With the French sending a Mistral Class LHD to Mali, I think its fair to say that we're seeing the beginning of the 2nd Long War.
I expect (if it hasn't happened already) to see the French equivalent of a Combined Arms Task Force operating in theater.
The next thing to watch out for is British involvement. If the Brits decide to participate fully (and I mean ground troops) in this action then that's a signal of a much wider operation in the offing.
The question for we Americans is this. Our allies came to our assistance in Afghanistan. Now that they're fighting off shoots of the same terrorist group that we've been battling for years do we deny requests for troops on the ground?
