the best recent example of a succesful military intervention was the French in Mali in 2013.
Islamist rebels seized half the country, beat government forces and were moving on the capital.
The French sent in a quick reaction force which stopped the rebels and reconquered all of Mali in about 6 weeks. The French allied themselves with local groups, some with dodgy human rights records, but who knew the country and had the support of the local population.
Once the country was stabilised, they turned control back to the government, which was a military junta and left.
It was not the ideal situation, but it did get rid of the Islamists and they have not posed a real threat since then.
The hallmark of any successful military intervention is:
1. Have a clear objective of what your goals are before you go in;
2. Have a realistic assessment of what can be achieved;
3. Have a clear exit strategy.
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