What Are The French Doing In Mali?

Ever since the announcement of the overt presence of the French army in Mali to fight against the Islamic fundamentalists who are taking over much of that beautiful country, we at FlourishingAfrica have been torn by what to make of this situation. At first sight it would be a good thing that the French are there to help oust this unwanted group. However, first appearances are not that revealing. France is not in Mali because of love of the Malian people. France is in Mali to defend her own interests. The tentacles of colonialism still runs deep. Since France is still in possession of her French African colonies, it is only fitting that France goes over to help when one of them is going down due the bad policies that were instigated into place by the French themselves. We need to ask ourselves why it is that most of the African countries that still harbor dictators today are countries that were minted by France. We need to ask ourselves why most of the African countries that are far worse off economically and politically today were minted by the French. Asking these questions will lead us to understand that this crisis into which France is wading is partially a product of her own making - her propping up of weak governments that cannot and will not defend their people in French Africa.
Another question that might be asked is whether Mali should be allowed to go down under Islamic fundamentalism. The response to this question is an unequivocal "yes". If Mali cannot defend itself it should go down. Any country that claims to be a country should be able to defend itself from enemies both within and without. Any country that cannot defend itself should be allowed to go down. If Malians cannot fight against Islamic fundamentalists they should be allowed to live under the dictatorship of these fundamentalists. When France goes over to "help", the point is not so much to help as it is to ensure that Mali is controlled by France rather than by the Islamists. In both cases, Mali is still worse off. Unless Mali can fight for itself, Mali will continue to be worse off.