The USA Involvement in Mali Conflict - Research Paper Example

USA involvement in Mali conflict Reasons to agree: i. The conflict is a threat to world peace ii. It forms a favorable ground for terrorism to breed iii. Mali has been identified as an emerging new hub for terrorism iv. Calls for an international community engagement in resolving the conflict v. To rescue millions of the Malian civilians who are suffering in the hands of the militants Reasons to agree: i. The fear of losing more soldiers in terrorist wars ii. Lack of motivation to commit more resources in other countries wars iii. Mali is not considered very strategic for the USA iv. Consideration of the inhibitive policy of non-engagement with illegitimate governments v. The consideration of the past blow on the USA by the unanticipated move of Malian troops trained by the USA, to coup militants Should the U.S. commit troops to Mali in Africa because terrorism in Mali threatens the U.S.? The conflict in the North region of Mali has persisted more than it was anticipated, while also becoming a major threat to the stability of the country and to the region. Starting on January of the year 2012, the war has not shown any signs of coming to an end, despite the involvement of the Malian government troops and the French troops in fighting the Islamic insurgents, who are seeking to take over the Northern Mali region of Azawad, and declare it an independent state from Mali (Watt & Harding, 2013). While the war started as an offensive against the Malian government by the militant groups, it has now turned into a multi-faceted war, where the militant insurgents are fighting against the government of Mali as well as amongst themselves, since they have not been able to reconcile their vision for the Northern region, once it is annexed from Mali. With the persistence of this conflict, the international community has been called upon to engage in rescuing Mali from the Islamic militant insurgents, some of whom are linked to the Al-Qaeda terrorist group (Mazzetti & Schmitt, 2013). The danger associated with this conflict is the fact that it forms a perfect ground for breeding terrorist groups, who are not only a threat to the peace in Mali and the African region, but to the whole world, since terrorists cannot be associated with any single target. It is this concern that has raised the question of whether the U.S. should commit troops to Mali in Africa. There are various reasons to support the need for the USA involvement in the Mali conflict. First, it is apparent that the region will definitely emerge as a favorable ground for breeding the terrorist groups, who are in turn a threat to the peace of the whole world (Perry, 2013). The attacks against the Malian troops and now the French troops too, have been undertaken by sections of the Islamic militant insurgents, some of whom have been directly linked to the deadly Al-Qaeda terrorist group (Formanek & Ford, 2013). This becomes a major reason for concern to the USA, since it has directly suffered the blunt edge of the terrorist attacks, which caused major destructions and loss of lives in the famous 9/11 attacks on the USA. This makes it inevitable for the USA to think of getting involved into the conflict, for the simple reason of preventing the Islamic militants and terrorist rebels from gaining ground and thus becoming another threat to the peace in the world (Francois, 2013). This is one of the major reasons that justifies the USA involvement into the Malian conflict, through assisting the French troop, and even sending its own, since the interest of peace and terrorist attacks protection, overrides the interests of any other policy that could have an inhibitive effect on the USA involvement in this conflict. Thus, based on this fundamental interest, the USA should get involved in the Malian conflict. The other reason that could support the USA involvement in the Malian conflict is the fact that Mali has been identified as an emerging new hub for terrorism (Teichmann, 2013). Reports have indicated that the al-Qaeda wing that is operating in Mali was responsible for the Algerian attacks, which greatly impacted on the country, and caused it a great deal of instability. The effect of the war in Mali, courtesy of the Jihadist and other militant rebels can already be felt, to a significant level. The United Nations agency that handles refugees has been calling for an international community engagement in resolving the conflict, citing the Humanitarian crisis that has been experienced in the country since the war began. According to UNHCR, hundreds of thousands of the Malian population in the northern region has been displaced, while many others have been killed in the conflict and yet more others abused (Watt & Harding, 2013). This concern raises the need for the USA to consider engaging in the Malian conflict, just to help bring the war to a speedy end, and thus help to rescue millions of the Malian civilians who are suffering in the hands of the militants, as well as those being displaced and committed to suffer as refugees in the neighboring countries. According to the UNHCR statistics, more than 150,000 people have been forced to flee out of Mali, while