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2008-08-17 Africa Horn

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Posted by Fred 2008-08-17 00:00|| || Front Page|| [6 views ] Top
File under: Islamic Courts

#1 This seems to be a pattern for the Brave, Brave Lions of Islam: find a group of civilians to blend in with, shoot at or bomb some opposing military people, and run away while those civilians get all shot up by return fire. The media and 'righteous indignation' will win you the battles your bullets won't. In fact, it is so effective you can even dispense with the riskiest part and just shoot the civilians yourself and claim it was enemy fire.

Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore 2008-08-17 09:45|| 2008-08-17 09:45|| Front Page Top

#2 This seems to be a pattern for the Brave, Brave Lions of Islam: find a group of civilians to blend in with, shoot at or bomb some opposing military people, and run away while those civilians get all shot up by return fire.

Actually, it's a variation of several tactics used by various insurgencies, guerrilla groups, and Asian marxists over the past decades.

Posted by Pappy 2008-08-17 14:02|| 2008-08-17 14:02|| Front Page Top

#3 What we've seen posted about Somalia over the last couple of months highlights the need for a proactive force, rather than a reactive force. If you wait to be attacked, your chance of inflicting any damage on the attacking group is small. If you go looking for them, you'll probably end up finding - and killing - some of them. That's the difference between pre-surge and post-surge Iraq, and why the Brits had such a difficult time in Basra. Nothing is going to change in Somalia (except maybe get worse) until there's a large enough force there to do some proactive raiding.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2008-08-17 15:14|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2008-08-17 15:14|| Front Page Top

#4 So will the poisoned Khat have any useful effect?

Posted by 3dc 2008-08-17 15:40|| 2008-08-17 15:40|| Front Page Top

#5 What we've seen posted about Somalia over the last couple of months highlights the need for a proactive force, rather than a reactive force.

Therre is also a need to develop intel assets in the population.

Problems are:

The clan structure is much tighter than the tribes in Iraq are,

The Ethiopians, the AU and the troops of the rump Somali government are, at best, typical African troops and also lack sufficient intel/counterintel ability.

The money-sources backing the Islamic Courts and certain clans continue to have great influence.

Posted by Pappy 2008-08-17 22:07|| 2008-08-17 22:07|| Front Page Top

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