Inquirer Editorial: Mali latest battleground in ongoing terror war

Timbuktu, for most Americans, has been one of those exotic names one might hear in an old movie, or see on the pages of some night-stand novel conjuring dreamy images of a faraway, mystical place.

But Timbuktu is real, and so is the war in which that region of the West African nation of Mali is embroiled. It is a conflict rooted in the war on terror in which the United States, appropriately, is taking a lesser role - having quit Iraq, and likely accelerating its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Interestingly, it is France this time taking the lead role, by helping Mali fight off jihadists intent on taking over the mineral-rich desert nation. The United States has mostly offered intelligence aid. But the related taking of American and other hostages in Algeria has led to some questioning of that decision.

Americans should pay attention. The fight in Mali is more evidence that it was wrong to ever think terrorism would die if the Islamists in Iraq and Afghanistan were defeated. As fears grow that Afghanistan will resume being a terrorist haven after most U.S. troops leave in 2014, al-Qaeda and related groups are finding fertile ground for recruits in poor, democracy-deprived African countries such as Eritrea and Mali.

Mali's unrest began about a year ago when members of a nomadic, northern ethnic group called the Tuareg formed an alliance with Islamists and attacked a northeastern town called Menaka. Mali's army and other security forces proved no match for the rebels, and retreated from the Gao, Timbuktu, and Kidal regions. The Tuareg group, however, later broke off its relationship with the Islamists, who then formed an alliance with an Algerian-led al-Qaeda splinter.

Meanwhile, as the rebels realigned, the Malian army decided it had had enough and staged a coup that ousted President Amadou Toumani Touré, who resigned in April and was replaced by a military junta. That disruption in government has only made matters worse, as al-Qaeda-inspired rebels continue to take over sparsely populated, widely dispersed towns.

When a Malian empire existed in the 14th century, Timbuktu was a mecca for trade. France's relationship with Mali goes back to the 1890s, when it was the colonial master of what was called French Sudan. That relationship lasted until after World War II, when nationalistic movements broke out throughout Africa. Mali became an independent nation in 1960.

Just as some accused the United States of invading Iraq for its oil - rather than any zeal to spread democracy - France is being accused by some critics of its intervention as having its eyes on Mali's natural resources. Africa's third-largest producer of gold also has diamonds and other precious stones. While uranium and petroleum exploration are only beginning to yield results that are drawing investors, significant quantities of iron ore, bauxite, manganese, and other minerals have been found in Mali. Yet the country is mostly desert, and its people are dirt-poor.

Writing for the International Herald Tribune, Vicki Huddleston, a former U.S. ambassador to Mali, lauded France's sending about 2,500 soldiers to fight the insurgents. She said the Mali jihadists have links not only to Nigerian militants who blew up the U.N. offices in Abuja in 2011, but also to the Islamic faction believed responsible for September's attack in Benghazi, Libya, that left U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead. For that reason, the United States should support France's efforts in Mali, though that need not include sending in a significant U.S. force.

It's clear that jihadists are becoming entrenched in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Huddleston suggests the best way to uproot the terrorists is with a coalition that includes African nations with the military capability needed. Nigeria has answered the call, but Huddleston doubts Nigeria's military is up to the task. Algeria, another escapee from French colonialism, has a seasoned military with counterterrorism experience. But Algeria's sending soldiers to Mali led to the terrorists' taking hostages in retaliation. Pay attention, America.