That Might Work

With 3,000 ECOWAS troops and some number of Mali troops perhaps equal to that, I didn't think that the jihadis in northern Mali could be beaten without French troops. But now we might have some troops that can do the job.

Algeria and South Africa seem to be in on the mission:

The invasion to defeat Islamic terror groups in northern Mali now won’t take place until next year. The UN is willing to approve the operation and there will first be up to six months of training for the African troops involved. This includes upgrading the skills of the Mali Army and trying to remove the officers who staged a coup earlier in the year. France will send the first 200 troops to Mali in January, along with UAVs to gather intelligence on what is happening in northern Mali. ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) has expanded the list of nations contributing to the military operations in northern Mali. Now Algeria and South Africa will help as well and the ground force has been increased from 3,200 troops to 5,500.

The EU will spend a half year training the African troops. It seems like Algeria and South Africa would each provide a reinforced battalion based on the 2,300 they will add to the ECOWAS troops.

I'm rather surprised that South Africa committed to a far off fight.

And maybe with 6 months the coalition can persuade the Tuaregs in the north to switch sides against the jihadis.

But nothing will happen soon. And until then, the jihadis have a safe haven in northern Mali. They've already been involved in the Benghazi attack.

What else might they do with 6 months or more?