Last week Kenyan troops, in a surprising move, entered Somalia. The apparent trigger was the death of the ill elderly woman that Somali bandits had kidnapped from a Kenyan resort earlier. The Kenyan push has already made substantial gains along the border. The Transitional Federal Government seems even more convinced than ever that Al Shabaab has been beaten while convincing victories still haven’t taken place. Recent terrorist attacks in both Somalia and Kenya show that the Al Shabaab still poses a threat. Some fear that the Kenyan incursion will bring more violence and suffering to Somalia, but it could just be what was needed to push the Al Shabaab out of its position.

Somalia has recently made the headlines all over the world. The attention and response to the famine in Somalia, as well as the improving situation in Mogadishu, has allowed the Somali government to strengthen ties with international organizations and other states. While the humanitarian situation has taken the forefront, and while some have called out victory after the withdrawal of Al Shabaab from Mogadishu, the conflict in Southern Somalia rages on and Al Shabaab is far from collapsing and giving up control of the areas it claims.

“AirSea” battle concepts are nothing new. Discussion of their inclusion in highly escalatory and expensive unreleased battle plans is. To get a good primer on the topic take a look at any history book that discusses the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. You will be quickly immersed in the topic. US Navy and Air Force combatants worked together in the Atlantic to hunt down and defeat Nazi U-Boats enabling the allies to invade Normandy. Without the utilization of this concept, Nazi skippers may have kept allied soldiers off the shores of Europe for much longer.