The French intervention in Mali has provoked predictable outrage in some dovish quarters, and has led to equally predictable axe-grinding over Iraq amongst those more hawkish. I have no idea whether this intervention is wise, but I would be inclined to agree with any pundit with the following record of support for previous wars and interventions:
1) Support for the Gulf War
2) Support for the intervention in Sierra Leone
3) Support for the intervention on behalf of the Kosovans against the Serbs
4) Opposition to the Afghan War
5) Opposition to the Iraq War
6) Support for the actions taken to assist the rebels in Libya
Some slack should be cut for positions on the Afghan war, the success of which, like the French Revolution, it is perhaps too soon to determine. And of course there are plenty of other conflicts that could be taken into consideration, not to mention conflicts that might have been entered into but weren’t, such as the genocide in Rwanda. These caveats notwithstanding, I can’t think of any pundits with the above stellar record, but I’d be very interested to learn of them…
rorygraham 