Rafale hammers the islamist terrorist groups in Mali

[Armand2REP]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

Hold power like what bombing Libya whose air defence system was in tatters after years of sanctions.

What are you talking about? Russia never sanctioned Gaddafi who was his major supplier. It isn't our fault Rafale can fly over air defences with impunity... oh wait, yes it is. :thumb:

Power like in Ivory coast or the recent bullying in Somalia.

We attempt to let the locals deal with their problems, if not, we intercede. Gbagbo is gone and Shabab is pushed a couple hundred km back.

First get control of AQMI who are showing you the middle finger and they are in Sahel.

When Algeria requests our assistance we can talk. So far they are content getting their ass beat.

Between if attacking african is power for you then good

We attack any target that needs to be attacked. We have the power and are not afraid to use it.

Economic and military might are considered hard power

Soft power is no power if it isn't backed up by force. China had all the soft power in Libya, now look at them. $30 billion in lost investment and 50,000 contractors sent home while we get all the contracts. That is the difference.

So China is using most cost effective by not sending troops it get Sudan oil, Zimbabwe, Congo natural resources and you have not kicked them out but instead acknowledge that the Chinese are playing in your FORMER backyard

South Sudan has all the oil and they stopped pumping a year ago. They are not letting China in. What does Zimbabwe and Congo have that we need they are selling to China? We already have full supply.

Do not delude yourself one of the attractive packages of Areva is that it guarantees its customer continuous flow of uranium reserves and its difficult to replace Niger which hold (7.4% of world reserves) other main suppliers are Russia,Kazakhstan and Australia who cannot be robbed

It is easy, Gabon and Niger have mining deals with Areva pending waiting on the price of uranium to rise.

Does that satisfy your ego centric mindset.

Kick ass of what.. Piggy backing NATO after they almost finished major combat ops in Afghanistan beginning 2001.

No entry in Iraq 2003, taking on soft targets doesn't prove anything.

Its like a 30 yr old man punches a 14 yr old teenager to prove his manliness

We kicked Saddam's ass, Serbia's ass, Taliban ass, Gbagbo ass, Gaddafi ass, Mali ass, Somali ass. We kick whoever needs an ass whooping.

 

[ice berg]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

Soft power is no power if it isn't backed up by force. China had all the soft power in Libya, now look at them. $30 billion in lost investment and 50,000 contractors sent home while we get all the contracts. That is the difference.

Spin nonsense again?

Chinese companies that have unfinished projects in Libya finally got some sense of relief as Libyan's National Transitional Council (NTC) assured China of its billions worth of business contracts in the country.

The NTC made the remarks after China formally recognized it Monday as the Libya's ruling government, according to a National Business Daily report.

China's Ministry of Commerce said Chinese companies had invested US$18 billion in Libya before war broke out. Starting from February, China's state-owned companies and private firms have suspended project construction in Libya and retreated from the war zone.

Chinese companies prepare to return to Libya - China.org.cn

I guess Arnand is anathema to facts. He just throws around a few numbers and hope people dont catch his lies.

 

[Neil]

Opération Serval, french intervention in Mali

Opération Serval, french intervention in Mali


Official french MoD photostream

 

[Neil]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

 

[Neil]

Re: Opération Serval, french intervention in Mali

what does Opération Serval mean...??

and no rafale used...??

 

[JBH22]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

What are you talking about? Russia never sanctioned Gaddafi who was his major supplier. It isn't our fault Rafale can fly over air defences with impunity... oh wait, yes it is. :thumb:

nopes my issue is the pretentious chest thumping of yours, bombarding a country that had been under sanction for decades is anything but a military feat.

Why downplay other EU nations participation,

We attempt to let the locals deal with their problems, if not, we intercede. Gbagbo is gone and Shabab is pushed a couple hundred km back.

So France is trying to become like USA policing the world.

When Algeria requests our assistance we can talk. So far they are content getting their ass beat.

Oh really what about the hostages held by this organisation and also Sahel does not stretch in Algeria only.

We attack any target that needs to be attacked. We have the power and are not afraid to use it.

Biting more than you can chew

Soft power is no power if it isn't backed up by force. China had all the soft power in Libya, now look at them. $30 billion in lost investment and 50,000 contractors sent home while we get all the contracts. That is the difference.

