Same Enemy, Different Location

Whack-A-Mole was the child’s game where you whacked a toy clown’s head (I believe that was the case) and another one popped up immediately. I believe the object was to whack as many as possible in a specified time frame. Then later, the term took on a political meaning regarding the seemingly unending emergence of terrorists groups all over the place.

This last week Al Qaeda popped into violent view again in Africa. After making some initial headway in northern Mali the French intervened, along with some American reconnaissance and special operations expertise (here), and halted the advance. They are now driving back the Al Qaeda led forces to the north and the outcome appears positive. The French troops and airpower have apparently ended the Jihadist threat to holding onto a large land area. The problem will be dealing with the typical insurgent-type warfare that will ensue once Al Qaeda abandons the open warfare scenario.

In Algeria we had a different tactic.  The Khaled Abu al-Abbas Brigade, or you can call them terrorist thugs, whichever you prefer, initiated a standoff with the Algerian security forces at a gas facility. The facility was probably chosen because the terrorists were able to capture a number of foreign nationals and hold them as hostages. I would presume the thugs envisioned a lengthy diplomatic wrangling between them and the combined governments of the hostages and the Algerian government. The Algerians would have none of it. In Mali, that government required foreign assistance to stop Al Qaeda, but in Algeria, the security forces stormed the facility in less than twenty-four hours and killed many of the terrorists. Over thirty hostages lost their lives in the assault. Algeria let Al Qaeda and the world know it would not tolerate any attempt to destabilize their country and that this was the priority over any loss of foreign life.  

I’m sure Al Qaeda has a better picture of whom they are now dealing with in Algeria. They will probably not go away but will pop out of another hole somewhere. Their tactic will change and adapt. The United States and European countries also understand that Algerian sovereignty will not be trumped by outside interests.