another 230,000 are now living as internally displaced persons within the country (Perry, 2013). This trend is alarming, following the consideration that it is the international community that is responsible for giving aid to such people, through the international humanitarian agencies, such as the UNHCR. The rebels and the insurgent militants have also given the USA more reasons to engage in the Malian conflict. The Jihadists and the Rebels have been involved in taking hostages most of the people from the western powers living or serving in Mali, as the aids assistants to the people who are affected by the war (Huff Post, 2013). This move proves to be dangerous, since chances are, that the insurgent militants might also take hostage some of its citizens, who are either involved in humanitarian assistance, or those involved in offering logistical support to the French troops that are actively involvement in combat in the Northern Mali region. On the event that such an occurrence are registered, then, the USA will be left without any other alternative, but to engage its troops in active combat against the insurgent militants (Kmiecik, 2013). Nevertheless, the pros and cons of waiting until such an occurrence becomes a reality needs to be weighed, to avoid engaging in active combat, when it is too late and when there are already casualties of the USA citizens. This makes it necessary for the USA to consider in engaging in the conflict the earliest possible, considering that the war has proved to continue indefinitely, and thus posing the threat of creating an enabling environment for the terrorist groups to plan major attacks (Elbagir & Formanek, 2013). It would be of no or at least, of little benefit to engage in the war, when there are already casualties. However, while considering the possibility of the USA engagement in the Malian conflict, there are various fundamental bases that should be considered, which hinders the immediate and direct involvement of the USA in the conflict. First, the Malian conflict has proved to be a major blow for the countries that are engaged in active combat, such as France. For example, it is reported that the French military has suffered 2,150 soldiers on the Malian conflict since it started in January 2012 (Ackerman, 2013). Such an occurrence proves worrisome to the USA, considering that it has been involved in several conflicts against terrorists in the recent past, which has seen it lose a considerable number of its soldiers, especially in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (Watt & Harding, 2013). With such experiences still fresh on the fore of the USA, it make it hardly possible for the country to seek to engage in another such conflict, which has already proved to be fatal for the French troops. The other reason that hinders the active engagement of the USA troops in the Malian conflict is the fact that the current Malian government is not legitimate, having come into power as a result of a military coup, which removed the former president from power (Kmiecik, 2013). Considering that the USA has a no-engagement policy with a government that is not validly elected by the people, it becomes difficult for the USA to actively engage in the conflict. The USA was also actively involved in the training of the soldiers, who thereafter joined the militant wing that overthrew the legitimate Malian government that was in existence before 2011 (Paul, 2013). This makes the USA weary of getting involved with such operatives, who denounced the government after the training, and turned against it to take over power. It is also observed that Mali as a country is not very crucial strategically to the USA, which narrows down the interest of the USA to engage in the Malian conflict, considering that the conflict possess minimal threat to the USA’s interests. Further, the USA has incurred huge costs in the war against terrorists, which makes it reluctant to commit more resources to the Malian conflict. Therefore, despite the fact that it is prudent for the U.S. to commit troops to Mali because the terrorism in Mali threatens USA, various valid reasons have forced the USA to hold back its active combat engagement. References Ackerman, S. (2013).Pentagon Swears U.S. Role in Mali War Is Limited. The National magazine. Elbagir, N. & Formanek, I. (2013). Malian troops take key town; humanitarian crisis grows. CNN News. Francois, M. (2013). Behind Mali’s conflict: myths, realities & unknowns. The New York Times. Formanek, I. & Ford, D. (2013).U.S. steps up involvement in Mali. CNN News. Huff Post. (2013). Mali Intervention: U.S., West Reluctant To Join France. The Huffington Post. Kmiecik, J. (2013). Assessing U.S. Foreign Policy in Mali. The International policy Digest. Paul, R. (2013). US Action in Mali is Another Undeclared War. Anti-War. Com. Perry, A. (2013). The Crisis in Mali: Will French Air Strikes Stop the Islamist Advance? Citi Newsfeed. Teichmann, R. (2013).The War on Mali. What you should know: An Eldorado of Uranium, Gold, Petroleum, and Strategic Minerals. The Global research. Watt, N. & Harding, L. (2013). Mali: Britain prepared to send 'sizeable amount' of troops to support French. The Guardian. Read More