I explained to you that economic and military aid are considered hard power while cultural ties etc soft power.
Its an illusion of yours see Afghanistan, Russians and Chinese did not spend and lose 1 soldier yet they are making headways there same thing they are doing in Libya

South Sudan has all the oil and they stopped pumping a year ago. They are not letting China in. What does Zimbabwe and Congo have that we need they are selling to China? We already have full supply.

Check your economy and compare again it with China I never saw something like USD 3 Trillion of forex reserves.

Get your economy on growth path instead of building castle in the air.

It is easy, Gabon and Niger have mining deals with Areva pending waiting on the price of uranium to rise.

You need Niger and the number of french engineers getting kidnapped there no really solving your problem.

We kicked Saddam's ass, Serbia's ass, Taliban ass, Gbagbo ass, Gaddafi ass, Mali ass, Somali ass. We kick whoever needs an ass whooping.

hahaha what a joke.

Between you know that French army is good at showing the white flag to its enemies

All these you mentioned none a single ops has been undertaken by French armed forces.
Take a chill pill and stop posting to brag unnecessarily.

 

[SajeevJino]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

Who says That French Operation Fails in Mali


- French fighter jets pounded Islamist rebel strongholds deep in northern Mali on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda-linked insurgents from the country's north.


France bombs Islamist strongholds in north Mali | Reuters



Uncle Sam already watching the Situation from High Altitude

theaviationist.com/2013/01/13/u-s-spyplanes-mali/?fb_source=pubv1

 

[asianobserve]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

Uncle is ever present...

President Barack Obama: U.S. military combat aircraft entered Somalia airspace in failed hostage rescue mission - POLITICO.com

 

[IBSA]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

Yep, being assigned the role of African hegemon leaves a great responsibility to France. After Black Hawk Down the US doesn't want to touch it.

So, is the France doing the role of watchdog of Americans in Africa as same way as Pakistan does in Af-Pak troublesome border because American don't want touch it too?

France shouldn't be hegemon in Africa's Horn. In that part of world Ethiopia historically always had hegemony. Africa's Horn belongs to Ethiopia, not to France.

 

[Armand2REP]

So, is the France doing the role of watchdog of Americans in Africa as same way as Pakistan does in Af-Pak troublesome border because American don't want touch it too?

France shouldn't be hegemon in Africa's Horn. In that part of world Ethiopia historically always had hegemony. Africa's Horn belongs to Ethiopia, not to France.

France is hegemon all over Africa, including the Horn. Obama is a dove.

 

[Armand2REP]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

Spin nonsense again? .

Why are you posting two year old nonsense. China hasn't got a thing from Libya as NTC decided to review all contracts and Chinese ones were deemed wasteful.

 

[ice berg]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

Why are you posting two year old nonsense. China hasn't got a thing from Libya as NTC decided to review all contracts and Chinese ones were deemed wasteful.

You are free to post updated source to support your claims. You claimed 30 billions were lost. I provided source that said otherwise.

 

[Ray]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

China is clear n its pursuit.

They are not troubled by the issue of morality.

China was the first nation which started taking oil from teh Libyan rebels even before Gaddafi was toppled.

DUBAI/LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - China will buy the first oil cargo from Libyan rebels via trading house Vitol, sources said on Thursday,
UPDATE 2-Libya rebel oil cargo China-bound -sources | Reuters

and yet

BEIJING — China confirmed on Monday that representatives of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi visited in July in a bid to buy arms, news that could further damage Beijing's relations with the new opposition government in Tripoli.

Although China insists no weapons were delivered, a spokesman for the Libyan opposition said there is evidence that Chinese companies shipped weapons through Algeria to Gadhafi's forces after the outbreak of the uprising in violation of a U.N. arms embargo.

Rebel military spokesman Abdel Raham Busim said documentation was still being collected and the new government was considering bringing legal action against Beijing, possibly at the United Nations.
Libya: Gaddafi Representatives Visited China To Buy Arms

I short running with the hares and hunting with the hounds and laughing all the way to the bank!

 

[jamesvaikom]

Re: France launches air strike on al-Qaeda in Mali

India must start to have "talks" (OR negotiations) with "Good Taliban" ( so if it exists ) and support its "Political" and "Peaceful" assimilation in Political structures of Afghan Polity as a Legal Party. It will help India to negotiate to create "interest groups" and balance the "power" tilt in South Asian polity..

Lol. Good Talibans are terrorists who are good for Pakistan and not for India.

