“The troops had been on a mission to clear al-Shabaab from contested areas as well as villages the militants controlled, ‘and establish a permanent combat outpost’ to expand the reach of the Somali state.”
They’ll never succeed in this without confronting the ideology that al-Shabaab represents, and upon which it recruits among Muslims. But the U.S. military is not remotely willing to do that.
“U.S. soldier killed in Somalia firefight identified,” Reuters, June 10, 2018:
June 10 (Reuters) – A U.S. commando killed in a Somalia firefight against al-Shabaab militants was identified as U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Alexander Conrad, 26, of Chandler, Arizona, the Department of Defense said late Saturday.
Sgt. Conrad was killed and four other commandos were wounded Friday during an operation against the militants, the U.S. military said….
Conrad, and the U.S. special operations forces were fighting alongside about 800 troops from the Somali National Security Forces and Kenyan Defense Forces when they were attacked about 2:45 p.m. Friday by mortars and small arms fire.
The troops had been on a mission to clear al-Shabaab from contested areas as well as villages the militants controlled, “and establish a permanent combat outpost” to expand the reach of the Somali state, the U.S. military’s Africa Command said in a statement….
About 500 U.S. troops are deployed in Somalia.
Savvy Kafir says
Why the hell do we have American soldiers in Somalia, of all f*cking places?! Who thinks that god-forsaken mess of an Islamic sh*thole is worth one American life? And who believes that profoundly screwed-up country can be fixed?
That poor soldier was wasted, for nothing.
If we decide to eliminate some jihadi savages in someplace like Somalia, we should do it with airstrikes and AC-130 gunships.
Strangerinastrangeland says
Absolutely right.
Hari Singh says
Why? Large natural gas/oil offshore.
Savvy Kafir says
This is one more illustration, in American blood, of why we need to develop alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, and hydrogen fuel cell technology — so that oil and gas in Muslim lands become irrelevant, permanently.
abad says
+1
Savvy Kafir says
WVinMN — I’m definitely not a Marxist, and I don’t smoke dope. I’m not saying it’s all “blood for oil”. Sometimes we make war in Muslim countries for other (bad) reasons too. But our government seems to have a HUGE preoccupation with oil-rich lands that would be inconsequential except for: 1) Oil reserves, 2) The money of oil-rich Muslims, and 3) Jihadi terrorism.
It’s time to make oil unnecessary & unsellable, so those first two factors are no longer factors. Then we can focus on that other issue.
gravenimage says
What rot from Hari Singh.
abad says
I concur 100%.
There is no reason for American soldiers to be in Somalia. We need to get these soldiers back on our soil and in a fair trade off, ship all Somali Moslems in the USA back to Somalia.
J D S says
Fighting a war / wars for oil / gas…….That needs to stop ….immediately…. We just might be better if without their oil / gas and by putting all that military money into developing our own possible fuel resources and increasing our output from already established sources……
What about l that oil and gas that would be left in those foreign countries…….drop enough fire bombs in those fields to set all of the oil /gas afire. The smoke would cover the sun turning hot deserts into a frozen wasteland
thereby stopping the funding of all these Muslim Terrorist groups.
Naw…that won’t work…too messy too uncivilized too…too…too………Guess we will just have to keep fighting wars for oil and gas.
.I
DaveE says
If we do not kill them there, they will come and kill us here. They have already declared war on us. Al Shabab, Boko Haram, and the rest will not stop until we or they are dead.
Savvy Kafir says
DaveE — I think there’s some logic to the “Kill them there so they don’t come here to kill us” argument. But I’ve got two problems with our involvement in Somalia.
#1 While we’re killing Al Shabab militants In Somalia, we’re allowing other Somali Muslims to waltz right into the U.S. and settle in Minnesota or wherever — bringing their barbaric, infidel-hating worldview right into our midst.
#2 If we’re going to eliminate jihadis in far-off Muslim lands, I prefer the idea of using airstrikes and naval power, rather than American boots on the ground. (But I realize that our military gains valuable experience from fighting on the ground, which offsets the human costs to some extent, as it makes our soldiers, Marines, & other warriors better prepared for other conflicts, and therefore more likely to survive and succeed in their missions.)
Jay says
May this brave american soldier Rest In Peace ?? And we should stop all Muslim immigration from Somali into the USA! We have way too many in Minnesota already thx to Clinton in the 90s.
It’s the enemy within we must expose –
God bless America and Pres Trump! Go Trump 2020 ??????
Strangerinastrangeland says
These immigrants were the same bunch killing Americans on a relief mission (Blackhawk Down) and hijacking freighters. They built a outhouse of a nation; they can live in it.
