MOGADISHU, Somalia — On Nov. 17, two small groups of Islamic insurgents wielding rifles and rockets attacked Ugandan troops protecting a critical road junction in Mogadishu, sparking a 90-minute firefight that proved to be one of the first major tests of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia. The battle at the so-called four-kilometer roundabout — which links Mogadishu’s airport and seaport to major roads leading out of the city — left at least one insurgent dead. The Ugandans suffered no casualties. The fight proved that the 1,600-man AU mission can survive in the embattled city, according to Ugandan army [...]
The Associated Press grimly reports that “Insurgents have staged more than 130 suicide attacks” in Afghanistan this year. Something called the “Global Islamic Media Front” is demanding that Germany and Austria withdraw from Afghanistan. “NATO’s shortfalls holding back progress in Afghanistan,” declare the Canadian media. On top of all that, we are reminded daily of Pakistan’s imminent explosion or implosion, which, by my count, we’ve been bracing for since October 2001. But there is other news from the Afghanistan front — news that’s not making it into the morning papers, at least not onto the front page. Resisting intense and [...]
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ self-described “man bites dog” speech this week may be the most important national security legacy speech by any member of the Bush administration. Advocating greater funding and development of U.S. soft power capabilities, Gates was not in fact breaking new ground for a Department of Defense official; but his articulation of the need for such capabilities in a broader, 21st century context gave his remarks a refreshing relevance beyond the political and into the realm of the strategic. Escaping the morass of “long war” rhetoric, Secretary Gates may have written the first chapter in the [...]
