Introduction
Mali, a landlocked country in Northwest Africa, is currently one of the poorest countries in the world. In the 1990’s, Mali’s fortune was looking up as the country had rapid economic growth and a democracy that flourished along with social stability. The state had control of the north and a military coup that ousted the president due to his failure to protect the soldiers. Soldiers returning from Libya who had equipped themselves with weapons from Libya’s armories started the coup. Soldiers were tired of being under-equipped to fight the Tuaregs (NOSSITER). The French intervened with military action against the Islamic fighters threatening to advance to the south. Civilian rule was re-established in 2013 (Brice, Mali country profile - Overview).
The Tauregs a nomadic group that makes up over half of the citizens living in the north had been fighting for their own land called Azwad. The Tuaregs broke the truce and resumed fighting a year later. Mali suffered from rebellions, drought, and 23 years of military rule until 1992. Mali in general is a very barren country (Review). Mali owes its livelihood to the Niger River and can sustain itself by growing its own crops due to the fertile basin. Growing cotton is one of the country’s biggest exports. With a foreign trade deficit, Mali still does not have the ability to sustain itself. It still receives foreign aid and many of its citizens work abroad (Review).
French and African forces intervened in Mali to prevent the Tuaregs from claiming more territory in January 11, 2013. More than 500 French air and ground forces pushed the insurgents back. The French Special Forces liberated the city of Kona hours after they hit the ground on February 15, 2013 (Group). France promi...
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...n defense and security forces” in July 2013 (United Nations).
Mali will become more involved in world matters since establishing their democracy.
Mali will assist in the UN peacekeeping mission in other parts of Africa. Their economy will improve for their citizens causing them not to depend on aid from outside organizations. Mali will be a key player in the African continent in its role against terrorist groups (USAID)’ (Marquardt).
A close relationship between the U.S. and Mali will give the U.S. the ability to gather intelligence on Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in the region and globally. With the intelligence, we gather in the region, we can target the terrorist groups located not only in Mali, but also in Africa and the rest of the world (Wadossene). We can use it to protect U.S. interests around the world as well as protecting its citizens (Banco)’ (Marquardt).
Tanner, Henry. ?Mali President Calls on Nation To Fight ?Foreign Subversion.?? New York Times 16 Jan. 1961: 2.
Insurgency is defined as a rebellion against an indigenous government or a foreign occupier. In an asymmetric war there are two sides a strong and a weak side which have two strategies each. The French, who were the “stronger” side used “direct attack” which aimed at destroying the weak actor’s (Algeria) armed forces and thereby their capacity to offer violent resistance. During the seco...
There was a war in Sierra Leone, Africa, from 1991 to 2002 where a rebel army stormed through African villages amputating and raping citizens left and right (“Sierra Leone Profile”). Adebunmi Savage, a former citizen of Sierra Leone, describes the reality of this civil war: In 1996 the war in Sierra Leone was becoming a horrific catastrophe. Children were recruited to be soldiers, families were murdered, death came easily, and staying alive was a privilege. Torture became the favorite pastime of the Revolutionary United Front rebel movement, which was against the citizens who supported Sierra Leone’s president, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
Because of the Civil War, which broke out in 1991, much of Somalia’s economy has been devastated. The war left many homeless and drove them to raise livestock as a means of survival. The economy used to be based on exports of cattle, goats, and bananas but as of early 1992 much of the economic trade had come to a halt. Now the economy is primarily based on the raising of livestock, which accounts for 40% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Alhaus). Due to overgrazing, soil erosion, and the clearing away of many trees, Somalia has very few natural resources, which have not been exploited.
This is Malidona's mission. He must get acquainted with the Western world in order to understand them. Then he must go back to his village and communicate his learnings to the community.
The great Machiavelli once said, "Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times." Indeed, the study of history is important as history does seem to repeat itself. Many people in today's society learn about the past from textbooks and other books, as these are of easy access. Is this really the best way to learn about the past? The people of ancient Africa did not think so, as they had special people called "griots"who passed the people's traditions and history down orally from generation to generation. One such griot, Mamadou Kouyate, recalls the story of the most famous ruler in African history, Sundiata, in D.T. Niane's book Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. This book has become an entertaining, yet scrutinized, source about the history of Mali and it's surrounding areas. Much scrutiny of this tale comes from those who question the validity of the griots, though Mamadou Kouyate is quick to point out that "[His] word is pure and free of all untruth; it is the word of [his] father...griots do not know what lying is" (Niane 1). If the context of the epic is true, then there are many valuable things to be learned from it including the traditions and customs of ancient Africa, and how Sundiata came to rule over such a large area. Based upon a reading of the text, it is easy to see that Sundiata's political power was not based soley on religion, as he used many conventional methods to gain and remain in power.
