UPI Oct 5, 2023
American troops are still in Somalia, fighting an endless war
“Popularized in the United States by the 2001 film Black Hawk Down, the Battle of Mogadishu occurred on Oct. 3, 1993, and saw the downing of two U.S. helicopters and the deaths of 18 American soldiers. Some of their bodies were dragged along city streets by Somali militants.”
Wikipedia
American military intervention in Somalia (2007–present)
Election Is Over
STARS AND STRIPES • December 30, 2024
By JOHN VANDIVER
US military presence in Somalia likely to be scrutinized by incoming Trump administration
“One of President-elect Donald Trump’s last actions during his first term was pulling all U.S. forces out of Somalia, a move that could be back on the table in a second term that carries the potential for a broader scaling-back of military activities on the continent.”
“…AFRICOM has several hundred troops positioned in Somalia, where they serve as advisers to local forces.”
“President Joe Biden in 2022 directed U.S. personnel back to Somalia on a continuous basis, reversing Trump’s order in late 2020 that resulted in some 700 troops being moved out of the country.”
February – 2025
Associated Press | By TARA COPP and AAMER MADHANI
Published February 01, 2025 at 1:25pm ET
US Military Conducts Airstrikes Against Islamic State Operatives in Somalia
“The U.S. military has conducted coordinated airstrikes against Islamic State operatives in Somalia, the first attacks in the African nation during President Donald Trump’s second term.”
“An initial assessment by the Pentagon indicated that “multiple” operatives were killed. The Pentagon said it assessed that no civilians were harmed in the strikes.”
“The Pentagon’s counterterrorism strategy in Africa has been strained as two key partners, Chad and Niger, ousted U.S. forces last year and took over key bases that the U.S. military had used to train and conduct missions against terrorist groups across the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.”
Syria too:
US Launches Drone Strike in Syria’s Idlib Province
The attack marks the first known US airstrike under the new Trump administration
by Dave DeCamp January 30, 2025
US Armed Forces Recruiting Crisis
It will be interesting to see how things play out in the months ahead.
Thousands of American families have now had a loved one who did one or more tours in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Will they support new enlistments?
Decades after the lessons of Vietnam, it feels like the people who run the Pentagon specialize in undeclared/unwon wars.
Understandable why young people and their parents and grandparents would take a dim view on all this.
If DOD was an NFL team, sports talk radio would feature comments like:
The Dept. of Defense was nowhere to be found on 911. We haven’t won a war since.
Any college or pro football coach would have been fired a dozen times over for what DOD has done with the US Armed Forces during the fake GWOT era.
Flag officers and high level DOD civilians built careers made of undeclared/unwon wars. Now they must mastermind ways to recruit a new generation.
In The News
Will there ever come a time when newspeople ask if there is any military emergency, national emergency, draft, or declaration of war, linked to the movement of National Guard troops to an overseas location?
US Army January 20, 2025
‘SMALL BUT MIGHTY’ UNIT MOBILIZES TO SUPPORT U.S. ARMY EUROPE AND AFRICA
“The Illinois Army National Guard‘s 634th Brigade Support Battalion Forward Logistics Element was activated on Jan. 20, at the Illinois Army National Guard’s Readiness Center in Sullivan for deployment to Africa and Europe.”
STARS AND STRIPES • January 6, 2025
New York Army National Guard soldiers prepare for 10-month deployment to Africa
The people of Oklahoma need services in Africa:
STARS AND STRIPES • January 15, 2025
Oklahoma National Guard soldiers get sendoff before deployment to Africa
For Your Freedoms
The freedom talk is always sounding good for federal holidays and overseas military operations.
Related:
The people of Alaska need services in the Middle East
Voice of Dissent
Below, are some random thoughts and questions newspeople will not ask. Our questions appear in bold type.
Possibly of interest:
Podcast 9 Defending The Constitution?
How Do The Troops Defend The Constitution?
Not asking about the oath of enlistment. Asking about what happens after the oath has been taken.
Love to see newspeople interview elected officials and let us know how sending US Troops to Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, etc., is somehow defending the constitution.
Look for newspeople and school teachers to ask zero questions in these areas.
Photo-
Something from the last century