this is a fight like no other ever before in somalia.erican drone drones haven deployed in what officials are calling the final onslaught against al-shabab. >> we whim not repeat past mistakes, we will not stop fighting until we have full control everywhere. >> reporter: these men know that they can be ambushed anywhere. so they go on foot. on the out cuts of one of the town that his they want to recapture they stop and wait. moments later, they move on. we are informed the militias who control the town have fled. it's the same story in the strategic town here on the border. the peacekeepers and somali government troops say it's been a good day for them. this is the second town they have taken without a fight. it's deserted. al-shabab ordered the town's residents to leave just before the forces came in. the offensive is aimed at denying al-shabab access to the sea. it's main mode of supply in recent years. of particular interest to the somali government is the town of al-shabab's head quarters and official port. >> translator: we know al

somalia remains a failed state. >> american action in yemen and somalia aren't nation building efforts and supporting those governments, it's about attacking groups that pose a nationally emanating threat. >> six years from this is by the administration's own admission to largest threat to the american people. that's the place we've been doing the most air strikes in yemen. it's unclear whether that has borne strategic fruit in the american homeland. if you say we're going to add another equilibrium of potential conflict to this in iraq, it's hardly -- >> in iraq and syria. >> in iraq and syria. >> we should not underestimate the fact that this president has now said we'll take it to syria, to their safe havens, he wouldn't say that a week ago. he's changed. >> he's comparing air strikes with yemen and somalia. he was not comparing the results. let's not -- he was saying that we can contain the would-be terrorism toward americans as we did in somalia and yemen. i don't think he was comparing the results of where yemen and somalia is now. >> let's bring in congressman adam schiff, a mem

a danish convert who went to somalia and cut the head off of a somalia prisoner. and they were killed in syria for a year and a half. so there were people that were sincere. >> what was the most attraction of him to all of you? what made his method resinate? what was it about him that drew this following in yeman and obviously around the world? -- yemen -- >> i think the west muslims saw him as the english speaking bin laden. i think that is the way they started to see he wasn't a show off. he didn't do it for collateral. so he was a much more devoted -- he didn't have a really bad reputation of being in the other sects so he could not do that character assassination of him. just after 9/11 he gave this famous interview in which he reputated 9/11 on behalf of muslims when he was close to here. what do you think changed him over the following years? was it a personal animosity toward the united states? a philosophical inevitablely given the circumstances and invasion of iraq. what changed him so much in such a short time? >> it was both of them. he had a score to s

and central somalia several years ago.ve now been sort of pushed back from some of their strongholds, there's been an advance by african union troops, but the group responded by sort of trying to transform itself into a regional terrorist outfit rather than the sort of big any la militia group in somalia. it's been responsible for major terrorist attacks in east africa, in uganda 2010 and attack against a restaurant popular with westerners in djibouti in june. americans see this as very serious regional terrorist threat, carol. >> was there ever a direct threat from this group to the you state? >> there's been some fiery rhetoric from the group's leaders one day they might want to strike the united states. 'not really yet had the capability to do that but there has been concern because there have been maybe around 20 americans who over the last several years joined the group, some concerned that they may be able to train some of these people and send them back but we haven't seen that happen, carol. >> and if the leadershi

somalia remains a failed state. >> american action in yemen and somalia aren't nation building efforts and supporting those governments, it's about attacking groups that pose a nationally emanating threat. >> six years from this is by the administration's own admission to largest threat to the american people. that's the place we've been doing the most air strikes in yemen. it's unclear whether that has borne strategic fruit in the american homeland. if you say we're going to add another equilibrium of potential conflict to this in iraq, it's hardly -- >> in iraq and syria. >> in iraq and syria. >> we should not underestimate the fact that this president has now said we'll take it to syria, to their safe havens, he wouldn't say that a week ago. he's changed. >> he's comparing air strikes with yemen and somalia. he was not comparing the results. let's not -- he was saying that we can contain the would-be terrorism toward americans as we did in somalia and yemen. i don't think he was comparing the results of where yemen and somalia is now. >> let's bring in congressman adam schiff, a mem

