INTRODUCTION
Foreign military involvement in Africa and indeed elsewhere around the globe is nothing new. As noted by Falola and Thomas (2014), between 1945 to1999 out of one hundred and fifty seven civil wars in the world, more than hundreds of them saw some level of external interventions. Since the era of colonialism ended, Africa has witnessed a great deal of foreign interference in both its economic and political settings. In recent times, there has been an upsurge in foreign military engagements on the continent; mention can be made of Libya, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Central African Republic. In as much as these military operations aid in addressing pressing needs at the time, we cannot lose sight of the looming dangers ahead with specific focus on terrorist organisations and the threat they pose to regional peace and stability. In this research, the writer will try to examine some of the threats such military operations expose African states to, drawing upon lessons learnt from other areas across the world with much emphasis placed on the much recent Afghanistan and Iraq wars on terror.
The aim is to examine the profound effects foreign military action poses to Mali.
OBJECTIVES:
• Evaluate the consequence of military involvement on the ordinary Malian, taking into consideration basic supply such as water, food and shelter.
• Establish that reasons stated for military actions are sometime a pretext to hidden motives or sometimes fabricated.
• Ascertain the capability of Mali to cope with security situations after the end to military engagements.
• Identify security implications for the West African sub region and Africa at large.
• Make recommendations on how best countries can deal with issues bothering on security on their own.

LITERATURE REVIEW
This aspect of the research deals with relevant literature relating to the research topic. However, we need to understand what military intervention is. In an article titled Military Intervention, Hauss (2003) says, "There are many forms of military intervention. Until the last decade or so, military force was used most often to achieve a state's geopolitical goals of protecting and/or enhancing its territory, population, and other critical resources.” The Free Dictionary defines it as "The deliberate act of a nation or a group of nations to introduce its military forces into the course of an existing controversy.” In present times, humanitarian reasons have widely been cited for most military interventions in the world. In as much as most of the points articulated in this research seem to be looking at the problems or dangers associated with military interventions, it worth noting the significance of military interventions in some areas of the world like Kosovo. There is a school of thought, who argues the Rwandan genocide occurred due to lack of military force; the same is true of the on-going Syria conflict.
Molden (2012) in justifying the invasion of Iraq on 28th January 2003 in his State of Union Address, President Bush, stated over thirty reasons for the need to attack Iraq. He placed emphases on Saddam Hussein alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction and his links to terrorist organisations and al- Qaeda members. It is now on record Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction, a theory such as The Iraq war was all about oil holds valid in the minds of many. Writing under the headline, 'Bush Sought Way To Invade Iraq?, Leung (2009) cite Paul O ' Neil a Treasury Secretary under the Bush administration claiming there was an agenda to get rid of Saddam Hussein right from the word go. He recalls two national security meetings were a memo titled 'Plan for post Saddam Iraq’ was given to the President. The memo touched on how to occupy Iraq as early as January/ February of 2001 way before 9/11 terrorist attacks. The memo also touched on peacekeeping troops, war crimes tribunals and divvying Iraq oil. Global policy forum (GFP) is of the view Iraq’s new constitution framed with advisors close to the US seems to favour foreign oil companies when it comes to bidding for oil contracts. Clearly, the weapon of mass destruction mantra was a pretext in getting Saddam out of the way. A hidden motive as we will come to see is playing a major role in French forces operations in Mali.
Terrill (2008) identified four spillover issues because of the Iraq war; they include cross-border terrorism, flow of refugees and displaced persons from Iraq, transnational crime and potential intensification of separatism and sectarian discord among Iraq’s neighbours. The spillovers identified hold true for Afghanistan as well. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), estimates there are roughly 600,000 internal displaced people (IDPs) in Afghanistan, with a refugee population of 1.6 million living across the border in Pakistan. The UNHCR expects this numbers to increase by end of year 2014. Increasingly, Afghans are finding it difficult to access basic needs because of the security situations in their country. There is growing anxiety regarding how things will work out once allied troops finally pull out by end of year 2014.
The resulting effect of the war on terror is clear for all to see across the world. Boko Haram, an Islamic movement in northern Nigeria, is on record to have carried out reprisal attacks on Christian living in the country because of western troops killing of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. When Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale attacked Lee Rigby, a British soldier on the streets of Woolwich, Michael Adebolajo referred to the presence of British troops in Iraq as the motive behind the killing. He impressed upon the British public, to call on their government to put a stop to military activities in the Arab world or brace themselves up for more of such attacks in the near future.
In conclusion, there is ample evidence from the literature gathered to support the effect of foreign military intervention in the West African state of Mali. In the next chapter of this research, I will duel on the research methodology used in the research process.