Remote Drone Wars

The U.S. is waging more than one undeclared war around the world. One of them takes place in one of Africa's most destitute countries in the Horn of Africa. This past weekend, the Pentagon reported that 150 people were killed by a combined aircraft and drone strike against the Islamist militant group al-Shabab in Somalia. Apparently a graduation ceremony at a training facility 120 miles north of Mogadishu was hit.

If correct, it would be the deadliest such attack since the covert campaign in Somalia began in 2001. Previous attacks concentrated on targeting leaders of the extremist group which is affiliated with al-Qaeda. Al-Shabab carried out an attack on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in 2013. According to a Pentagon spokesperson, it was now planning a major attack on African and U.S. forces in the region.

According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, elite troops from the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) are also routinely deployed on the ground in Somalia “for surveillance, reconnaissance, and assault and capture operations.” JSOC has its own fleet of armed drones, which are flown from various bases in the region. Also, Kenya and Ethiopia have a military presence in parts of Somalia.