Pentagon Dismisses Reports of Scaling Back Somalia Operations
Officials say no recent policy changes in Somalia
Jason Ditz
The Pentagon has issued a statement denying weekend reports that they are planning to scale back operations in Somalia. Officials say they have no plans to cut back any of the strikes they are carrying out in that nation and will continue to support the Somali government.
After spending 2018 escalating airstrikes across Somalia, reports began emerging on Friday tht the Pentagon was pushing to dial things back a bit, on the grounds that they were running out of targets.
Now, Pentagon officials are saying those reports are untrue. Since most US airstrikes in Somalia just hit groups of five or more people in areas not controlled by the government, it seems there are still plenty of targets.
That doesn’t mean it’s not true, however. The Pentagon had similarly dismissed the idea of a drawdown in Afghanistan as a “rumor,” and it has subsequently been confirmed that the administration is considering such a drawdown after all.
After spending 2018 escalating airstrikes across Somalia, reports began emerging on Friday tht the Pentagon was pushing to dial things back a bit, on the grounds that they were running out of targets.
Now, Pentagon officials are saying those reports are untrue. Since most US airstrikes in Somalia just hit groups of five or more people in areas not controlled by the government, it seems there are still plenty of targets.
That doesn’t mean it’s not true, however. The Pentagon had similarly dismissed the idea of a drawdown in Afghanistan as a “rumor,” and it has subsequently been confirmed that the administration is considering such a drawdown after all.
https://news.antiwar.com/2019/01/09/pentagon-dismisses-reports-of-scaling-back-somalia-operations/
posted by Satish Sharma at
14:06
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