American defense officials met with the Ugandans:
Secretary Shanahan recognized that Uganda has been in Somalia for 10 years and thanked Minister Mwesige for his country's contribution to security there. He also acknowledged those Ugandan lives lost in Somalia. He expressed his understanding of the frustration with the pace of progress in Somalia but also his confidence that progress is being made.
The leaders discussed how to best help the Horn of Africa move forward toward stability in Somalia. The U.S. Department of Defense continues to support Ugandan forces in Somalia with equipment including Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles and five new Huey-2 helicopters, which were delivered yesterday.
Weapons are nice, but the Ugandans probably don't like feeling all alone on point in that dismal place, Somalia. Our military help to combat the Lord's Resistance Army was nice and all that, but Somalia is a jihadi-infested Hell hole.
I wonder how much of our more aggressive stance in Somalia is designed to keep African nations like Uganda committed to keeping troops in Somalia rather than walking away in frustration.
UPDATE: Another strike:
The U.S. military said on Monday it had carried out an air strike against Islamic State militants in northeast Somalia, killing one person.
Sadly, only one jihadi was killed. Let's hope he was an important one.
