Mali's March 22 coup precipitated the fall of the country's north to a mix of secular and Islamist rebels, who now control a desert region the size of France at the heart of the Sahara.

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France says its troops will start pulling out of Mali in March, and hand over control of the vast northern desert area to African forces.

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Yet there is speculation that it could be retaliation for France's recent intervention in Mali, where Islamist groups and members of al-Qaeda's North Africa branch - al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) - had taken control of the country's vast northern desert region.

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After clashes in Konna, most opted to relinquish control of towns and disappear into the desert.

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"It is ironic that a man whose own organization is infamous for its insular, ineffective and uncertain command and control arrangements would be charged with resolving the infinitely more complex and problematic arrangements involved in Operation Desert Shield, " observed Frank J.

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But with almost all of Iraq's major cities under coalition control, it would take a major twist in the coalition's fortunes to match the toll of Desert Storm.

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After Desert Storm, we did not use our military power to take or establish control over the oil resources of Iraq or any other country in the Gulf region.

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"This is a country the size of England -- a big part of it is volcanic desert, glaciers, rivers, lakes -- so if we decide to do it we can control the traffic in such a way that we allow people to enjoy the beauty of the country without being overcrowded, " he says.

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