Kenya Says "Enough"

Kenya has sent its troops and airforce into the area commonly known as Somalia in order to secure its borders from further incursions by the terrorist group al-Shabaab.  Amusingly, the “Government of Somalia” which controls a few square kilometers of Mogadishu, has complained of a violation of its sovereignty.  This is a charade, of course, since militias in the southern Somalia and which support the government have coordinated with the Kenyans.  

Kenya clearly has had enough of the terrorist incursions and is hardly a stranger to Somalia as it has been training their army anyway.  Although it has briefly entered Somalia in the past, this time the attack is serious.  They now join the Ugandan and Burundian troops already supporting the government. The Somali protest keeps up appearances.  

Al-Shabab has vowed to repel the Kenyans.  The last time they tried to repel a foreign regular army they didn’t do too well as the Ethiopian military quickly ripped through them.

Now may be time time to rethink the Somali problem – both regarding the pirates (whose funds sometimes end up with al-Shabab) and the terrorist group itself.  Ground operations have clearly become necessary as the Russians suggested a year ago.  They should now go forward with a plan to stop the pirates before they leave the shore.