Reply #2: sounds like some exagerated spin from the anti-globalists [View All]

it is well documented that the GSPC has bases in Mali, Niger, Chad etc... and that regular fighting is occuring there. But they seem being losing ground since they have to fight other local militias with completely different agendas

the French Army has recently intervened against such a group in Chad, using air strikes, preventing a coup.

an attack has ocurred in Mauretania
http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-f.asp?ID=347614

the Algerian military has maybe not got what it wanted from the US, but got it from the French. It was one of the reasons of the GIA's attack on French soil 1994-95 and the hijacking of a plane with the Eiffel tower as a target.

in France the Sahel terrorism is considered as a threat, but a minor one. But it does exist.
It's true that the US has increased its presence in this part of the world, but it's not likely they can keep it in the long run.

http://www.alwihdainfo.com/artmai04/terrorisme05.html (french)
http://www.cf2r.org/fr/article/article-la-menace-terroriste-dans-le-sud-algerien-et-au-sahel-3-5.php (french)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salafist_Group_for_Preaching_and_Combat

Summary : the article is right about the exageration from the US but wrong in the assertion that it isn't a threat.