I’ve often laughed my fellow country men’s patriotism, first of all it seems that Kenya is a very unpatriotic country aside from the odd rhetoric (of saying “I’m patriotic”) and the harambee stars and Kenya rugby T-Shirts, there’s a distinct inability among many to talk positive about Kenya. If we were patriotic I suggest we’d have clear times when we circle the wagons and dedicate ourselves to matters greater than ourselves and our differences to the greater good of Kenya. Not to say the opportunities have been lacking, we’ve had a number, most recently Migingo and the Merile incursions. Our lack of patriotism in those cases may have been slightly advantageous to the government as they were able to seek out diplomatic solutions, but the aggressors never felt the threat that our government was holding back an angry and defiant people who jealously defended their territory. Kenya is by no means a big country; 1 hour in any direction on a jet engine plane will remove you from Kenyan territory. This is all we’ve got and we have to put a highest price on it, and it appears that we have with the recent military engagements in Somalia against Al Shabaab. In brief my opinion of the whole matter is doing the pursue up to the border and no further is it is myopic in the approach and plays in to the enemy’s hands, the enemy has no respect for the integrity of Kenyan soil in its operations, limiting our military to the border does little other than afford the enemy a tactical advantage. This situation is unlike the issue of Migingo and Merile there isn’t a government to engage in negotiation therefore the country was left with little option. But that’s beside the point, the greater issue here is how some have been proven wrong. In a recent editorial Charles Onyango-Obbo highlighted the difference between the Kenyan military and those of our neighbours which reminds us that in our own way Kenya is exceedingly capable militarily. As Kenyan we shouldn’t assume our government’s long standing policy of diplomacy first as a sign of inability; rather the fact that we have been successful enough diplomatically suggests we have enough to dissuade others from the viewing the military option as viable. The least we can do is to support the boots on the ground, they’re not the ones that make the decisions they are carrying out orders. Feel free to criticize the government but give your last ounce of support to the guys who are asked to put their lives on the line so that you can sit and talk, type and live your life as if nothing has changed other than the exchange rate.
Fake military historians have suddenly emerged and have been waxing lyrical about how the incursion against Al Shabaab is doomed to fail, or set to succeed because of what the US did in Somalia, or what happened in Afghanistan. Its simplistic to look at the global hegemon/superpower and mark military success based on their activity, without understanding various factors of military import such as objectives, geography and proximity to name a few. Tactically we’re also not sure if Kenya has gone to war as the Russians have in Chechnya or like the Americans in Vietnam. We don’t have a great view of our military tacticians’ plans and strategy, and we have a fairly mute Commander in Chief who probably isn’t going to announce a Linda Nchi version of the Tet offensive so it is imperative that our speculation is borne out of fact and not out of mere conjecture. What I do hope is that we’re going in a similar objective to the US in the first Gulf War (the one they won) to slap Al Shabaab hard in the face and remind them not to mess with us, then bring our heroes home. Frankly the TFG is weak, and even if Kenya could eliminate Al-Shabaab there’s still a power vacuum in Somalia, and till that is sorted out Al Shabaab or any radical Islamic element will always have a foothold. I also hope we are working hard to lobby Middle East to support this Jubaland proposal, I know the hegemons don’t like it, but selfishly I think having a peaceful semi-autonomous buffer between us will benefit the country on several levels.
