Vol. 75/No. 42      November 21, 2011

Under the direction of the U.S. military’s Africa Command—through which Washington is expanding its foothold on the continent—U.S. Reaper drones are now flying into Somalia from an air base in Arba Minch in southern Ethiopia, reported the Washington Post.

The Ethiopia base is one of three ringing the Horn of Africa from where U.S. aerial drones are deployed. The other two include a recently reopened base in the Seychelles Islands—southeast of Somalia—and the large U.S. base in Djibouti to the north where some 3,000 U.S. troops are stationed. Drones launched from the Djibouti base also fly missions over Yemen.

Under debate within the Pentagon and State Department, according to the New York Times, is whether in addition to using drones to kill individuals targeted for assassination, to also conduct so-called signature strikes. Similar to police profiling in the U.S., “signature” drone assaults target unknown individuals and groups of people based on location and patterns of observed behavior.

In Pakistan, where the majority of drone attacks are signature strikes, the flying remote-controlled robots have killed 1,500 “suspected militants” since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, according to U.S. government officials, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Washington has developed a four-prong strategy for increased involvement in Somalia, reports the Atlantic monthly. This includes supporting some 10,000 African Union troops, primarily from Uganda and Burundi, in operations around Mogadishu; enlisting Somali “warlords” and other armed groups—many former opponents of the transitional government—to fight al-Shabab; recruiting indigenous CIA “assets” to build up the imperialists’ network of spies; and drone strikes to assassinate al-Shabab leaders.

According to the London Times, “U.S. trainers have been assigned to help Ugandan troops to provide security for the embattled Somali Government in Mogadishu and American special forces are reported to have been operating from a US military base on Manda Island, 30 miles south of the Somali-Kenyan border.”  
 
Kenyan troops invade Somalia
In mid-October some 4,000 Kenyan troops invaded southern Somalia. One of their goals is to gain control of the Somali port town of Kismayo, an al-Shabab stronghold. While U.S. officials denied playing a role in the operation, Kenyan military spokesman Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir said that Washington has provided “technical assistance,” reported the Post.

Washington’s expanded military presence in the Horn of Africa includes the use of special forces off the Somali coast. An article in the November 7 Army Times, titled “Hunting down terrorists,” describes clandestine Navy SEALs missions over the past decade to set up a network of hidden cameras in Somali ports, heavily populated areas and other locations in the country. Initiated in 2002, the SEALs carried out about a dozen such missions, the paper said.

Meanwhile, an FBI frame-up operation in Minnesota has led to the conviction of two Somali women for allegedly raising money for al-Shabab. The women—Amina Farah Ali and Hawo Mohamed Hassan—both U.S. citizens, face up to 30 years in prison.

The women say they were raising funds for humanitarian aid to Somalia. The country, which has had no functioning government for two decades, is stricken with drought, famine and displacement. As many as 3.7 million are at risk of starvation, the majority in the al-Shabab-controlled south, according to the U.N.
 
 
Related articles:
U.S., Israeli rulers step up threats against Iran
Imperialist hands off Iran!
Airline, customs, port workers strike in Kuwait  
 
 
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