US Military Considering Attacks on Somalia?

Obama may be advised to militarily attack Somalia. That would be a terrible idea.

By Jeremy Scahill

Now this is really what is not needed. Bloomberg News is citing US Defense officials as saying the “U.S. military is considering attacks on pirate bases on land:”

The military also is drawing up proposals to aid the fledgling Somalia government to train security forces and develop its own coast guard, said the officials, who requested anonymity. The plans will be presented to the Obama administration as it considers a coordinated U.S. government and international response to piracy, the officials said.

No surprise, the right-wing Heritage Foundation is rooting for a US invasion. “There really isn’t a silver-bullet solution other than going into Somalia and rooting out the bases” said James Carafano, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

The US has attacked Somalia at various times over the years, but the last time the US overtly tried something like this in Somalia—in 1992—forty-two US soldiers died and the infamous “Black Hawk Down” incident happened, which found US soldiers being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu prompting Clinton to pull out US forces. Oh, but it could be different this time, according to Carafano from the Heritage Foundation: “We need to be a little more thoughtful and rational” this time and develop a detailed strategy, he told Bloomberg. For what it’s worth, the news agency reported: “No such broad military effort is being seriously considered now, the defense officials said.”

But the Obama administration has convened a special group on Somalia—even before the “pirate” crisis blew up publicly. And it isn’t just the “pirate bases” being looked at for potential military action. The Washington Post reported on Saturday:

Senior Obama administration officials are debating how to address a potential terrorist threat to U.S. interests from a Somali extremist group, with some in the military advocating strikes against its training camps. But many officials maintain that uncertainty about the intentions of the al-Shabab organization dictates a more patient, nonmilitary approach.

Al-Shabab, whose fighters have battled Ethiopian occupiers and the tenuous Somali government, poses a dilemma for the administration, according to several senior national security officials who outlined the debate only on the condition of anonymity.

All of these developments in Somalia and the Horn of Africa come amidst a growing US military presence on the continent through the US military command known as AFRICOM. In late 2006, US-backed Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia and overthrew the government in an operation that was framed in the rhetoric of the “war on terror.” The invasion resulted in an estimated 10,000 deaths and more than one million Somali refugees.

The Post also reported:

An attack against al-Shabab camps in southern Somalia would mark the [Obama] administration’s first military strike outside the Iraq and Afghanistan-Pakistan war zones. The White House discussions highlight the challenges facing the Obama team as it attempts to distance itself from the Bush administration, which conducted at least five military strikes in Somalia. The new administration is still defining its rationale for undertaking sensitive operations in countries where the United States is not at war.

Some in the Defense Department have been frustrated by what they see as a failure to act. Many other national security officials say an ill-considered strike would have negative diplomatic and political consequences far beyond the Horn of Africa.

It is abundantly clear that Somalia is in dire need of assistance. But military action is not the answer.