The US back in Somalia

That’s the spirit. Never stop looking for them and when you find them – kill them. The US have attacked an al-Qa’ida hideout in Somalia targeting at least three suspected operatives.

Military sources said the targets in southern Somalia included a senior al-Qa’ida leader in East Africa and an al-Qa’ida operative wanted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 250 people. There was no confirmation last night that the airstrike had killed the al-Qa’ida targets but sources told The Washington Post that initial reports indicated the attack on the suspected terror training base had been successful.

Some may think an AC-130 Spectre gunship is an overkill but not me. Whatever it takes to eliminate terrorists is fine by me.

The US has also moved the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower to join two guided missile cruisers USS Bunker Hill and USS Anzio and the amphibious landing ship USS Ashland off the coast of Somalia.

While the US does something about Somalia, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Asha-Rose Migiro to the number two job at the United Nations on Friday, calling her a highly respected leader and outstanding manager who has championed the developing world. The Australian notes she supports Iran’s pursuit of the nuclear weapons and the internet is ablaze with stories of her name not being in the original short list. I have no problems with appointment of woman to any position but this one smacks of a token woman as Ban Ki-moon had previously pledged to appoint a woman as Deputy Secretary-General.

I would rather he had pledged to appoint the best person available.

The UN, of course, is worried that the US have actually done something as it goes against their policies of waiting until hundreds of thousands have been slaughtered before taking over and deploying troops.

Seems like standard business at the UN to me but I guess only time will tell.