Who is al-Shabaab & why are they attacking a US military base?

Jihadists have attacked a military base where US soldiers train commandos in Somalia.
Local residents reported heavy blasts and gunfire at Baledogle airport in the southern Lower Shabelle region this past Sunday.
The al-Shabaab militant group said it had carried out the attack, using a car bomb to blast through the gates before sending its fighters inside.
Military officials say the jihadists were repulsed without breaching the perimeter fence.
No casualties were reported among the Somali military.
In a statement, US Ambassador Donald Yamamoto praised the Somali military for their “alertness and swift response”.
“This attack yet again demonstrates al-Shabab violently opposes progress towards peace and prosperity in Somalia,” he said.
So who are these guys?
Once again, the national media has left us hanging. They reported the attack as if it was no big deal.
Much more important to talk about impeachment hearings.
This drives me crazy. We need to wake up people. Since when is it ok to attack a US military base?
While our government continues to drive us all crazy with their political accusations on both sides, the world around us continues to deal with real, extremely serious, problems.
The Syrian Civil War continues, rockets still fall on Israel, Iran bombs Saudi Arabian oil facilities, Hong Kong is in flames, and yet, we sit here in the dark, like some third world country.
So, here we go. My feeble attempt to bring you the real news as to who attacked our base.
Al-Shabaab means The Youth in Arabic.
It emerged as the radical youth wing of Somalia’s now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts, which controlled Mogadishu in 2006, before being forced out by Ethiopian forces.
There are numerous reports of foreign jihadists going to Somalia to help al-Shabaab, from neighboring countries, as well as the US and Europe.
It was banned as a terrorist group by both the US and the UK and is believed to have between 7,000 and 9,000 fighters.
It has imposed a strict version of Sharia law in areas under its control, including stoning to death women accused of adultery and amputating the hands of thieves.
What are its links to other jihadists?
In a joint video released in February 2012, then al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane said he “pledged obedience” to al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri.
There have also been numerous reports that al-Shabaab may have formed some links with other militant groups in Africa, such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, based in the Sahara desert.
Al-Shabaab debated whether to switch allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) group after it emerged in January 2014.
It eventually rejected the idea, resulting in a small faction breaking away.
Al-Shabaab is currently led by Ahmad Umar.
The US has issued a $6 milllion reward for information leading to his capture.
How dangerous is the group?
Somalia’s government blamed it for the killing of at least 500 people in a huge truck bombing in the capital Mogadishu in October 2017. It was East Africa’s deadliest bombing. Al-Shabaab, however, did not claim responsibility for it.
It did confirm carrying out a massive attack on a Kenyan military base in Somalia’s el-Ade town in January 2016, killing, according to Somalia’s then-President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, about 180 soldiers. The Kenyan military disputed the number, but refused to give a death toll.
It has also staged several attacks in Kenya, including the 2015 massacre at Kenya’s Garissa University, near the border with Somalia.
A total of 148 people died when gunmen stormed the university at dawn and targeted Christian students..
In 2013, its gunmen stormed the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, resulting in a siege which left at least 67 people dead.
During the 2010 football World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands, it bombed a rugby club and a restaurant in Uganda’s capital Kampala, killing 74 people watching the match.
How much of Somalia does al-Shabab control?
Although it has lost control of most towns and cities, it still dominates in many rural areas.
It was forced out of the capital, Mogadishu, in August 2011 following an offensive spearheaded by about 22,000 African Union (AU) troops, and left the vital port of Kismayo in September 2012.
The loss of Kismayo has hit al-Shabaab’s finances, as it used to earn money by taking a cut of the city’s lucrative charcoal trade.
The US has also carried out a wave of air strikes, which led to the killing of the group’s leader, Aden Hashi Ayro (aye ee roh), in 2008 and his successor, Ahmed Abdi Godane (go don ay).
In March 2017, US President Donald Trump approved a Pentagon plan to escalate operations against al-Shabab.
The US has more than 500 troops in Somalia and conducted 30 airstrikes in 2017, more than four times the average number carried out in the previous seven years, according to The Washington Post.
Although the military operations are weakening al-Shabaab, the group is still able to carry out suicide attacks and has regained control of some towns.
The African Union is reducing its troop presence – about 1,000 have left and a further 1,000 are due to leave this year.
This follows a cut in funding by the European Union (EU), amid allegations of corruption within the AU force, made up of troops from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
So what exactly is happening in Somalia?
Somalia has not had an effective national government for more than 20 years, during which much of the country has been a war-zone.
Al-Shabab gained support by promising people security. But its credibility was knocked when it rejected Western food aid to combat a 2011 drought and famine.
With Mogadishu and other towns now under government control, there is a feeling of optimism and many Somalis have returned from exile, bringing their money and skills with them.
Basic services such as street lighting and rubbish collection have resumed in the capital.
But Somalia is still too dangerous and divided to hold democratic elections – the last one was in 1969.
So, its parliament and president are elected through a complex system, with clan elders playing an influential role in the process.
So now back to the recent attack on our air base.
What triggered all this?
In a speech in December outlining the US’ Africa policy, President Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton said “terrorists operating in Africa have… repeatedly targeted US citizens and interests”.
He gave the impression that there would be no let up in the struggle against militant Islamist groups, such as the Somalia-based al-Shabaab.
In March 2017, the Pentagon received White House approval to expand its fight against the militants in the Horn of Africa nation.
Commanders now no longer require high-level vetting to approve strikes on al-Shabab in “areas of active hostilities” in Somalia.