somalia from your area. can you talk to us about whether they'll be influenced by what has happened here? >> no, i don't think that will happen. when the previous leader of al-shabab was killed, that didn't have an impact, and i don't think the disappearance and the death will have an impact on that. what depends are two things - one is the ability of the state of minnesota, and the united states government to come to terms with a large number of young men, increasingly some women alienated from the society, bringing them back on board. the killing, i don't think, will have a substantial impact on the recruitment here. >> in somalia itself, is there any sense that it will draw more forces, fight against the united states? >> i don't think - i think it's a mutual question in the sense that as long as young men in somalia don't have opportunities for livelihoods because of the absence of a clear political and economic programme. despite investing heavily. i think those young men will be enticed as long as ther

one of them is sunday somalia. on sunday we could see a major attack launched on one of the prisons in mogadishu and you also have islamist militias that took over the u.s. embassy in tripoli. it had been abandoned before that. because of these groups the libyan government is unable to exercise basic functions of government. a number of other areas in nigeria where boca haram captured a major city so all of that indicates, yes, there's a lot of different front going on and interconnectedness between these actions and we shouldn't think that syria and iraq is the only thing that matters. >> rear admiral john kirby gives us the information coming out of the defense department about this. any word from either of you two as to whether this was deemed successful in terms of getting the leadership? >> from my point of view there's very little information coming out at the moment but certainly i would say that the strikes by uavs and drones will be more successful because the reconnaissance efforts by special forces have

launching attacks on somalia.re going to bring it to you after the break. >>> breaking news this morning. the united states going after terrorists in somalia. what we are learning about this new operation and just who was targeted. >> happening now, the u.s. calling for north korea to release three imprisoned americans. the prisoners calling for help in an exclusive television interview to cnn. could it lead to direct negotiations with north korea? we are live with the latest this morning. >>> the fbi investigating a huge celebrity photo hack. private, naked pictures have been released online raising concerns about the safety of icloud. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it is half past the hour. >> we have breaking news in somalia. word of a u.s. military operation targeting the al-shabaab terrorist group there. the pentagon launched this. according to somalia officials, they attacked where leaders were meeting. it is not known how many military leaders may have been killed in the strike or if the head of

launches airstrikes against al shabab in somalia this morning.xclusively embedded with forces fighting the group on the ground. >> president obama heads to eastern europe for a key nato meeting on defending the region. ukrainian forces are in retreat and say moscow was behind its loss to separatists in the east. >> targeted killing, forced conversions, object duckies,

a danish convert who went to somalia and cut the head off of a somalia prisoner. and they were killed in syria for a year and a half. so there were people that were sincere. >> what was the most attraction of him to all of you? what made his method resinate? what was it about him that drew this following in yeman and obviously around the world? -- yemen -- >> i think the west muslims saw him as the english speaking bin laden. i think that is the way they started to see he wasn't a show off. he didn't do it for collateral. so he was a much more devoted -- he didn't have a really bad reputation of being in the other sects so he could not do that character assassination of him. just after 9/11 he gave this famous interview in which he reputated 9/11 on behalf of muslims when he was close to here. what do you think changed him over the following years? was it a personal animosity toward the united states? a philosophical inevitablely given the circumstances and invasion of iraq. what changed him so much in such a short time? >> it was both of them. he had a score to s

military to somalia.here 18 troops were killed in the 1993 shoot down of two black hawk helicopters, there has been no indication that president obama will risk more casualties in ground operations there. >>> al jazeera is demanding the release of its three journalists who have been detained in egypt for 255 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed received long sentences after a trial seen by observers as politically motivated, and they are appealing their convictions. ban ki-moon raised the case with the egyptian president. >> the african union passed a new round of sanctions on russia's financial and energy sectors over the crisis in ukraine. enforcement has been delayed while the e.u. assesses whether a ceasefire is holding in the east. ukraine's president used the lull in fighting to visit the region, and is promising to defend it. from donetsk in the east, paul brennan reports. >> the fate of the city of mariupol depended to a large degree on the loyalty of the tens of thousands of

