By Imogen Reed
Over the last week there have been a number of news stories trickling out information about where the United States military could be heading next, since they are slowly making their way out of Afghanistan. Could it be Somalia, where the Islamist militants al-Shabab have offered a bounty of 10 camels for President Obama, or Pakistan, where Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has confirmed that the U.S. is already actually fighting a war there. On the other hand, the majority of the U.S. Naval fleet is on its way to the Asia-Pacific region, where North and South Korea are at each other’s throats once again.
The al-Shabaab in Somalia
Somalia has had its fair share of new coverage of the years, but over the last year the uprisings across North Africa have definitely taken center stage. That’s not to say that there the region has suddenly become peaceful, far from it in fact. Pirates still operate from the country, making insuring a fleet of sea vessels navigating the waters off of Somalia extremely expensive. In addition to piracy, the al-Qaeda affiliate group al–Shabaab is operating in the country. The State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program named seven members of the Somali insurgent group, and offered a bounty for the capture of each of them. So now the leaders of al-Shabaab are on the U.S. hit list to the tune of $33 million.
The senior commander of al-Shabaab, Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, responded with this rather different offer. “Anyone who helps the Mujahedeen find the whereabouts of Obama and Hillary Clinton will be rewarded with 10 camels for the information leading to Obama and 10 hens and 10 cocks for Hillary.” This isn’t the first time camels have been offered up for the capture of a world figure, as a passage from the Koran tells the story of how 100 camels were offered to whoever could capture the Prophet Mohammed when he fled Mecca. What is being seen as a an attempt to mock the U.S. bounties on leading members of the al-Shabaab comes with a stark message from Khalaf in regards to the West, "I can assure you that these kind of things will never dissuade us from continuing the holy war against them."
The FATA Region in Northwest Pakistan
The continuing U.S. Military drone air-strikes in Pakistan have been condemned by Pakistani officials for some time now, severely hampering the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan. At one point they were allies, but this seems to be slipping away despite efforts to renew ties. The hope of realigning Pakistan with Washington was torpedoed by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last week when he revealed that the U.S. are in fact fighting an actual war inside of Pakistan. His precise words were, “We are fighting a war in the FATA, we are fighting a war against terrorism.” FATA is the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in the north-west of the country, which is the area targeted by unmanned drones.
Never before has the U.S. referred to the conflict in the area as a war, and this admission is expected to only strengthen opposition for the U.S. military presence in Pakistan. Former head of the CIA’s counterterrorism center, Robert Greiner, believes that the indiscriminate attacks taking place in northwest Pakistan are not decreasing the threat of terrorism, but actually adding to it. The increase in anti-American sentiments caused by the drone air-strikes could even result in unrest that the U.S. military may not be able to deal with. In UK newspaper The Guardian, he was reported saying, “We have gone a long way down the road of creating a situation where we are creating more enemies than we are removing from the battlefield. We are already there with regards to Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
China, North Korea and the Pacific Rim
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also let everyone know that the majority of the U.S. naval force would be directed towards the Pacific over the next decade, which some see as a challenge to China’s ever increasing military strength. Panetta claimed this isn’t the case, and said, “Some view the increased emphasis by the United States on Asia-Pacific as a challenge to China. I reject that view entirely. Our effort to renew and intensify our involvement in Asia is fully compatible with the development and growth of China.”
What is apparent though is that long-term ally of the United States, South Korea, is becoming increasingly intolerant of its aggressive neighbour, North Korea. On June 11th South Korea initiated unscheduled military exercises at the North-South border. Artillery units, ballistic missile command, and the Air Force were involved in the exercise, said to be in retaliation to a threat of rocket attcaks on media offices in South Korea. The threat of military action against one another is nothing new, but North and South Korea are both poised for battle should it ever occur, which could spark off an even wider conflict, which would certainly attract the attention of nearby U.S. forces.
The Next Target
It’s anyone’s guess which country is going to feel the brunt of U.S. military power next, but what seems to be apparent is that perhaps they are biting off more than they can chew. Robert Greiner said this about the drone attacks in Pakistan, but the same could be said of all areas of conflict where the U.S. military are involved. “If you strike them indiscriminately you are running the risk of creating a terrific amount of popular anger.”
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