France Wants More U.S. Help in Mali
France’s military intervention in Mali has revived trans-Atlantic tensions over security issues, this time involving a key counterterrorism battlefield, along with dismay from critics who see U.S. President Barack Obama as too reluctant to use military force. According to interviews with officials from both sides, the French have privately complained about what they see as paltry and belated American military support for their troop deployment, aimed at stopping the advance of militants allied with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The Americans question whether French President Francois Hollande’s armed intervention, which is entering its third week, was coupled with a thought-through exit strategy. . .