Joshua Kucera

JANE'S INTELLIGENCE DIGEST: Washington's stake in the Horn of Africa

Originally published January 23, 2007

When US Air Force AC-130 gunships attacked Al-Qaeda targets in southern Somalia on 7 and 8 January, the US made a noisy public entrance into the burgeoning conflict in the Horn of Africa.

The US had already been operating in Somalia behind the scenes. Washington gave diplomatic backing to Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in December 2006 in support of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The UN-backed TFG had previously only been a minor player in Somalia, exiled to the southern city of Baidoa while rival militias fought it out in the capital Mogadishu.

The US (likely the CIA) also backed anti-Islamist militias in Mogadishu in the last few years, and when that information became public in early 2006 it seemed to give momentum to the Islamist forces, who took control of Mogadishu in June. More recently, US military officials have acknowledged that there are a small number of special operations forces now in Somalia hunting for Al-Qaeda members.

The Ethiopian invasion allowed the TFG to take power in Mogadishu for the first time, but members of the previous Islamist ruling group, the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC), have vowed to continue the fight as guerillas.

 

The US "long war"

At this point it is unclear what the future US military role in Somalia might be. But since the 11 September 2001 attacks, the US has been increasing its military presence in the Horn of Africa, believing the region to be of vital strategic importance and very likely a possible base for future Al-Qaeda operations.

JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY: Coalition patrols step up efforts against pirates

JOSHUA KUCERA JDW Staff Reporter
Tampa, Florida

February 16. 2006

Faced with a sharp rise in piracy off the coast of Somalia, the US-led naval taskforce patrolling the area has stepped up its efforts to combat brigands.

According to figures from the International Maritime Bureau, there were 37 incidents of piracy off Somalia between mid-March 2005 and mid-February 2006, compared to just two attacks in 2004.

Senior leaders at US Central Command (CENTCOM) have become increasingly alarmed at the rise in piracy and are providing additional resources so that Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150), a CENTCOM-led coalition of ships from several nations, can more aggressively counter pirates.

CENTCOM officials said that the primary mission of CTF-150 is still basic maritime security with the aim of denying radical Islamists use of regional waters. The officials were loath to give many details on the anti-piracy effort, citing concerns of "mission creep" among some members of the coalition, who worry that political problems could result from their sailors taking on expanded duties. However, the US officials said there is also an increasing recognition among US and coalition forces that piracy could be connected to Islamist terrorism. They believe terrorists could use piracy as a means of funding and more generally that terrorists thrive in ungoverned territory.

THE NEW REPUBLIC: Alliance Francaise

Gulf of Aden Diarist

Here on the front lines of the "global war on terrorism," one does not expect to be eating canapés with goose liver pâté and an onion confiture. But this is the situation I find myself in just an hour after arriving aboard the French warship Premier Maître L'Her in the Gulf of Aden, patrolling the busy sea between Somalia and Yemen. The United States believes that, along with the countless fishing dhows and cargo boats that ply these waters, there are illicit arms shipments and Al Qaeda leaders in transit. And the Americans have entrusted, of all people, the French to help stop them.

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