Somalia - Here we go again

[steve_bank]

Representatives from Africa have complained they do not get the attention that Ukraine is getting from the west. It seems like every time we try to help in Africa it goes bad. Blackhawk Down A lot of people who hate us and just don't want us there.

It is riddled with ethnic, tribal, and religious factions.

Now we are going to chase the Al Shabaab boogeyman again. You'd think we'd leaned a lesson in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obbama sent troops to Africa to hunt somebody down all te while acknowledging it was a pointless exercise. Americans were kilted in an ambush.

Biden approves plan to redeploy US troops to Somalia | CNN Politics

President Joe Biden has approved a request by the Pentagon to redeploy US troops to Somalia in an effort to counter the terrorist group al-Shabaab, a senior administration official said on Monday.

www.cnn.com

N)President Joe Biden has approved a request by the Pentagon to redeploy US troops to Somalia in an effort to counter the terrorist group al-Shabaab, a senior administration official said on Monday.
The move reverses a decision by President Donald Trump to withdraw all US troops from the country in 2020.
The US will reposition US forces in east Africa and move to restore a US military presence in Somalia in consultation with the Somali government, the official told reporters on Monday. The official said "under 500" troops will be sent back into the country but declined to provide a precise number. He emphasized, however, that the Pentagon "will not be restoring the full contingent of operators present in Somalia before" the previous administration's withdrawal, which was about 750 military personnel.
The official described the Trump administration's withdrawal as "abrupt and sudden," and said that al-Shabaab "has unfortunately only grown stronger" since then.


"We have seen, regrettably, clear evidence that al Shabaab has the intent and capability to target Americans," the official said, noting that the group had killed over a dozen Americans in east Africa in recent years, including three at a US military base in Kenya in early 2020.
Trump's decision in December 2020 to withdraw the US personnel from Somalia was part of a broader effort in the waning days of his administration to pull back US involvement in global conflicts, including in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the Biden administration believes that al-Shabaab remains "a notable priority given the threat it poses," and that a "persistent" US presence there will be necessary to counter the group.
"This is a step that rationalizes what was essentially an irrational arrangement that we inherited," the official said, referring to the Trump administration decision. "It was irrational because it created unnecessary and elevated risk to US forces as they moved in and out of the country on a rotational basis, and it gave us less pay-off for incurring that risk because it disrupted their efficacy and consistency of their work with partners."
The official would not confirm whether Biden had authorized targeted strikes against specific al Shabaab leaders, but said that a US military presence is "not the only component" of the US' counterterrorism strategy in Somalia.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Well, the lesson from Afghanistan is an interesting comparison, as bin Laden was based in Africa until he was booted out and he tried to recover in... Afghanistan. And when Clinton attempted to kill him, he was accused of "wagging the dog". Golly, if the GOP could only see their faces on 9/11... oh wait, the Dems didn't go there.

Regardless, Africa (one of the few places the US hasn't screwed up... that'd be Europe), is a nutty situation with lots of differing things going on that most Americans, including myself, just don't have time to care about. Life is stuffed with nuance, and it is simple to dismiss all things as 'it is doomed'. But to consider Biden's action and juxtaposition it with Iraq and Afghanistan is really silly. The US isn't going over there to "fix Africa".

It is most likely going there to reacquire American presence there because if it isn't the US, it'll be China. Yeah, not much of a moral high ground.

 

[Politesse]

The US isn't going over there to "fix Africa".

China already is.

And they are doing it with bridges and night clubs, not bombs. CIA chicanery and ill-advised insurgent campaigns are not the only way to involve ourselves in international affairs.

 

[rousseau]

Just popping in to remind that 'Africa' is a collection of 54 independent states with varying states of economic success or lack thereof. Culturally, Africa as a whole doesn't exist, except to give the finger to Europe.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The US isn't going over there to "fix Africa".

China already is.

And they are doing it with bridges and night clubs, not bombs. CIA chicanery and ill-advised insurgent campaigns are not the only way to involve ourselves in international affairs.

China isn't trying to fix Africa. China is trying to get Africa in debt and use that to exert control.

 

[Politesse]

The US isn't going over there to "fix Africa".

China already is.

And they are doing it with bridges and night clubs, not bombs. CIA chicanery and ill-advised insurgent campaigns are not the only way to involve ourselves in international affairs.

China isn't trying to fix Africa. China is trying to get Africa in debt and use that to exert control.

He used air quotes; I think he's aware of that. (as am I)

 

[Jayjay]

So what are they doing there exactly? Hunting down individual al-Shabaab members like a game of whack-a-mole? Or are they training Somalian military or police to deal with them?

 

[Jarhyn]

I would much rather we fought with built schools, and guards for those schools, and school bus escorts.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I would much rather we fought with built schools, and guards for those schools, and school bus escorts.

Doesn't work, defending them is impossible.