>> at that time we had somalia or sudan.hen of - - chechnya and to the military just a few years before. and those people like afghanistan and those places. >> the people that you met? like richard reid? >> i came across interestingt. people. some of those to me that with the new training camp. and then we went to europe. and then in the united kingdom my would meet different people. >> i have to say at that time actually their rollicking from those societies. >> he really tells me those who were in close ties with al qaeda on the day as of 9/11 sees the images of the tower coming down. describe the events of that day and a mosque they went to. and with the people that you were with? >> we don't have one. >> so what happened is that that time two nights before 9/11. but i have to bring my wife.:] so a few months later then we had 9/11. and then suddenly i realized i have been to a place. and then suddenly i was there. >> and then mae would turn on the radio. we went to the mosques and this was run by a fellow and he would sa

matt bridon is a researcher on somalia, and worked with the somalia monitoring group of the united nationsining us from nairobi. as when the previous leader of al-shabab was killed, another was there to take his place, and the attacks continue. will the death of god arny make a difference. ane make a difference. . >> we'll have to see whether the movement can hold itself toot. a lot has change -- itself together. a lot has changed. godane controlled the organization and personalized his rule. there are tensions within the group. there is a risk of fracture and different factions within al-shabab growing apart now that godane has gone. >> how much of a danger an al-shabab to the government in mogadishu, and other neighbouring countries such as kenya? >> there are parts of the al-shabab functioning with autonomy, especially parts involved in operations outside the country. we should expect a wave of retaliatory attacks, or attempted attacks. i don't expect the movement to cave in or violence to cease. the real key here is that the forces are depriving the al-shabab group from revenue on taxi

being able to pacify a big chunk of somalia, and now somalia is no longer in the grip of the terroristshabbat -- al-shabaab, and the country is better. i salute the international community. definitely, the united states has played a very big role, in order to defeat terrorism in somalia. and this is to take charge of that whole country so they can overcome this burden of terrorism. >> what about the change for greater safety into more economic activity and more foreign investment in uganda? >> foreign investment is important, and there is motivated investment and you must have a peaceful environment. and somalia is becoming more peaceful, and uganda is becoming more peaceful. africa will be good for investors both from within africa and from the international community. >> are there some specific industries for investors in uganda? >> yes. they would like to see tourists come, because they bring a lot of resources, and i want to say that africa has a larger resource base, and it has a rising middle class, and for investors. from within africa and abroad. >> and also, to take advantage o

coming up in this program two attacks in somalia, several people are killed and there are reports four americans are among the casualties. >>> physical stalemate in afghanistan as the two presidential candidates fail to reach an agreement on a power power-sharing government. >>> decision time for the iraqi parliament, which is voting on a new government. >>> boeing dreamliner gets a failing grade for safety after an investigation takes a look at why. >> four americans are reportedly among 15 killed in car bombings in the somali capitol. al-shabaab said that it is behind the explosions. forces are concerned that u.s. troops are helping with routine military operation. a car packed with explosives ran a convoy of troops southwest of mogadishu. a second convoy was attacked, and 15 people are reported get. you came back on saturday, let's talk about the targets. >> this comes after al-shabaab spoke. this occurred 10 miles of mogadishu. >> quite a problem. the question is who is there to stop them? >> only time will tell who will stop al-shabaab of carrying out these types of attacks. what

