[pjw] NEWS: US drones strikes kill "ISIS" members in Somalia (AFP 11/4)

[Peace and Justice Works]

PJW supporters:
There has been so much going on these past few weeks it's been a challenge 
to figure out where to start. The death of four US green berets in Niger 
was horrifying enough on its own; adding to the news about the President's 
poor follow up to the families we learned about 150 troops who were 
stationed there as part of a "counterterrorism" operation in Mali.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-troops-niger/story?id=50559788

Senators were "shocked" to learn about 1000 troops deployed in Africa-- 
but the actual number is 6000.

http://www.businessinsider.com/senators-us-troops-africa-pentagon-2017-10

There are 55 internationally recognized coutries in Africa, and the US has 
had troops in at least 35 of them since early 2013.

http://johnpilger.com/articles/the-real-invasion-of-africa-is-not-news-and-a-licence-to-lie-is-hollywoods-gift

CNN reports that the deployment of more troops to Niger by President Trump 
violates the War Powers Resolution.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/24/opinions/deploying-us-armed-forces-in-niger-is-unlawful-opinion-gurul/index.html

I also wanted to write about the racist and violent statements coming from 
President Trump about the man from Uzbekistan who horrifyingly mowed down 
civilians in New York the other day-- clearly upping the ante on his 
anti-immigrant rhetoric, and threatening to put the suspect in Guantanamo 
(which is down to about 40 inmates and should just be closed!) as an 
"enemy combatant" and to put him to death. Oh, and saying he and those
who commit such acts are "animals," adding to his de-humanizing of "the 
other." (I talked a little about this last night at the PPRC Friday 
Rally-- which incidentally marked 16 years of them holding down the 
corner of Pioneer Courthouse Square, week by week, rain or shine!)

Anyway, the reason I finally was pushed into sending this email is that 
Trudy sent over the below article that the US drone war on Somalia, which 
has been in an uptick all year, has now expanded to the people the US says 
are part of the Islamic State. (Note that the spokesperson said there were 
"no civilians" in the area, even though technically even if they are part 
of ISIS the people are still not members of a country's military.)

So while we need to continue to look at US presence in the "Middle East," 
Asia, Europe, and Central and South America let's not ignore the "Africa 
Command" as another place to call for all the troops to come home now.
dan h
peace and justice works iraq affinity group

  http://www.firstpost.com/world/us-conducts-drone-strikes-against-islamic-state-fighters-in-somalia-for-first-time-kills-several-terrorists-4192551.html
US conducts drone strikes against Islamic State fighters in Somalia for first
time, kills 'several terrorists'
AFP Nov, 04 2017 10:14:35 IST

    Washington: The US has conducted a pair of drone strikes against
    Islamic State fighters in Somalia, the first time America has hit the
    jihadists in the Horn of Africa nation, officials said.

    The strikes occurred in northeastern Somalia and killed "several
    terrorists," the US military's Africa Command said in a statement .

    According to Voice of America, which cited the chairman of the town of
    Qandala in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, six missiles hit an
    Islamic State base in Buqa village, 60 kilometres away.

    "Local residents and pastoralists were shocked and fled from the area,"
    Jama Mohamed Qurshe told VOA.

    AFRICOM spokesman Lieutenant Commander Anthony Falvo said no civilians
    were in the vicinity of the strikes.

    "They struck their intended targets," he told AFP, noting these were
    the first anti-Islamic State air strikes in Somalia.

    The first strike occurred around midnight Somalia time (0300 GMT) with
    the second strike coming at about 11:00 am.

    In recent months, the US has repeatedly hit Somali jihadists from the
    Shabaab rebel group that is aligned with Al-Qaeda, but yesterday's
    development marks a significant step in the ever-evolving war against
    Islamic State.

    "US forces will continue to use all authorised and appropriate measures
    to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats," AFRICOM said.

    Islamic State claimed its first suicide attack in Somalia in May,
    killing at least five people as it stepped up activities in a region
    dominated by the Shabaab.

    The militants are led by former Shabaab cleric Abdiqadir Mumin, who
    switched allegiance from Al-Qaeda to Islamic State in October 2015 and
    was named a "global terrorist" by the US State Department in August.

    Mumin was born in Puntland and lived in Sweden before moving to the UK
    in the 2000s, where he was granted British citizenship.

    Published Date: Nov 04, 2017 10:14 am | Updated Date: Nov 04, 2017
    10:14 am