Malí and Wagner

While we all watch the Ukraine war, we have ignored Russia’s expansion into Africa. The UN peacekeeping force invitation was over. Incidentally, watch Niger, where the US and France were asked to leave as well. This is allowing the countries in the Sahel to turn towards Russia. Russia has built an Afrika Corp and is building a mini-empire in the region. Why? Minerals. They want access to those reserves. In particular, the uranium reserves in Niger. And gold for Mali.

So, a Wagner column, the Afrika Corp’s heart, was ambushed by the Tuaregs, a local people. The map shows their traditional tribal lands spanning three countries. It is a reminder that we in the West set borders that cut tribal lands that were convenient for us. We did the same thing in the Middle East at the beginning of the twentieth century.

First, let’s look at Levin because, quite honestly, it’s funny:

Russian propagandists began to write amazing science fiction texts in an attempt to justify the defeat of Wagner’s mercenaries in Mali. The scale is almost equal to the battle between the Atreides and the Harkonens: there were thousands of Tuaregs, and the rebel losses numbered in the hundreds, support was provided by Ukrainian UAV operators, and the mercenaries held out for days until they were defeated in an unequal battle. Russian propaganda has long been reluctant to recognize the Ukrainians as…