two al shabaab car bombs kill a in somalia, at least two are considered to be americans. i'm felicity barr. thousands of more ebola cases are expected in liberia this month. >>> iraqi placement to vote on a new cabinet. >>> a trip to the embattled city of mariupul. would you fly on a 787 dreamliner? a number of boeing workers say they wouldn't. hello, four americans are reportedly among 15 people killed in two car bombings in the somali capital. in the first attack a car packed with explosives around a convoy of african union troops. a second convoy attacked just minutes later. al shabaab says it is behind the bombings. >> somali capital mogadishu, ferocity of the blast. al shabaab fighters say they carried out two attacks in revenge for the death of their leader who was killed in a u.s. air strike a week ago. american personnel are believed to be among the dead. >> if confirmed it will certainly be a major development in somalia. i think it would be about 20 careers, you would have to go back about 20 years the last time an american was actually killed in combat or anyth

why are they focusing on somalia? officials are saying on that they can walk and chew gum at the same time. basically they had a tarring of opportunity and they went for it. let's take a listen to state department spokesman on new day this morning. >> we need to take on threats where they are coming and so without confirming any details, i can assure you that we have multiple pots on the burpder tam, in terms of protecting the american people and doing what's necessary to do that. >> that target of opportunity was a meeting of the leader of al-shabaab, an did i godane. we saw this as a tarlingt target of opportunity. it wasn't so long ago that the u.s. was having drone strikes in yemen, for instance and that could be happening at any time too, michaela. >> do we know at this time if they hit what they were shooting at? >> they don't know. they haven't even said really officially that this leader of al-shabaab was the target. in january the u.s. launched a series of drone strikes in somalia. the leader of al-shabaab wa

number two, i know that you have all been tracking events in somalia last night. you will just bear with me, i'll walk you through what i can right now. yesterday at approximately 11:20 eastern time working from actionable intelligence, u.s. special operations forces using manned and unmanned aircraft destroyed an encampment and vehicle using missiles and laser guided munitions. it was a direct strike against the al shabab network specifically against the group's leader. we are still assessing the results of the operation and we'll provide additional information when and if appropriate and i'm not going to be able to provide specifics about the unit or the intelligence itself and certainly not anything regarding tactics, techniques and procedures. the operation was located in south central somalia and resulted in destruction of that vehicle. i think it's important to remind everybody that in september of 2013, he claimed al shabab was responsible for the west gate mall attack in nairobi. under his leadership, they have claimed responsibility for many attacks. ayv

this is a fight like no other before in somalia. even the american drones are deployed in the final onslaught against the group. >> we will not repeat the past mistakes, we are won't stop fighting until we have full control ifr where. >> these men know they can be ambushed everywhere and thir going on foot. they stop and wait. moments later they move on. we are informed that the militias controlling the town have fled. it is the same story in the town. on the border of a village. the peace keepers and the troops are saying it is a good day for them. this is the second town they have taken without a fight. they have ordered the town residents to leave. offensive is aimed at denying them access to the sea. of particular interest to the somalia government is a seaside town. the headquarters and official port. >> we know they cannot survive without the port. they have been using that for the imports and traders. >> they are saying it is an operation to help the areas. >> people are isolated. they cannot receive aid or normal trade. food

and somalia is becoming more peaceful, and uganda is becoming more peaceful. be good for investors both from within africa and from the international community. >> are there some specific for investors in uganda? >> yes. they would like to see tourists a lotbecause they bring to sayurces, and i want that africa has a larger and it has a, rising middle class, and for investors. from within africa and abroad. take advantage of levels of literacy and education that exists. uganda is 75 to 85 sent literate, and people have acquired skills, but they would like to see jobs, and jobs can only be meaningfully created with this, so i am calling on the westernin world, the united states, in particular, to come and invest in uganda and invest in africa, make money, but also create jobs , to help africans and ugandans make their own money, as well. >> i want to thank you for spending time with me. the prime minister designate ruhakana rugunda of uganda. this is "taking stock". ♪ onthis is "taking stock" bloomberg. i am pimm fox. with derek jeter, mother nature might have

