panetta says the u.s. will not send ground troops to the western african nation of mali but it will provide intelligence and logistical support as france reports they are battling islamists who have seized part of the country. al qaeda doesn t pose a immediate threat to the u.s. but add that is their ultimate objective. to give you an idea what we re talking about, al qaeda militant groups control an area in mali, larger than the state of texas. reporter: greg palkot following the developments from london. greg. reporter: secretary panetta is in europe, portugal and spain. he is he will ising out more what the u.s. role will be with france dealing with islamists in africa. on the ground in mali here are the latest figures. 800 french ground troops going up to 2500 we re told today. they re running regular airstrikes with fighter jets and assault helicopters. the u.s. transport planes could be iced to get french troops down from france to africa. u.s. tanker planes could be