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Africa Horn
In Somalia, U.S. Escalates a Shadow War
2016-10-17
Long piece (of course) at the NYT which has all the hand-wringing you'd expect as a progressive liberal newspaper recognizes that their hero, Obama, is making yet another war. It's almost as if the NYT has finally noticed what we at the Burg have been saying about Somalia for quite some time -- except for my call for a wall, moat, alligators and sharks...
The Obama administration has intensified a clandestine war in Somalia over the past year, using Special Operations troops, airstrikes, private contractors and African allies in an escalating campaign against Islamist militants in the anarchic Horn of Africa nation.

Hundreds of American troops now rotate through makeshift bases in Somalia, the largest military presence since the United States pulled out of the country after the “Black Hawk Down” battle in 1993.

The Somalia campaign, as it is described by American and African officials and international monitors of the Somali conflict, is partly designed to avoid repeating that debacle, which led to the deaths of 18 American soldiers. But it carries enormous risks — including more American casualties, botched airstrikes that kill civilians and the potential for the United States to be drawn even more deeply into a troubled country that so far has stymied all efforts to fix it.

The Somalia campaign is a blueprint for warfare that President Obama has embraced and will pass along to his successor. It is a model the United States now employs across the Middle East and North Africa — from Syria to Libya — despite the president’s stated aversion to American “boots on the ground” in the world’s war zones. This year alone, the United States has carried out airstrikes in seven countries and conducted Special Operations missions in many more.
Much, much more hyperventilation at the link.
Posted by:Steve White

#6  Yes; once you know the laws, you also know the ways around them.
Posted by: Pappy   2016-10-17 20:43  

#5  Wasn't it the Donks that created and passed the War Powers Act? (YJCMTSU).
Posted by: Procopius2k   2016-10-17 16:23  

#4  But then again I can hit the breakfast table at Thanksgiving Morning and ask if anyone here can get a message to Garcia and Silky always volunteers just wants a compass direction and a piece of turkey. Luckily Garcia lives just up the hill and always has treats and is easily amused.
Posted by: Shipman   2016-10-17 12:26  

#3  Fibre optics cable? WTF you bragging?

I am 2 years behind in cable modem upgrades, I am getting old, I can't find my MUSTHAVENAO
Posted by: Shipman   2016-10-17 12:20  

#2  Hundreds of American troops now rotate through makeshift bases...

...coming back with personal impressions of the culture. I had a fascinating conversation with the young gentleman who was installing our new fiber optics cable. He'd just retired from the Army motorpool, which got him sent to Afghanistan twice. It was clear he was censoring his discourse to suit his assumptions about his audience, which I appreciated.
Posted by: trailing wife   2016-10-17 10:34  

#1  Shadow government involved in Shadow War ?

"Our business is war, and business is good."
~ Author unknown.
Posted by: Besoeker   2016-10-17 09:40  

00:00