It’s our war too

What was bound to happen has happened. Now that the Malian conflict has spread to Algeria, the French military operation launched last week to block the advance of Islamic militias who control the north of Mali looks increasingly like the start of a long and difficult war. And it is a war that France cannot hope to win alone, without help from its European partners, if not from NATO.

The military, humanitarian, and diplomatic involvement of the EU’s 27 member states is all the more appropriate when you consider that the current crisis has resulted from a situation of which they were well aware, but one which they sought to ignore. In its strategy for development in the Sahel (March 2011), the EU clearly mentioned the direct and indirect control exerted by Al-Qaeda on that part of the region, but it continued to prioritise development aid and regional cooperation rather than the fight against Islamic militias.

This was not in itself surprising, because these are areas in which the EU has a well recognised expertise. But it was a policy which overlooked one of the main — if not the principal — obstacles to the economic development of a region that is reporting enviable growth.

And it is an obstacle that Europeans appear unwilling to tackle with anything more than good intentions, a few transport planes, and the dispatch of instructors to assist local armies, which are largely unable to confront the hardened and highly motivated jihadis. This was once again evident at the extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers on Thursday.

All the indications are that these measures will not be enough to rid the region of the threat these militias represent for the countries directly involved and also for Europe. Their neutralisation — (Can we negotiate with them?) — is an essential condition for the stabilisation of the region and its economic development. Europeans can still benefit from a certain amount of goodwill on the part of the populations concerned, which have been confronted with the reality or the prospect of the dictatorial rule of Islamist gangs.

Whether we like it or not, in view of its implications, this is a war with a direct impact on Europe. And European states would do well to take their heads out of the sand and assume their responsibilities — either individually or within the framework of the EU — while they still benefit from a positive image in the region.