Rhetorical question is rhetorical

[mahnmut]

One question sticks out in the whole Malian situation. How come some rebels (in Libya) are of the good guys, while other rebels (in Mali) are of the bad guys? Gaddafi was also fighting Al Qaeda, among other groups. And Libya, after the West-supported victory of the rebels hasn't become either more modern, or more democratic, or more peaceful - just on the contrary. It's looking very similar to Somalia. The parallels between the two neighboring countries are inescapable. So really - why these rebels are bad while those are good?

Comments

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

There was no issue with the Tuareg campaign for self-determination and even their own nation-state.

What has changed recently is that the secular-nationalist Tuaregs have been booted out and replaced by Islamicists.

c.f., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRY_UwsHG58

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

"There was no issue with the Tuareg campaign for self-determination"

Not true at all. The US, ECOWAS and France were in support of the Malian government against MNLA.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Support for Tuareg self-determination is not quite the same as support for the MNLA. This said, ECOWAS wanted a ceasefire and negotiations whilst also calling for the MNLA to relinquish authority back to Mali. In contrast Algeria withdrew military support to Mali.

France, up to recent times, seemed to be more concerned with the military coup last year, a position which was reiterated by the UNSC.