Proxy fight in Africa heats up(Somalia).

[burahadeer]

U.S targeting Somali terrorists

Campaign includes

regional troops,drones

 

BY CRAIG WHITLOCK

 

The Obama administration is intensifying it's campaign againest al-Qaeda affiliate in somalia by boosting the number of proxy forces in the war-torn country,expanding drone operations and strengthening military partnerships throughout the region.In many ways the american role in the long running conflict is shaping up as the opposite of the wars in Iraq & Afganistan:relatively inexpensive,with limited or hidden U.S footprints.

While the white house has embraced the strategy as a model for dealing with failed states or places inherently hostile to an american presence,the indirect approach carries risks.Chief among them is a lack of control over the proxy forces from uganda, burundi & somalia as well as other regional partners that Washington has courted & financed in recent years.All told U.S has spent more than $500 million since 2007 to train & equip east african forces in an attempt to fight terrorism & bring a measure of stability in Somalia.Kenya for example,sent thousands of troops last month to fight al-shabab despite U.S concerns that the invasion could backfire & further destabilize a country ravaged by two decades of civil war.This week Ethiopia sent its own,smaller forces across the border,according to somalis.The ethiopian gov't has denied but acknowledged it's considering a military offensive.The U.S has small clandestine missions carried out by special operations forces & has stronger presence around somalia's perimeter; 3000 troops & unmanned drones in jibouti.Also at Manda bay in kenya-50 miles from somali border & at Arba Minch in Ethiopia.Roba Sharamo, the head of the institute for security studies in Nairobi,said the U.S may be sharing satellite imagery & other intelligence."because of the political sensitivities around somalia,the U.S can't necessarily say,"we are involved," he said.The administration hasn't criticised Kenya or ethiopia saying they have the right to defend themselves,but has urged both to withdraw as soon as possible.

Analysts said that no matter how much the Obama administration invests in proxy or somali security forces,it won't be able to ease somalia's chronic instability without a political solution involving it's many clans."the political track isn't there to push back an insurgency,"said J. Peter Pham,director of the Atlantic council's Michael S.Ansari Africa Center.Even if the Kenyan,Ethiopian & African union troops rolled up military victories againest al-shabab,he predicted,the Islamist movement would eventually return in some form."It's like the tide coming back,"Pham said.

[burahadeer]

Long article,just picked what I thought important.Reaper drones also flying from Seychelles.

[omar12]

Analysts said that no matter how much the Obama administration invests in proxy or Somali security forces, it won’t be able to ease Somalia’s chronic instability without a political solution involving its many clans.

Most important sentence in the article. It'd be nice if things were like in the movies, where "shock and awe" worked. But real life just isnt like that.

[burahadeer]

damn right..