Welcome to the next expansion of the U.S.’ shadow wars against terror groups worldwide. African peacekeepers fighting al-Qaida’s allies in Somalia are about to get their first drones, courtesy of the Pentagon.
They’ll be starting out small.Both arriving Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and future CIA director David Petraeus expressed worry about the potency of Somali terror group al-Shabaab during their confirmation hearings earlier this month. They must not be the only ones. Under a proposed $45 million counterterrorism package, Uganda and Burundi, two major contributors to the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia will get four small unarmed Raven drones.
