From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2010 - 08:05:10 EST
Pentagon eyeing drone shift to aid Somalia
By LOLITA C. BALDOR and PAULINE JELINEK (AP) -
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is considering dispatching surveillance drones and
other limited military support for a Somali government offensive against
al-Qaida-linked insurgents, U.S. officials said, part of a cautious move to
increase U.S. assistance to the anarchic African nation.
U.S. diplomats are pressing Somali leaders to detail the goals of the
looming assault, in order to figure out the most appropriate ways the U.S.
can help.
Determined to avoid a visible American footprint on the ground or
fingerprints on Somalia's shaky government, U.S. officials are struggling to
find the right balance between seizing the opportunity to take out al-Qaida
insurgents there and avoiding the appearance of a U.S. occupation.
Any U.S. moves in Somalia are haunted by the disastrous 1993 U.S. military
assault into the Somali capital - made famous in the book and movie "Black
Hawk Down." The strike left 18 U.S. soldiers dead.
American diplomats have been meeting in Kenya with leaders of Somalia's
embattled government, urging them to think beyond military objectives and
focus more on improving their governing.
U.S. officials want the Somali government to determine how to provide
services to its people once the fighting is over, and work to gain support
among more moderate groups.
While American diplomats are huddling with the Somalis in the U.S. Embassy
in Nairobi, Pentagon leaders are preparing a range of options to help boost
Somalia's weak security forces.
One proposal would move surveillance drones to the Horn of Africa from an
island in the Seychelles, where several unarmed Reaper systems were sent
last fall for counter-piracy operations in the western Indian Ocean. The
move would represent a more enduring U.S. commitment, which also would be
largely invisible to the population.
Armed versions of the pilotless aircraft have been used to tail and fire
missiles at militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, but the U.S. has
also used them in Yemen to monitor insurgents from the air.
U.S. defense and Western diplomatic officials spoke about the deliberations
on condition of anonymity because final decisions have not been made.
While administration officials said that sending U.S. troops into the
embattled country is not seen as a viable option, they say they are not
ruling out the use of small numbers of U.S. commandos when necessary for
specific operations - much as they have done in the past.
Right now, however, there are no American military advisers in Somalia
assisting the government there, and the U.S. is not managing or planning any
of the military operations. Officials said the Somali government has not yet
made any specific request for military aid.
"This is not an American conflict," Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie
Carson told reporters in a recent briefing. "It will be up to the Somalis to
ultimately resolve this conflict. The U.S., along with others in the
international community, can contribute in a supporting role, which we do
and acknowledge, but not to become directly engaged in any of the conflict
on the ground there."
Officials are concerned that any taint of U.S. interference or direct
military support will only fuel the Somali insurgency. Over the past year or
two, al-Shabab has grown from a clan-based collection of militants to a
terror organization more closely aligned with al-Qaida.
U.S. officials have become increasingly concerned that battle-hardened
al-Qaida insurgents are moving out of havens along the Pakistan-Afghanistan
border into Somalia, where vast ungoverned spaces allow them to train and
mobilize recruits without interference. Officials also warn that militants
frequently cross the Gulf of Aden, moving between Yemen and Somalia.
At the same time, young Somalis have traveled from the United States back to
Somalia to fight with the insurgents, stoking fears that they could return
to plot attacks in the U.S.
The bulk of U.S. aid that has recently been sent to Somalia has been
delivered to Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti. Several African nations have
pledged forces to the African Union's peacekeeping force in Somalia, known
as AMISOM, and there are now more than 5,000 troops stationed in the
country.
But in several previous operations the U.S. has provided intelligence and
surveillance information, and - as recently as last September - delivered a
surgical strike against a convoy that reportedly killed powerful insurgent
Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan.
The Somalis have been saying for months that government troops will soon
launch an offensive against al-Shabab in an effort to expand the
government's area of control. But widespread problems, including corrupt
officials and a lack of supplies, have delayed the launch.
Urged on by Osama bin Laden, al-Shabab is trying to topple Somalia's
government and install a strict form of Islam.
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