Congress presses Obama administration for answers on Mali intervention

By Julian Pecquet - 12/05/12 11:07 AM ET

Senators grilled the Obama administration on Wednesday over its plans to restore order in the terrorist haven of northern Mali as the United Nations met to discuss an African-led intervention.

The Obama administration has cautioned against rushing into military action to reunite the west African country, whose Texas-size northern half has become the world's largest safe haven for militant Islamists following a military coup in March. Mali's neighbors and western countries are worried that militants from all over the region are setting up training camps there, including al Qaeda-affiliated groups linked to the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.

“The intervention will take time, and stability cannot be restored to Mali through military action alone,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said in his opening statement to his Senate Foreign Relations African subcommittee's hearing. “The situation in Mali is as much a crisis of governance as it is of security.”

The Obama administration has pressed Mali to hold elections, possibly as early as next spring, to restore democracy and try to meet the demands of rebelling Tuareg nomads in the north and “peel off” some Islamist militants from the more extremist al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. While the country's vast desert expanses provide a safe haven for terrorists, congressional sources estimate there are only 500 to 1,000 “core fighters” in the country – far fewer than in Afghanistan and Pakistan or in Yemen.

“Mali needs now more than ever a strong democratic government to restore its democratic tradition and provide the strong leadership necessary to negotiate a political agreement with northern rebels, reform its security sector, and lead a military intervention in the north to restore and maintain Mali’s territorial integrity,” Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson testified Wednesday.

“We should not hold the continued movement toward democracy hostage to the success of the military operations, we should not hold military operations and planning hostage to the completion of the restoration of democracy, but we must keep all … of these things clearly as objectives and goals moving simultaneously.”

The African Union and Western African nations, however, have called on the U.N. Security Council to rapidly authorize an African-led military intervention in the country.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned the security council last week that “fundamental questions” remain about how to fund, sustain and equip the proposed 3,300-troop force. Carson mirrored those concerns Wednesday.

“The military concept proposes an Africa-led effort,” he said, “but several key questions must be answered to ensure that this effort is also well-planned and well-resourced. These issues include outstanding questions about necessary force levels, the capabilities of the Malian and international forces to accomplish the objectives of the mission, cost and funding needs, logistical requirements, operational timelines, planning for minimizing impacts on civilian security and the humanitarian situation, and ensuring that the proposed military action is adequately linked to a sufficiently detailed political strategy and end-state for military operations in the north.”

The Obama administration suspended U.S. aid to Mali – including military aid – following the coup. The United States however is helping the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) develop its military intervention plan and has been expanding its secret intelligence operations in Africa to spy on terror groups in northern Mali and across the continent.