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West Africa - Sahel

The Mirages in the background

Chris Coons and Karen Bass in front of the French Mirage of BA 133 (credit: K. Bass)

(BRUSSELS2) A delegation from the American Congress was recently in Mali on a mission. And the photo, officially posted on the site of Representative Karen Bass, is symbolic.

Four US elected officials — Senators Johnny Isakson (Republican, Georgia) and Christopher Coons (Democrat, Delaware (*); Representatives Terri Sewell (Democrat, Alabama) and Karen Bass (Democrat, California) — members of the "African Affairs" subcommittee, actually made the trip to Bamako. They thus inquired about the political and humanitarian situation on the spot, in particular of the 300.000 displaced people on the spot. But, of course, an American representative must pose in front of instruments of force. So, for want of anything better, they posed in front of... the French Mirage 2000D (from the BA-133 in Nancy), whose tricolor cockades are not visible. France's role, Representative Bass acknowledges, has been to "begin operations." But she takes care to specify, it was with the Americans. "The French took the lead in ground and air operations (...) with logistical and technical support (for air transport, supplies, training) from the United States and other nations".

(*) and not republican as indicated by mistake in a first version

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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