air strikes in somalia south of m ochl mchl ogadishu. he said that they had intelligence that led them to this location, they took out a vehicle but he was specific in saying we believe we hit what we were aiming at but would not say definitively where they got the al shabaab leader and let me, if you're just joining me, we're at the bottom of the hour, breaking news as we've seen this video of this american journalist, steve s ven sotloff. we saw the plea of his mother, shirley sotloff, pleading with the leader of this isis terrorist group basically asking for them to save her son's life. we have karl penhaul standing by. he has seen the video. he has listened to the message and he's assessed when he believes -- based upon mentions of the air strikes in amerli when this video was taken. we have bob baer joining us, kurt volcker, former u.s. ambassador to nato and christiane christia christiane amanpour. i don't know if you've had a chance -- >> i don't like to look at these things. >> i don't like to look at it either but based upon wha

drone strike in somalia apparently targeted the leader of the armed group, al-shabab.issiles were fired at the town on monday. there are reports that at least six militant were killed, but it's still unclear if the main target was among the casualties. mohammed is live for us in the capitol. any idea if they got him nort? >> reporter: not at the moment, jane. details are still sketchy. the strikes happened in a remote location where the headquarters of al-shabab situations, actually the convoy that was targeted was heading towards the lower region when the strikes happened. a source close to al-shabab confirmed the strikes happened and that the convoy was carrying syria al-shabab leaders. it was confirmed that there could be death. however, they deny that the man who leads al-shabab and who is known was not in the convoy. this is what they are saying right now. however, it's very difficult to confirm that dentally. on the march against al-shabab fighters, the secrets of southern somalia are awash with troops as forces go against al-shabab militias. this is a fight like

our approach has not worked in yemen and somalia. and so that example -- the obama/clinton foreign policy has been characterized by photo op foreign policy, by focusing on a press release. and so to date there have been some air attacks, there's been a missile here or bomb there. nation. toipt ask you why you keep calling it the obama/clinton policy. i assume you're referring to hillary clinton. but in her defense, senator, she along with our then-defense secretary leon panetta and dempsey were pushing obama to arm the syrian rebels years ago and the president declined to do it. she wrote about it in her book saying i pushed as hard as i could but in the end as harry truman said, the buck stopped with the president. there was only so much i could do. >> the reason i call it the obama/clinton foreign policy is because they are intertwieped. she was his secretary of state. she was charged with implementing the strategy of "leading from behind," which in effect featured the united states withdrawing from leadership in the world and crea

warplanes striking terror targets in somalia.tout the economy and blames republicans for the gridlock. >> good morning. the white house we are seeing this push and pull with all of these events overseas. what the president would rather talk about is the economy and the mid term elections. first of all what happened in somalia overnight air strikes on terror targets just south of the capital city of mogadishu. here is what the pentagon says about this. u.s. military forces against theal shab bob network. we are assessing the results and will provide additional information when appropriate. at the same time you have events playing out in places like somalia, iraq, afghanistan, syria, ukraine, you name it. the president making this pivot to talk about issues he would rather focus on like the economy and up coming mid term election. here he was yesterday at a labor day event in milwaukee. >> most of the policies i am talking about have two things in common help more working families get ahead and the republicans who run our congress

al shabaab operates in somalia. they were initially seen as the military wing of a radical religious fundamentalist political movement called the islamic courts union. and as essentially the militia for the islamic courts union, al shabaab starting in about 2006, they were doing all the things that we associate with this group and with their ilk. they were stoning people to death, they were cutting off hands and limbs. doing mass executions. basically ruling by terror. declaring a fundamentalist terror state in the parts of somalia where they had control. and it was not long before they got aspirations beyond somalia. in 2010, al shabaab launched all those attacks in uganda against people who had committed the grave sin of getting together to watch world cup soccer matches. those attacks killed more than 70 people. in 2012, al shabaab formally declared they were an affiliate of al qaeda central. declared allegiance. though they claimed credit for bombings and killings and mutilations and grenade attacks over and ove

