Pray tell how you use Tac Air to defeat an Insurgency without committing overwhelming numbers of ground forces?
Are current day military leaders and politicians unable to grasp the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan.....after having been there for years?
France was forced to leap in when it became apparent that Mopti (and its airport) were about to fall. I suspect that now that the airport is secured, French forces will secure the South Western half of Mali. Mauritania, Algeria and Niger have all "closed their borders" with Mali, so the North Eastern half of Mali is now more isolated than previously (though I suspect that there is still a fair bit of cross border movement to Algeria and Mauritania).
The French plan is for ECOWAS troops to attempt to recover control of the NE half. I can't see that happening though. The only African troops in ECOWAS with any desert experience are Burkina and Niger. They would have to rely on French armour and air support.
It'll be interesting to see the outcome of the cabinet meeting today. UK top brass are apparently opposed to intervention, but there will be a lot of political pressure on Cameron to lend more support. French are also piling on pressure to Germans and Italians. Wouldn't be surprised if we end up giving more air support.