@topic
We need permenent solution for Somalia and other African countries. I hope initial failures or casualties won't affect the operations. African people are living miserable life eventhough they are sitting on huge fortunes. We need their natural resources and they need our finished goods, medicines etc. Lets hope to live in harmony with African people in future.

 

[Armand2REP]

Re: Opération Serval, french intervention in Mali

what does Opération Serval mean...??

and no rafale used...??

It means Wolverine... yes Rafale was used.

 

[rock127]

Mali Islamists vow to strike 'at heart' of France

Mali Islamists vow to strike 'at heart' of France

Islamists based in northern Mali, under daily bombardment by France's warplanes, vowed on Monday to avenge the assault on French soil as well as in Africa.

"France has attacked Islam. We will strike at the heart of France," said Abou Dardar, a leader of Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), an offshoot of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), said on telephone.

Asked where they would strike, he said: "Everywhere. In Bamako, in Africa and in Europe."The French offensive has blocked the advance of Islamist forces towards the capital Bamako from their bases in the north which they have controlled since last April.On Sunday, French aviation struck at targets in the central Islamist strongholds of Gao and Kidal.

Sixty Islamists were killed in Gao alone on Sunday, according to residents and a regional security force.The MUJAO official also referred to France's eight hostages held in the Sahel region."We will make a statement on the hostages today. From today all the mujahedeen are together."

 

[K Factor]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

France defends failed Somali raid as civilian toll mounts
By AFP | AFP – 6 hours ago


Somali witnesses said at least eight civilians were killed in a disastrous French operation to rescue a secret agent, but France's defence minister defended the decision to launch the raid.

Sources in lawless Somalia suggested the reason Saturday's raid had failed was that the Al Qaeda-linked Shebab group holding the hostage had received advance warning.

The United States meanwhile, confirmed that it had played a limited support role in the French mission.

"Four civilians, including three from one family, are among the dead," resident Adan Derow said by telephone Sunday. "They were all killed outside Bulomarer, where the French commandos landed before entering the city."

The victims were a couple, their son and another man, other residents said.

"We don't know why those civilians were killed" outside Bulomarer, where the raid took place, added another resident, Ali Moalim Hassan.

"Four other civilians were also caught in the crossfire and died in the town of Bulomarer" during a pitched battle between French commandos and Islamist fighters. They included a woman, her child and a local market guard, residents said.

On Saturday, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said one French soldier had died and another had gone missing during the raid, adding that 17 guerrillas had been killed.

He said "all indications" pointed to the conclusion that the hostage, a French intelligence agent with the alias of Denis Allex, had been killed by his captors.

The Shebab denied Allex was dead, but said they would decide his fate within two days. They also claimed they had captured a wounded member of the French assault team.

Le Drian said Sunday that French troops had underestimated the Islamist rebels' strength when they launched the overnight operation, which involved some 50 troops and at least five helicopters.

Derow told AFP people had seen the French commandos disembark in the fields.

"The Shebab were alerted that the helicopters had landed and that they let out soldiers, and so they (the Islamists) were able to prepare," he added.

Senior Shebab commander Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim confirmed to AFP by telephone that their fighters had been alerted, but did not say how.

In Washington, President Barack Obama acknowledged that US forces had provided limited technical support for the operation, but said they had played no role in the fighting.

"United States combat aircraft briefly entered Somali airspace to support the rescue operation, if needed," Obama wrote in a letter to Congress. They had not used their weapons during the operation, he added.

Le Drian, faced with questions at home over the failure of the operation -- the latest in a series of such fiascos -- defended the decision to approve the raid.

"It's good to talk, to look for a deal, but we cannot bow to unreasonable conditions, as was the case with the Shebab," the minister told French radio Europe 1 Sunday.

"The Shebab were asking for the release of I don't know how many jihadist prisoners around the world. It was strictly impossible and completely unrealistic," he said.

But local Somalis expressed anger over the assault.

"They killed innocent civilians and left without accomplishing anything. The people here are very disappointed in the French government on account of the civilian victims," said Bulomarer resident Moalim Ahmed Nur.

"We were told there were about 40 of them against more than 100 heavily armed Shebab fighters," said another Somali, who wished to remain anonymous. "Their mission was impossible and not very professional."

France has a recent history of botched operations, including a failed joint raid with Niger forces in 2011 that left both hostages dead and another in Mali that led to the hostage's execution.

In 2009, French commandos launched a raid to free a French family whose yacht had been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. They retook the boat but accidentally shot the father dead.

