Here we go again

Yes - mission creep has to be the worry. Oh dear.

On the other hand, destroying evil fundamentalists who impose their evil radical beliefs on an unwilling society, stop women from having any sort of life, destroy ancient libraries and monuments, repress people brutally, has to be a worthwhile duty.

I would like to believe the Government has imposed a time and manpower limit on this mission.

Destroying evil fundamentalists will not destroy evil fundamentalism but rather encourage it to breed.

Why would we send troops to Mali but not Syria where untold horrors are happening? Thousands dead, people reduced to cave dwellings. Doesn't make sense to me.

Ylil the cynic in me wonders if the West really wants the Assad regime to fall; with a secular dictator in power, there's less chance of the country becoming fundamentalist and fragmented, along the lines of Iraq and Egypt.

The fact that we are keeping out of Syria is all to do with oil - it exports crude oil - not a lot but enough to keep us from meddling. One wonders just how bad it has to get before the West decides to 'interfere' - has Assad said he has WMD's?
As for Mali - it's an old French colony so why are we going in - there is enough of the French Army afterall, its not as if they are anywhere else like Iran or Afghanistan

is a worry and with the army being cut down so drastically wonder they have troops to send.

god forbid is another huge issue starting up.

We always go in with a time limited promise and we always find ourselves up to our necks and unable to withdraw; and the results never live up to expectations. Why do we keep doing this?

We all abhor the regimes where all these atrocities and inequalities exist, but we have yet to find a way of solving these problems. We just keep doingt the same things with the same poor results and loss of British lives.

Riverwalk I am afraid you have probably hit the nail on the head there!

Just remember those British expatriates killed in Algeria two weeks ago. The Islamic extremists responsible for that attack were part of the Islamic movement that occupied the northern half of Mali and provided a refuge for terrorists groups attacking European and British installations in neighbouring countries.

Remember also the reason we went into Afghanistan was because the Taliban were training the terrorists that blew up the World Trade Building in New York. caused the explosions and deaths in London on the tube ad countless other thwarted terrorist attacks.

We no longer live in a world where the greatest threat to our lives and freedom is the country next door. The mass movement of people and arms throughout the world and the growth of fundamentalism means that even countries like Mali that probably many had never heard of and fewer still knew where it is can be a serious threat to our own lives and freedoms.

What is the alternative?