President Joe Biden has authorized the deployment of hundreds of Special Operations forces inside Somalia, according to a senior US defense official.
The decision corresponds with the Pentagon's approval of a request for standing authority to target a dozen accused al-Shabab terrorist commanders operating within the country's boundaries.
US Troops Will Return in Somalia
It also comes after the Pentagon said in December 2020 that the bulk of US soldiers stationed in Somalia would be withdrawn in early 2021. Pentagon officials claimed at the time that the almost 700 US soldiers stationed in Somalia would not necessarily be returning home, but would instead be assigned in neighboring nations or other locations.
In accordance with a senior administration source who spoke to the newspaper, the Biden administration's approach in Somalia involves killing al-Shabab individuals suspected of assisting in the development of terror plots outside of the nation - and reducing the threat to a level that can be tolerated. According to Fox News, which cited intelligence sources, Al-Shabab, which is linked to Al Qaeda, now has up to 10,000 militants.
Three officials said Biden also accepted a Pentagon request for standing permission to kill around a dozen alleged commanders of Al Shabab, a Somali terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda. Airstrikes have mainly been confined to defending partner troops facing an immediate danger since Mr. Biden assumed office.
Together, Biden's actions, detailed on the condition of anonymity by officials, will resurrect an open-ended American counterterrorism effort that has been a slow-burn battle for three administrations. Last year, he announced the withdrawal of American soldiers from Afghanistan, stating that "it is time to stop the never-ending conflict."
Analysts Criticize President Joe Biden's Approval
According to a senior administration official, the Biden administration's policy in Somalia is to try to lessen the threat posed by Al Shabab by limiting its capacity to design and carry out complex operations. A devastating attack on an American air station in Manda Bay, Kenya, in January 2020 is one of them.
Sarah Harrison, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group and the primary author of a forthcoming study on US strategy in Somalia, was among many who opposed the move. She said that the US had been trying to stop Al Shabab with military power for 15 years and that it had failed, thereby prolonging the conflict.
Al Shabab, which formally swore allegiance to Al Qaeda in 2012 and has attempted to impose its radical vision of Islam on the chaotic Horn of Africa country, is estimated to have 5,000 to 10,000 members, according to intelligence sources. While Al Shabab primarily fights within Somalia and only assaults neighboring nations on rare occasions, some militants are alleged to have plans to attack the United States, New York Times reported.
The small but persistent presence, according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, was deemed necessary to maximize our force's safety and effectiveness. The move gives new vigor to a two-decade-long worldwide campaign against terrorist groups that began in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Biden ran for president on a vow to end the United States' "forever wars," and last year drew troops out of Afghanistan in a disorderly retreat that harmed his electoral position.
About 700 US troops were stationed in Somalia until Trump ordered them to leave to fulfill his promise to bring them home. They were sent to a secret location in East Africa by US Africa Command, from whence they returned to Somalia regularly to train and advise local troops against al-Shabab.
One senior administration official, the pull-out, which occurred against the advice of military leaders near the end of Trump's presidency, but US forces in greater danger by allowing them to travel in and out of the country and disrupted their efforts to build the capacity of Somali anti-terrorist fighters.
As reported by South China Morning Post, the forces will continue their training and advisory tasks, as well as assist in the conversion of intelligence into counterterrorism operations and the preparation of offensive missions to evict al-Shabab from their locations.
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