Graphic showing the areas of Mali which are now controlled by AQIM (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb)
The New Al Qaeda Menace -- Bruce Riedel, National Interest
Al Qaeda has a new stronghold in Africa in northern Mali, its largest since the fall of Afghanistan in 2001. It has successfully gained the support of a local jihadist group, Ansar Dine, much as it partnered with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Algeria, Mali’s biggest neighbor, which has a long border with the new jihadist emirate, seems curiously unwilling to take action to address in the problem.
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My Comment: Sober reading on why radical islam and Al Qaeda is NOT DEAD.