Summary Executions? – Welcome to Africa

The Algerian hostage slaughter gets pushed off the news by Malian Army reprisal killings – What horrors next?

            … by  Jim W. Dean, VT Editor                           …with Press TV

Fighting in Africa is never pretty, but often nastier than most. Ideological and media groups adopt one mass killing to spotlight, and then ignore others if they flunk their ethnicity exploitation test.

The Tuaregs who killed for Gaddafi under his military superiority (until the end) find the shoe on the other foot as the French planes bomb their bases way behind the front lines…a taste of Benghazi so to speak.

Summary executions by Islamic terrorists are so commonplace they hardly make the news unless they kill westerners, hence we had the BP gas plant attack as proof that the extreme Islamists understood this.

But what got passed over by the international media is that a many of these holy roller fighters came straight out of the regional criminal gang elements where they already had histories of exploiting their own people as extortionists.

In the Sahel smuggling, and more recently kidnapping for ransom, were among the few profitable criminal trades where people live in poverty. When holy wars start they put their holy robes on and become instant ideological fighters so they never have to pay the Hyatt hotel rates when on the road, or ever pick up a meal tab.The locals take care of them on the road.

Marrying the road house owner’s daughter is part of the game, too.  This guy above has four. Father-in-law can never refuse you a hide out, and of course he gets a piece of the action.

The leader of the Algerian attack was a long time kidnapper, his major source of finance. I have yet to find any mention on the Left for any pity for his victims, nothing new there…see above.

Below is a Press TV short interview. The topic was primarily on the Algerian attack and then the French ‘invasion’ of Mali…which surprised me a bit, as there was no mention of the West Africans. But in fairness Press TV did highlight my point of these desert guerrillas pulling this attack to set the stage for financially getting regular payoffs from big business to leave their installations alone.

Can anyone remember how we paid truck transit fees in Afghanistan  to not attack supply convoys. I think it was $2000 a truck, and we paid, the taxpayers I mean? It never became a scandal.

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[youtube OSIHwyZPFWk] – Algerian hostages – Mali Intervention

The reporting on this Mali intervention has been spotty. Has anyone seen footage of any spokesmen from the current government or whoever is approving anything? And we heard quickly by the French that there would be a media lock out…no embeds.

The reports of reprisal killings by the formerly humiliated Malian army are no surprise, but we have are no photos, which may have been the goal of the French media ban.

Ethnic rivalries in Africa have run rivers of blood. In most places the women suffer horribly.

The average African woman can expect to be raped three times in her lifetime. It goes with the territory, but media rarely reports this very nasty side of their many conflicts. They think it makes Africa look bad, so they self censor, and then get instant amnesia.

The West African troops are getting to Mali in slow motion. One would thing they have been walking. The media seems to be ignoring them like they don’t even exist but it is they who will be providing the local security when the country is stable enough to run an election.

In fact, it’s hard to even find any mention of there being an election at the end of this for a new Malian government. It troubles me to see how dismissive that media ideologues can be of any elements of a story that do not fit their ‘goal’…is the best word I can think to describe it.

We shall soon be hearing reports from witnesses from the recaptured towns as to what life was like under the bearded ones.

There will be more murdered bodies to be found along the roads of Mali. Fingers will be pointed at selected targets, and everybody will blame their favorite whipping boy and give passes to those they are routing for.

I do not hold myself out to be a judge of the strategy of clearing the Sahel out from radical Islamists and keeping them out. This can only trigger mistreatment of those left behind in the villages as the intervention troops move forward.  Cruel treatment of them with just birth new radicals when the children come of age, or maybe sooner.

If the situation remains just as bad when this is all over, but a new kind of bad, then I will say, ‘Welcome to Africa.’

Here is a good Reuters rundown on the Mali developments

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Jim W. Dean

Jim W. Dean was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022.  He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews.

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