KDF THE ONLY POWER TO DEFEAT ALSHABAAB

Somalia’s nasty terrorism is growing horns despite spirited regional and international efforts to tame the vice under the auspices of AMISOM.

 The fight against Al-Shabaab is a matter of grave security concern more than ever before for Kenyans.

Increasingly, KDF soldiers are clashing with Shabaab terrorists whom they routinely annihilate but sustain casualties in the process.

Hunting a terrorist was never an easy due asymmetrical nature of terrorism threat. Yet defending our national values and sovereignty remains a top priority and can never be a difficult undertaking.

First all, we must thank our gallant soldiers for their commitment and service. Their heroic action on the battlefield in defense of our values and national interests is a highly commendable job.

 And in every encounter with the enemy, there have been, not one but countless acts of valor by KDF soldiers.

The People of Kenya and their families can only be proud and grateful for all the sacrifices our soldiers make on their behalf.
The process of defeating an enemy starts and ends with intelligence.

Full understanding of enemy behavior and characteristics is a fundamental aspect and prerequisite before drafting an effective operational plan and taking measures to defeat him.

Much as terrorists are considered asymmetrical forces with no clear cut strategy and doctrine for combat, there is an abundant operational experience which suggests that sustained offensive actions against the terrorist organization is what gives profound operational advantages to mainstream counter-terrorism forces to disrupt terrorist ongoing and future operations.

In Somalia, a trend which should be noticeable to security actors is that Alshabab is not showing any signs to surrender despite the huge losses it continues to incur in terms of loss of territory and personnel.

On the contrary, what is clearly happening is a surge of emboldened terror offensive operations being mounted deliberately against mainstream forces.

More significantly, Kenyan troops under AMISOM have become a high-value target highly sought for by extremist elements going by the two major face-offs in El Ade and Kolbiywo.

Kenya Defence forces (KDF) is arguably one the best trained forces in Africa. Hence, security analysis to cushion blame for El Ade and Kolbiyo setbacks is a very problematic discourse to have.

The rule of thumb in any combat scenario is to feed fire with fire. And the outcome depends on how well antagonist forces execute their respective scheme of maneuver to achieve end state.
Apparently, as it seems to me, the cataclysmic fallout in El Ade a year ago was most likely precipitated by intelligence failures and operational inadequacies. It’s absolutely ludicrous lessons learned did not suffice to avert another deadly clash.

The fight against Alshabab is far from over. Withdrawing KDF troops from Somalia is either not a panacea to the challenges we face.

Stopping another deadly assault from a vicious enemy must be our foremost preoccupation. KDF operational cell need to work overtime to tailor a force protection plan - solutions which must provide for measures to counter VBIEDS within a safe distance, guard against terrorist suicide agents into secure zones, strengthen counterintelligence/Operational security, and firepower.

At the national policy level, the aspect of disenfranchised youth being radicalized and drafted to join separatist groups must be addressed in a pragmatic way.

Knee Jerk prescriptions and ineptitude only adds to expose the sheer depth of inefficiency in government.

Kenyan currently has no tangible program aimed at addressing radicalisation of the nation’s youth – particularly the large unemployed Muslim youth population at the coast and north eastern regions.