Yes we are, but the question remains how much:
The U.S. was apparently providing the Ethiopians with satellite and aircraft photos of Islamic Courts positions. The U.S. has a large counter-terror force to the north, in Djibouti. The U.S. may be supplying Ethiopia with cash (to pay for all the gas the Ethiopians are burning in their operations). For years, the U.S. has been training Ethiopian troops for operations like this.
Shades of Croatia's Operation Storm in 1995, where a private American company (MPRI?) organized the Croatian military and planned the blitzkrieg that drove the Serbs from Croatian territory? This paved the way for America to lead Western Europe into Bosnia to separate the sides after the Croats and Bosnian Moslems regained Serb held territory in that campaign.
We've trained the Ethiopians for years. Did we help plan the conventional campaign to reach Mogadishu and open the door for the government to enter the capital?
And what happens next? Surely, the Ethiopians aren't up for an extended stay. And unless we can get some actual troops into Somalia--even UN trooops--I don't have a lot of confidence that the government can hold the gains once the jihadis regroup.
Or did the Ethiopian offensive hurt the jihadis more than I think?
In any case, this was a victorious battle. But the war goes on.