Savvy Kafir says
Exactly. The Somalis have created a savage society inspired by their savage religion. It is pure insanity to let them bring that culture to the U.S., or any other civilized country.
JM says
Exactly. Minnesotastan is a prime example.
11B40 says
Greetings:
When I was ready to begin my world travels, my father passed on some
good advice. Eat the local food, laugh at the local jokes, and be
careful with the local ladies.
Train and advise” missions come with their own set of difficulties and Africa
probably raises that level exponentially. I’m sure that that cute O-3 staff
anthropologist-ette keeps everyone up on the latest religious sectarian,
clan, tribal, language, couture, coiffure and corruption divisions and all their
implications.
We, thankfully, only had one mission with the Regional Forces/Popular Forces
(aka Ruff Puffs) while I was on my all-expense-paid tour of somewhat sunny
Southeast Asia. We were a platoon and an augmented squad attached to a
company of locals. It was a complete mess and was called off after two of the
most frightening days I had in country. It was like herding cats on crack.
Many years later I read a book entitled “SOG” (for Studies and Observations Group)
by a guy named Plaster. It was about the Green Beret teams that went
into Laos and later Cambodia with mixed teams of locals and mercenaries.
Those guys had code words to use if they thought that their team was
going to turn on them. And it turned out that many of their missions
were compromised and NVA welcoming committees were waiting for them.
So, I just think it unfortunate that our soldiers who have the wherewithal to take on
these situations end up being cast in a light that they might not have been up to
snuff performance-wise.
Requiescat in Pacem.
Guy Forester says
Thank you for your services, and my apologies for your misuse by our so called leaders.
abad says
Thank you for your service
Hari Singh says
Will this soldiers deTh be reported in the New York Times or Washington Post? I Think not
gravenimage says
From the NYT:
“Quick Evacuation in Somalia Firefight Shows Disparity in U.S. Resources in Africa”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/10/us/politics/somalia-special-forces.html
“WASHINGTON — A medical evacuation helicopter reached five United States Special Forces soldiers in Somalia on Friday roughly 20 minutes after they radioed that they were being shelled by Islamist militants, according to a military spokesman, a prompt response that underlines the disparity in American military resources spread across Africa.
“One of the soldiers, Staff Sgt. Alexander W. Conrad, 26, of Chandler, Ariz., who was identified by the Pentagon on Saturday, died from his injuries shortly after he arrived at an American base in Kismayo, a town about 225 miles southwest of Mogadishu.”
It is true that his death is not the main focus of the article, though.
From the Washington Post:
“The Latest: Army says soldier from Arizona killed in Somalia”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/the-latest-army-says-soldier-from-arizona-killed-in-somalia/2018/06/09/86ff4b0e-6c5b-11e8-a335-c4503d041eaf_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.757005fc30bf
“The Defense Department says a 26-year-old soldier from Arizona has died from wounds suffered in Somalia.
In a statement issued in Washington, the Defense Department identified the soldier as Staff Sgt. Alexander W. Conrad of Chandler, Arizona…”
Bob Carrillo says
The irony is, that it was likely the Stolen Minnesota Taxpayer money (Recent 2 year sting: Fake Daycare facility Billing Fraud, send 100’s of Millions of Dollars and Minnesota money directly to al-Shabaab & Boko Haram, which funded the attack that killed U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Alexander Conrad, 26, of Chandler, Arizona…
Thanks to Minnesota (c)ongressmen, Keith Ellison and Tom Emmer, and others, this good man is dead…
But, what is that collateral damage, and countless lives lost, compared to bought and paid for “VOTES”???
Guy Forester says
More squandering of lives and taxpayer money on missions to people that do not want us there. Time to end this nonsense.
gravenimage says
Ramadan in Somalia: Muslims murder U.S. soldier, injure four others in firefight
………………..
This poor soldier and his family. Our presence can’t make things any better in this Islamic crap hole.
Bert Frazier says
John Gotti never hired a Muslim.
Chand says
Somalia cannot be abandoned to Alshabab. Will affect everyone. RIP Alexander.
Susan B. says
Somalians are muslim and they are commanded to murder all non muslims. Why would we defend people that want to kill us????
infidel says
Loss of even a SINGLE American soldier is a BIG LOSS for the FREE WORLD. Just imagine a world without American soldiers and a world where mad Jehaadis run riot… I shudder to even imagine.. RIP soldier..
Andy says
Thank you, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Alexander Conrad, 26 for your service
Last Post
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2FKGwZ9oMs
We will always remember you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR87LsmXzBs