For decades, Uganda’s economy has suffered through disappointing economic policies and instabilities. These setbacks have been put forth by a chronically unreliable government, leaving it as one of the world’s poorest countries. Uganda’s weak infrastructure and corrupt government are two of the primary constraints against a continuation of economic growth. Uganda has ongoing military involvement in the War on Congo, wrongly taking money from the already deprived country and into the war. Many villages in Uganda also have to waste their precious money and time in pursuit of hiding places. They are faced with a group known as, The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). LRA is infamous for their twenty years of massacre and slaughter in Uganda, causing an estimated 1.5 million internally displayed persons. Several people are questioning why the LRA is still terrorizing the country and criticizing the government’s commitment to putting an end this horrific group. The Inspector General of Government (IGG) ...
In this section, I will provide a brief history of U.S. military involvement on the African continent, starting with the Barbary Wars and working up through the current date. This historical documentation will highlight the change in the role the United States has played in Africa [post 9-11???]. Prior to 9-11, the United States’ interactions were mainly [capture summary here]. Since [?], however, the continent has faced a marked increase in violent extremism and terrorism leading the United States to partner with many African nations in counterterrorism initiatives. These, and other initiatives, mean an increasing number U.S. service members are deploying to Africa to take part in training, humanitarian issues and military operations. These military activities are run by United States African Command, a recently created combatant command.
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
Mali is a West African country located just north of Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast (Africa Prefix Map) and in 1892, it was colonized by the French(World-net: Virginia and Mali History). The main legacies of colonization that affected Mali were religion, language and agriculture. During this time if any Malian resisted colonization the French Military would take action and punish those individuals. Although Mali was colonized, the country benefited in many ways from these specific changes. As of September 22, 1960 Mali is independent but the country still carries some of the French traditions in their culture.
The Kingdom of Mali was an African hub of wealth, trade and education for over 225 years. Mali is an Arab version of the Mandinka word that means, “Where the king dwells”, and was vitally important in spreading trade, education, religion and culture along the Niger River. The rise of Mali into an Empire occurred in the early 13th century, when Sundiata defeated his enemies and won control of the West African gold mines. In 1312 Mansa Musa became ruler of Mali. During his reign which was known as Mali’s, “Golden Age”, he introduced Islamic beliefs to many communities along the Niger and enhanced education after his historic pilgrimage to Mecca. Mali’s rise was attributed to the Trans-Saharan Trade routes leading to and from Western and Eastern Africa. These trade routes contributed to the rise and fall of powerful African Kingdoms for hundreds of years, but for 250 years, Mali was the crown jewel of Africa.
It is important to care about Africa because it is the most forgotten continent by the Western world. Africa doesn’t have the same impact as the Middle East with western society’s dependence of natural resources, such as oil and minerals. It does not escape the issue that several African rebel groups severely abuse women and children, forcing them to become child soldiers and raped at young ages. Several of human right abuses caused by the rebel groups go unpunished. In order to gain attention by the government, the rebels control territories in resource-rich areas in return gain more power and rise to destabilize the order of the state.. Rebels have strategic goals in gaining attention by increasing their value in natural resources as rebels, to increase their influential value of capturing the state (Humphrey, 2005). The question that appeals to many researchers is how do rebel groups’ resources affect the government response to their
For my essay I will be evaluating the sub-saharan African country of Liberia. Over the course of this essay i shall try and shed some light on the main threats to peace and stability in the country. Threats that, if not treated responsibly and correctly, could throw Liberia, the Liberian people and potentially a large proportion of West Africa back into the violence and political instability that has plagued the region over the last few decades.
This nation has been going through civil wars for many years, placing even further burden on its people. According to Human Development Report 2000, over 26% of the population is not expected to live past their 40 birthday, some will die due to violence but many more from lack of nutrition and medical care. (2009)
As one looks around the world, one can see the many problems that lie around in the world. One problem that still lies around in the world is genocide. Genocide has been around for as long as one could trace back. Germany and Rwanda are one of the many countries that have had cases of genocide. In Germany, there had been the Holocaust, and in Rwanda, there had been a rivalry between two tribes. Like genocide, another major problem that still can be seen in the world is poverty. Currently, Algeria is one of many countries that deal with poverty because of its recent independence movement from France. In the rural areas, one can see a solution to this problem is to forge alliances with many rich countries so that constant trade can provide Algeria resources and money.