Winning the (Quiet) War on Terror

See this article from the Christian Science Monitor. This "quiet war" rarely makes the news, and when it does, no one pays much attention. Why? Because it's not as sensational (read "doesn't promote the media's political agenda" here) as news coming out of Iraq or Afghanistan...and because it is having a large measure of success. CJTF-HOA is doing some outstanding work cutting al-Qaida off at the knees in the countries of east Africa, with the one exception of Somalia where they are forbidden to operate.

HOA is an outstanding example of how you defeat an insurgency...you cut it out at the roots before it has a chance to grow. This is known in military parlance as "theater engagement", the process of showing the flag in conjunction with humanitarian operations (i.e. vaccinating kids, digging wells, building schools, training local military, etc.). Theater engagement allows you to bring the "soft power" of the military to bear on a problem in a way that lingers in the mind of the host nation population when al-Qaida comes knocking. You earn their trust through good works and a professional example...and it works.

Cynics say you are just buying off the local population by providing them with things their host nation government cannot.

Yeah...so what.

It is effective and not to mention a hell of a lot less expensive, less complicated, and less taxing for the military. The American taxpayer's money is well spent. When done with the consent of or in conjunction with the host nation, it builds political good will and provides national security in one shot.

You cannot ask for more than that...