“It allows [us] to prosecute targets in a more rapid fashion,” said General Thomas Walhauser of US Africa Command (Africom).
The move has seen increased attacks by aircraft, as well as the first public deployment of US boots on the ground since 1993 to “advise and assist” Somali government troops.
Africom carried out at least 46 confirmed airstrikes in Somalia in 2018, following the previous record of 38 in 2017, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ).
Some single strikes have focused on large groups of militants. For example, about 60 were killed on October 12th around Harardere in the central Mudug region, in what was the largest airstrike of its kind in nearly a year.
Other strikes focused on individuals, such as the lone militant targeted and killed six days earlier in Kunyo Barrow in southern Somalia.
Compared to previous years, 2017 and 2018 marked a significant increase in US action against al-Shabaab.
In fact, at least 538 people have been killed in these airstrikes since the beginning of 2017 – far more than the previous 10 years combined – although not every strike was recorded to have killed someone.
Africom says the “airstrikes reduce al-Shabaab’s ability to plot future attacks, disrupt its leadership networks, and degrade its freedom of maneuver within the region”. This shows that every trace of the group is considered a threat.
Tthe strikes are part of a wider pattern that has ranged from targeting top commanders to the rank and file who make up the group’s visible presence on the ground.
But apart from one senior al-Shabaab commander, Ali Mohamed Hussein, killed in a joint US-Somalia military raid in the southern Lower Shabelle region in August 2017, few have been significant enough to be reported on by the US since President Trump approved the expansion of military operations in Somalia.
Al-Shabaab militants, like other jihadist groups, are well aware of the threat from the skies.
According to a senior regional security official, the fighters now avoid congregating in large groups. They move in units of three or four and only converge to carry out attacks, including on bases of African Union troops and Somali government forces.
Despite the increased strikes, al-Shabaab’s core capabilities remain solid.
The group has not lost control of territory in central and southern parts of Somalia, where it is trying to set up its own administration, including raising taxes from the local population.
These are vast areas – far larger than the urban centers that the federal government controls in the same regions.
Bill Roggio and Alexandra Gutowski of the Long War Journal conclude that this reflects al-Shabab’s primary goal, adopted from al-Qaeda, which is “to overthrow local governments and create emirates which will eventually form into an Islamic caliphate”.
The jihadist group has displayed its confidence through attacks such as the ambush last June on a combined force of Somali, Kenyan and American troops in Jamame town in southern Somalia, in which a US special forces soldier was killed.
Despite the insistence of the Somali government that the group has been eliminated from the capital, Mogadishu, one of its leaders, Ali Dhere, was recently photographed hosting a charity event near the city.
Al-Shabaab still mounts occasional forays into neighboring Kenya’s border regions carrying out ambushes and explosive attacks on security forces, and it often publishes videos documenting these incidents as part of its media operation.
The group sometimes responds to Ethiopian, Kenyan and US airstrikes by claiming that the casualties were innocent civilians, but from the US action over the past two years, there are no independent records of civilians killed.
In a statement to the BBC, Africom spokeswoman Becky Farmer noted that the US military command for Africa “has not discovered or assessed any civilian casualties resulting from our operations over the last two years”.
She added: “In fact, [we go] to extraordinary lengths to reduce the likelihood of civilian casualties, exercising restraint as a matter of policy that regularly exceeds the restrictions of the law of armed conflict.”
There are still vivid memories of America’s disastrous exit during its last major military action in Somalia in 1994.
You may remember this incident due to the release of the film, “Black Hawk Down”.
At the time, two US Black Hawk helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu.
In the ensuing battle, hundreds of Somalis were estimated to have died. Some 18 Americans and two UN soldiers were killed.
However, the Pentagon would consider the option of airstrikes today to be far less risky to US troops and possibly more effective in taking out targets.
As a result, the campaign is unlikely to be affected by the recent announcement of an impending reduction of US troops in Africa.
So far, the increased airstrikes have not given the US, the Somali government and AU troops the upper hand. Al-Shabaab will be content to retain its vast geographical control.
Even if its commanders are taken out in targeted strikes, the group has established a system to replace them and to continue the conflict for the foreseeable future.
Al-Shabab said in a statement it had launched the recent raid, adding: “After breaching the perimeters of the heavily fortified base, the mujahideen [holy warriors] stormed the military complex, engaging the crusaders in an intense firefight.”
The base, about 100km (60 miles) west of the capital Mogadishu, is said to house US special forces, Somali special forces and Ugandan peacekeepers. It is used as a launch site for US drones as well as being a training centre.
The fact that al-Shabaab managed to pull off this attack proves its enduring power, 13 years after it came into existence. It shows it is a well-coordinated force, with a sophisticated intelligence network.
The US military is also active on the ground in Somalia, training an elite group of Somali commandos known as The Shield and taking part in special operations, always shrouded in secrecy.
Al-Shabab seems impervious to the multitude of forces ranged against it, from thousands of African Union troops, to Western and other foreign special forces, to a large if fractured Somali army.
The group does far more than stage attacks on its enemies. It imposes fines and taxes, even in government-controlled areas. It provides effective – if brutal – judicial services, which are as popular with those living outside the areas it controls as those inside them.
It is essentially a governing force, and is likely to remain so until the Somali government and its allies form a credible, functioning alternative.
So hopefully, now you know who it was that attacked our air base and why.
The big question is, why do I have to be the one to tell you?
As I said earlier, the world continues on while we here in the US are led by a government and a national media that keep us in the dark and treats us like fools.
I guess I shouldn’t complain. It sure gives me plenty to talk about every week.