AL-QAIDA PAPERS: AL-QAIDAʼS SAHARA PLAYBOOK

...head of al-Qaidaʼs North African branch lays out a point-by-point strategy for taking over the countryʼs north. His advice is not what you might expect: He advises them to be gentle with the population, and he compares their jihad in Mali to a newborn learning to walk. “We must ease its burden, take it by the hand, help it and support it until it stands.”