But given al Qaeda's presence, it would be best if we struck to kill jihadis and prevent them from consolidating in Somalian territory.
We are coalition building in the area:
The US has given Kenya and Ethiopia evidence that Somali Islamists intend to launch suicide attacks inside Kenya and Ethiopia. Islamist agents would also try to assassinate "prominent Kenyans" and ethnic Somalis. That presumably means ehtnic Somalis not aligned with the Islamic Courts and its allies. Ethnic Somalis live in northern Kenya and in eastern Ethiopia.
As I said when the Islamists scored their big victory, this cannot stand. Of course, I've thought offensive action in Somalia is a good idea since November 2003 (scroll down to the 10th if you like):
More broadly speaking, I wonder if Islamofascists generally are mistaking our strategic pause for weakness. Perhaps we can't embark on major military missions yet and the Iran showdown must wait for early 2005, but we probably should be on the offensive somewhere overtly and very soon. The quiet work of rolling up al Qaeda and their friends is not visible enough.
With news that al Qaeda has used Somalia as a training and staging ground—in particluar the 1998 embassy bombings—perhaps Somalia (with the cooperation of some Somalis in the area attacked) should get some attention from Special Forces soldiers and AC-130 gunships in a very sharp reminder that we have teeth.
It would also help erase the image of the Battle of Mogadishu as a US defeat.
Maybe my predictive powers aren't bad--I just see way farther in the future than I thought!
Or maybe our enemies accurately see our weakness.
