This Ain't Chess

In chess, if you checkmate the king, you win the game. In real life, if you checkmate the king, the opposing side just gets a new one. Al Qaeda has taken over a substantial portion of Mali. This is what happens when you focus upon killing one man, rather than destroying his terrorist group. Currently, all of the troops in country are French, but the Canadians and the US military are also going to be getting in on the action, although the Canadian involvement is planned to be entirely noncombat. We'll see how this all turns out, but I expect that another front will open up in the War on Terror, a war that is far from won, and which cannot be won by killing the terrorist leader du jour.

From Fox News:

Al Qaeda carves out own country in Mali, prepares to defend it

US military preparing to support French forces in Mali