It was obvious that Al Qaeeda in Mali could follow the same strategy it opted in Afghanistan when NATO troops entered Kabul.
Now it has established that Al Qaeeda did the same without losing any of its soldiers and disappeared in mountains—-as it did in Afghanistan.
International media is beating drums in happiness and boosting that France’s sudden military intervention in Mali was disastrous for Al-Qaeeda French forces halted the rebel advance and rolled back almost all their gains, retaking the northern cities of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal. If one can remember, Al-Qaeeda and Taliban left all cities in Afghanistan and ran away and dispersed. Western media also claiming that the speed and intensity of French advance shocked the Islamist rebels, who have been forced to run back to their remote mountain strongholds. Here observers and French media is misidentifying the situation. Rebels have not run away rather it was “Tactical Withdrawal” as Al-Qaeeda and Taliban opted in Afghanistan. The strategy of rebels is simple—leave the place instead of fighting and run away for safe heavens.
French forces are happy that they are defeating Salafi and Wahabi Islamists supported by Al Qaeeda as was the allied forces and even former US President Junior Bush claimed after 14 days of Afghan War that “War is over”. Now this statement looks childish and stupid because war is yet not over although 11 years have passed to start this war against terror in Afghanistan. One can remember that Taliban waited for spring to fight back in Afghanistan in year 2002 and Taliban-trained Ansar Dine can wait for summer to arrive when desert will become unbearable for French troops to run after them.
Experts who understand tactical war of Al-Qaeeda believe that rebel coalition – including Ansar al-Din, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (Mujwa), and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb – are NOT on the back foot. They are NOT. They have places to hide, and they’re rumoured to have stockpiled huge supplies of weapons and ammunition in preparation for just such a day as this. Make no mistake, the guerrilla war is coming. Now assault of French forces by using air strikes against those same mountain strongholds, targeting the fuel depots and hide-outs in which the rebels are taking stock will decide how long this war will continue—–a year or 11 years as the situation is in Afghanistan.
