France Takes Lead Against al-Qaeda

HT: Time.com

Now, there's a headline I thought I'd never write...

With the threat of Mali descending entirely into al-Qaeda's allies and essentially becoming a jihadist training ground to assault other African nations, Europe and the United States, the French took the initiative and intervened on behalf of the crumbling Malian government - using air assault and now ground forces to eliminate the threat.

And this came as the French launched an unsuccessful attempt to rescue a member of their special forces that had/has (there is still uncertainty as to his status) been held by al-Shabab jihadists in Somalia for over three years.

All of this, including the French's promise of remaining in Mali until the jihadists are defeated and order is returned to the once thriving Saharan nation, has quickly turned the usually timid and anti-interventionist French into enemy number one for Al-Qaeda, as the United States has taken a back seat to the decade old War on Terror.

I'm at a loss of words on how the French under socialist president Hollande have now become a stronger Western power in the fight on global jihad then the United States... who led the conflict after devastating attacks on our homeland just over eleven years ago. The role reversal is a shock.

What say you?