US military expects at least 2 more years of combat in Somalia

The US Defense Department has presented the White House with a military plan that expects at least two more years of combat operation against suspected terrorists in Somalia, amid the escalating campaign of US drone strikes there, according to a report.

The proposed plan for Somalia would be the first under new rules secretly signed by US President Donald Trump in October for drone strikes and commando raids outside conventional battlefields, The New York Times reported Sunday, citing US officials familiar with internal deliberations.

The US military has carried out about 30 airstrikes in Somalia this year, twice as many as in 2016. Nearly all have come since June, including a bombing last month that killed over 100 suspected al-Shabab militants.

Trump’s reported new policy for the targeted killing of terrorism suspects is said to exempt high-level vetting by US counterterrorism agencies, a sign that the Pentagon does not envision a quick end to the deepening war in Somalia.

Instead, the Defense Department wants to wait two years before reviewing how the plan in Somalia is working, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Trump recently approved new rules that dismantle much of the Presidential Policy Guidance on targeted killings issued in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama.

The new rules would scrap the requirement that anyone targeted for attack outside of conventional battlefields must pose a “continuing, imminent threat” to American lives.

However, Trump did not rescind the requirement for “near-certainty” that no civilians would be killed or injured in a drone operation.

This change gives US troops greater latitude to strike individuals it considers low-level members of terrorist groups, rather than primarily targeting high-level leaders.

Human Rights Watch warned last month that Trump’s new policy increases the risk of civilian deaths.

The Trump administration should immediately publish the proposed new rules on lethal drone strikes outside conventional war zones and strengthen protection for civilians, the New York-based human rights organization said.

“Trump’s reported changes for targeting terrorism suspects will result in more civilian deaths with less oversight and greater secrecy,” said Letta Tayler, senior terrorism and counter-terrorism researcher at Human Rights Watch.

The US says it killed as many as 3,100 people from 2009 to 2016 in drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and elsewhere, but some human rights groups argue that the figure is higher.

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