The current French military action in Mali has absorbed tons of newsprint and webpages. Here are some of articles that have really stood out for us.

African Arguments – Today Mali, tomorrow Nigeria for Al-Qaeda – In a piece that originally appeared in The Times, Richard Dowden analyses what went wrong in Mali, a country praised as recently as two years ago by Western aid donors as a successful democracy.

Africa’s A Country – France in Mali: the End of the Fairytale – Gregory Mann analyses the changing political dynamics on the ground in Bamako following the French intervention.

New Internationalist – How Washington Helped Foster the Islamist Uprising in Mali – Jeremy Keenan reveals how the US and Algeria have been sponsoring terror in the Sahara.

New York Times – French Strikes in Mali Supplant Caution of the US – Adam Nossiter, Eric Schmitt and Mark Mazzetti point out that both the architect of last year’s coup, Amadou Sanogo as well as many of the Tuareg commanders who have defected to the other side were trained by the United States.

The Guardian – The bombing of Mali highlights all the lessons of western intervention – Mali is the eighth nation in four years where Muslims are targeted by the West, according to Glenn Greenwald.

Al Jazeera Online – Don’t make the same anti-terrorism mistakes in Mali – William G Moseley says that the French military and the international community have an obligation to avoid clumping together the innocent with the guilty in order to avert the loss of life and human rights abuses amongst blameless civilians.

The National – French mission to Mali is part of a long dangerous tradition – LSE’s Nabila Ramdani argues that taking France to war is uncharacteristic of the “mild-mannered” France President Francois Hollande.

TIME – War in Mali – France can bomb militants, but not arms routes – Vivienne Walt argues that even if the insurgent offensive is pushed back, choking off the supply of weapons from Libya once and for all could be difficult.

Reuters – Timeline: Mali – the latest French military foray into Africa

 Are there any other articles or blog posts that have stood out for you? Please share!