BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS there was increasing evidence that France wanted to assert its power in many flashpoints around the world. It started with former President Nicolas Sarkozy and now being promoted by current President François Hollande.
The opportunity has presented itself in the Central African country of Mali where French forces have bombed the bases of rebels, who have threatened to advance on the capital Bamako from their strongholds in the north.
Hollande said France had decided to act to stop the offensive, which could create “a terrorist state at the doorstep of France and Europe”. Though somewhat of an exaggeration, the reality is that terrorism must be stopped everywhere and at all costs.