France defends failed Somali raid as civilian toll mounts - Yahoo! News UK

 

[Drsomnath999]

BAMAKO: French jets pounded the Islamist strongholds of Gao and Kidal in northern Mali Sunday, forcing insurgents to flee on the third day of a game-changing intervention that has been met with relief by the population and spurred the region into action.

"Stopping the terrorists – it's done," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. "Today we started taking care of the terrorists' rear bases."

Rafale fighter planes struck bases used by Al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Gao, the main city in northern Mali and the base from which ethnic-Tuareg rebels a year ago launched the offensive that touched off Mali's descent into chaos.

France also targeted a large base in the northern region of Kidal, a security source said, targeting an area where rebels had stocked munitions and fuel.

In addition to the Rafales, former colonial ruler France has used Gazelle helicopters and Mirage jets since it launched the operation Friday to counter the rebel push south.

Algeria Sunday granted France permission to use its airspace to reach targets in Mali.

Residents in Gao, which had been under the control of a group called Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, said the French airstrikes had completely leveled the Islamists' position and forced them out of town.

"We can see smoke billowing from the base. There isn't a single Islamist left in town. They have all fled," a teacher told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

French President Francois Hollande, who has been struggling on the domestic front and whose ratings have hit record lows, said the intervention had stopped the southward rebel advance seen as threatening the capital Bamako, but stressed France's mission was not over.

Some residents of Gao rejoiced at the French strikes but said they needed friendly troops to fill the void as soon as possible.

"What we need now is for the [Malian] army to come here so that the Islamists can't come back," a young student said.

Residents of Timbuktu, which has seen some of the worst Islamist abuses over the past 10 months, said they were also eager for French jets to appear in the sky.

"The population is cut off from the south. We can't travel, it's become too dangerous," said Elhaj Cisse, a literature teacher in the ancient northern city.

"We are waiting for this French intervention. We have been living in a very totalitarian regime for nine to 10 months," he said.

A picture released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) on January 13, 2013 shows French soldiers equipping a French Rafale jet fighter with "Mica ER" missiles on January 12, 2013 at the French military base of Saint-Dizier before its departure for a mission in Mali. Four French Rafale fighter jets bombed targets on January 13, 2013 near the northern Malian city of Gao. France is using air and ground power in a joint offensive with Malian soldiers launched on January 11 a


For more refer
France pounds Islamist strongholds in northern Mali | News , International | THE DAILY STAR

January 13, 4 Rafale ready to take off to bomb their targets near Gao on the tarmac of the air base 113 Saint Dizier:

Configuration seems a Damocles pod + 6 GBU/AASM + 2 micas + 3 2000l tanks and perhaps a Reco NG pod on the last one , difficult to say.

IMAGE COURTESY-OLYBRIUS

RAFALE'S OPERATION VIDEO

[video]http://api.dmcloud.net/player/embed/4e7343f894a6f677b10006b4/50f31fd994a6f66a1601a99e/5781c0fa7a4d477983ddc7fb646cb9ad?exported=1[/video]


Mali: 60 jihadists killed in Gao

BAMAKO - Over sixty jihadists were killed Sunday in the city of Gao in northern Mali and its periphery during intense bombardment of the French forces , residents and head of security said on Monday. "More than sixty Islamists were killed in Gao and their bases near Gao. During the night, the Islamists who remained hidden in the houses came out to take the bodies of their comrades," told AFP a Gao resident, reached by telephone from Bamako, whose testimony was cross-checked by other residents and a regional security source.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/af...Id=CNG.3304651f564069c4405f252e4218863c.32 1

Mali crisis: militants killed as French fighter jets pound rebel camps

Residents in Gao confirmed French jets had struck the airport as well as the building that served as the base for the town's feared Islamic police. "The planes are so fast you can only hear their sound in the sky," Soumaila Maiga told R_euters. "We are happy, even though it is frightening. Soon we will be delivered."
Mali crisis: militants killed as French fighter jets pound rebel camps | World news | The Guardian

WOOH!!!
well looks like surgery specialist RAFALE really carrying it's operation quite well .May god bless the souls of terrorists as they dont have any clues how they got killed

 

[satish007]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

You are free to post updated source to support your claims. You claimed 30 billions were lost. I provided source that said otherwise.

Indian and China will work together and kick France out of Africa soon.

 

[K Factor]

Re: French operation fails in Somalia

Indian and China will work together and kick France out of Africa soon.

More like India and France will work together and kick the red dragon in the nuts and out of Africa.