A big gamble

摘要

The Kenyan invasion of Somalia is a perhaps unavoidable risk SINCE Kenya became independent in 1963, its foreign policy has been determinedly non-interventionist. Its armed forces have seen little action at home and even less abroad. That changed this week when several thousand Kenyan troops invaded neighbouring Somalia.The Americans claim that the offensive took them by surprise. That is hard to believe, especially since several of the missiles fired at jihadist fighters hidden in the mangrove swamps on the Somali side of the border seem to have been firedfrom American drones or submarines. France is also reported to have bombarded settlements near the Somali port of Kismayo, a base for the al-Qaeda-linked Shabab militia.