest in the world. Many people simply can not afford to fulfill their commitment to peace efforts in the region, the U.S. dollar and the soldiers.
West African leaders have been talking about sending a regional force in Mali since the coup in March last year. They are still looking for funds, and to meet again on January 29, in order to attract international donors.
Second, governance is weak compromise security. Mali coup provisions of last year, one of the motivations behind the army and the government's tepid response to extremism, to promote the country's arid northern region helpless. Obviously, the coup failed to solve this problem.
Third, the political differences between the neighboring countries, undermine regional cooperation. In southern Africa, where the former liberation movement, now the government has been reluctant to criticize each other, the region has been unable to control the dictator of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe (Robert Mugabe). Further north, a simmering dispute between Morocco and Algeria, the territorial claims of Western Sahara - Algeria refused - to prevent a more stringent anti-terrorism cooperation in the area of ??the two most influential powers.
Geography affect security in North Africa another way. In the semi-arid Sahel region, a vast transition zone, across North Africa and the separation of the Sahara desert paradise of the northern grassland savanna rebel groups and terrorists. These insurgents uprooted, you need one of the harshest environments on Earth. Tropical Sub-Saharan African countries, the army is not suitable for conditions in the Sahel region.
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Experienced dramatic political transition countries need sustained international support. Democratization in North Africa, efforts to establish an effective government in the crisis countries, such as Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, constitutes a riddle: Which is more important, to defeat the insurgency - security, economic and social development?
This is a wrong choice. To create a space in the new government to take root and the civil society to flourish, both equally important. Benghazi is unrealistic security expected results, in this case, the international community - the United States - the fledgling government.
Since 9/11, the United States has been worried about the "ungoverned spaces" - a vast, sparsely populated areas, far from the capitals - portal as extremism in Africa. It now appears that they do so. Initially concentrated in East Africa, the elements of the cross-border terrorism has gradually spread throughout the Sahel region between the cross-border smuggling and traditional nomadic groups, they have found a safe haven.
The impact of this threat in the second half of the year, the Bush administration decided to establish a new U.S. Africa Command. Before the move, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa belong to different positions within the Pentagon. The delete this bureaucratic "seam" help simplify and focus on the area of ??anti-terrorism measures in the United States.
However, African leaders refused to establish a base in the continent on a continuous U.S. military presence in the foreground and boycott training, and suggested that the strength of the regional and African countries. So instead of distance and region of the United States government-sponsored anti-terrorism plan, regular training from the U.S. National Guard and military units in Africa.
Still need more. In Benghazi and violent attacks in eastern Algeria, in particular, to the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, two important aspects. They orchestrated, they played in the country is crucial U.S. allies on Western targets in their respective regions. The research results show that the "base" organizations and like-minded extremist organizations are still determined to undermine those Union in any way, they can house - this time in Europe.
Africa's experiment in the safety of a regional approach is serious and laudable, but it takes time to build a credible capacity. In just two weeks, the French army has stopped, and to promote the progress of extremism, and in Mali, West African leaders can not force the region to mobilize for nearly a year. When it comes to protecting vulnerable developing countries and emerging democracies, is no substitute for a strong national army.
 



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