It had been unconfirmed that French soldiers had actually engaged in ground combat, but yesterday Adam Nossiter in Bamako reported for the New York Times’: ‘French soldiers have battled Islamist militants in direct clashes on the ground in central Mali since just after landing last week, according to officials, and fighting continued on Thursday as hundreds of French reinforcements arrived. The ground battles expanded the campaign against the militants, who have seized much of the nation, beyond the airstrikes used initially. ‘ Well, since the French sent in Foreign Legion Cavalry, these must have been the forces used alongside the Malian troops to regain Kona and Diabaly, it would seem...?