If diplomacy is to work, it would be nice to keep Mali troops more ferocious now that they are facing civilians suspected of working with al Qaeda and separatists rather than actual jihadis. This will help out:
The French military says troops from France and Chad have moved into the north Malian city of Kidal and its airport as they seek to further squeeze Islamist extremists who had seized control of a swath of the African country.
France needs to broker a deal that brings the Tuaregs on board the anti-al Qaeda alliance. If not, plans to lead from behind by turning over combat duties to African forces will be less likely to lead to success.
If it is true that we "led from behind" in Mali as the French led the actual attack, if the French lead from behind as the African forces take over can we still be considered leading from behind? Just how many degrees of separation do we get before it is just as easy to claim Kevin Bacon is leading the operation?
