Speech by General Carter Ham.  (HT Sahel Blog).  Seems like they should be aiming for something more enduring than a return to what was, in hindsight, a terribly unstable situation.

“Realistically, we would all like to see the elimination of al-Qaida and other [terrorist and insurgent groups] from northern Mali,” Ham said. “Realistically, probably the best you can get is containment and disruption, so that al-Qaida is no longer able to control territory [there] as they do today.” The general said extended governance would also prevent extremist organizations from controlling the lives of citizens in the country’s population centers, particularly Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal. “Those have to be freed and restored under Malian control,” Ham said. “So I think that is what I would see as the [desired] end state.” Ham made it clear resolving these issues is a task for African nations and not the U.S. “We very clearly see this from the U.S. government side, in fact and in perception, as an African-led endeavor that is done at the request of the Malian government and I think that’s well under way now,” he said.

I wonder if there is anyone advocating for creativity and experimentation as a deliberate approach, rather than the dry sober single-shot “program” that has the effect of leading to maximum embezzlement and minimal outcomes. A very disappointing conversation the other day here with a man involved in the MCC land tenure reform project in Burkina, suggesting that the huge perdiems of 25,000 CFA per day, for up to two months, was completely wasted… it simply meant that every connected schoolteacher and veterinary officer was trained to become a land tenure expert…. an expertise they would never deploy in their work capacity.  Once Congress allocates $297 million for “Northern Mali Sahel Anti-Terrorism Peace and Stability Initiative” (you know, NMSATPSI?) the resistance to trotting out tired old workshop trainers will be futile.