The head of Africa Command, Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, has said he is exercising caution in using his new authority to launch American-led missions, taking into consideration the difficulty of conducting operations amid a population of civilians on the move in search of food, and aid workers scrambling to provide it.
And though General Waldhauser’s caution comes amid increased scrutiny on control that Mr. Trump has ceded to the military, Trump administration officials have nonetheless begun questioning why Africa Command, which pushed hard to be unleashed, has carried out no operations under its new authority. Several said a meeting next week on the topic is under consideration for interagency policy talks organized by the National Security Council staff.
US Forces are in Somalia to aid, train and offer intelligence to Somali military, which carried out the raid overnight Friday on the Islamic militant/terrorist group Al-Shabab’s official radio station in the village of Dar es Salam about 65 km west of Mogadishu.
US military held back as Somali forces conducted the raid, but then came under small arms fire that killed a Navy SEAL, wounded two others along with a translator. Voice of America
Names of the US troops have not been released.
The raid comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has given the American military broader authority to conduct operations in Somalia, freeing them from restraints former President Obama had in place against raids that risked killing civilians there.
The head of Africa Command, Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, has said he is exercising caution in using his new authority to launch American-led missions, taking into consideration the difficulty of conducting operations amid a population of civilians on the move in search of food, and aid workers scrambling to provide it.
And though General Waldhauser’s caution comes amid increased scrutiny on control that Mr. Trump has ceded to the military, Trump administration officials have nonetheless begun questioning why Africa Command, which pushed hard to be unleashed, has carried out no operations under its new authority. Several said a meeting next week on the topic is under consideration for interagency policy talks organized by the National Security Council staff. NY Times
(Waldenhauser) emphasized that the tens of thousands of citizens uprooted because of the drought have complicated the military’s tracking and targeting of Shabab militants. Aid organizations also cite reports of Shabab getting involved in at least some food distribution efforts, even if only for propaganda purposes. www.nytimes.com/...
Trump’s spokesman made some comment about how important it is to Trump to keep our military safe by “building them up,” which really doesn’t explain how he’s lost two US Navy SEALS in a little more than three months in office. Couldn’t bring myself to quote that. But don’t worry. He’s building up our military.