The main part of this editorial is to voice the opinion that we must help the french in keeping islamic jihadists out of Mali. Vicki Huddleston who was ambassador to Mali from 2002-2005 states that "This conflict is not like other African wars that had only marginal effects on the West. The Islamists in Mali have linked up with Boko Haram, the Nigerian militant group that blew up United Nations offices in Abuja in 2011, and with Ansar al-Shariah, which is thought to be responsible for the murders last September of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi, Libya.