us if the somalia government asked for u.s. help or air strikes on targets in the country? >> the united states values the counterterrorism relationships that we domain tain with the government there. in terms of the details of the conversation, i upon not in position to describe those to you at this point. but we have in the past worked closely with the government to counter this threat. as it relates to this specific mission or more generally what rt of request, i can't comment on that at this point. >> discussing the actions a tributed to this group, does the u.s. consider them to be a direct threat to the u.s. and how would you evaluate its potency compared to the other threats that we are combatting, especially the islamic state? >> well josh, what i would point out is that in some of the attacks that i listed there, there were americans or westerners who were the vsms of those attacks -- victims of those attacks. certainly under the leadership there, they have carried out rather brazen attacks against soft targets. injury

government inform somalia before it took place? >> i don't have the tick tock, but this is very much in keeping with the operations that we conduct throughout the region and in partnership with the leadership there. >> and do you know the so malia government announced the new operation combatting al shabaab and targeting hatheir access to ports. was this in conjunction with that operation? >> not to my operation. >> i know you won't speak to who was killed, but if he were to be killed, what do you think it would say about the group's -- what would it mean for the group going forward, how important would that be is this. >> without speculating about whether he was in fact killed or not, i mean, he is the recognized appointed leader of the al shabaab network in somalia. so if he was killed, this is a very significant blow to their network, to their organization, and we believe to their ability to continue to conduct terrorist atta attacks. mind you, it's a network and we understand that. and we're mindful that there remay have been o

this extremist threat in somalia has been long running. and will continue to be an issue for the foreseeable future. it's the u.s. is kind of trying to target some of the leadership there. but that shouldn't distract us from what i think remains the primary terrorist threat, which is in syria and iraq. >> and let's talk about that. a new report this morning from amnesty international said isis carried out ethnic cleansing on an historic scale and concerns are mounting about the threat isis poses to the u.s. what do the president and allies need consider as they meet in whales later this week? >> the problem is we don't have a strategy. obama himself said that. what is concerning is that if we want to defeat isis, then what it requires is a large scale multiyear effort. not just in iraq but also in syria. and that include really trying to build a third force in syria's society of so called moderate rebels. nothing obama said suggests we're up to the task, i think, which means it's not our policy to defeat isis. at least not yet. so i think

i know you have all been tracking events in somalia last night. if you will bear with me i will walk you through what i can right now. yesterday at approximately 11:20 u.s. specialtime, operations forces destroyed and it can't met and a vehicle -- and in commitment a vehicle using laserguided munitions. we are still assessing the results of the operation, and we were provide additional information when it is appropriate, and i will not be able to provide specifics about the unit or the intelligence of cells, and certainly not anything regarding to tactics, techniques, or procedures. in the operation occurred south and south-central somalia and did result in the destruction of that the article. i think it is a port to remind everybody that in september of 2013 he publicly proclaims they were responsible attack.nairobi mall they are also responsible for oughoutmbings thr somalia. they claim responsibility for the deaths of numerous government officials, aid workers, peace activists. conducted terrorist activities in the region that have resulted in

is targeting another terrorist group in somalia today a u.s. drone struck the leader of the al qaeda linked al-shabaab group to discuss the very latest i want to bring in our tease alexy our chef ski alexy who was this steven salatin and how did he end up being a captive of isis. well stephen saw was a freelance journalist a us freelance journalist working for some prominent media outlets such as time magazine he even if you know c.n.n. and fox that sometimes he used to work at the middle east for very long spell of time until in last year in august twenty third he was captured in syria in the town of aleppo during the time when he was covering the fighting between the government and the rebel forces there as we understand although this video is still to be very fired by the officials he has become the second american journalist to be decapitated by the isis militants in the course of the last several weeks and as we remember last time when james foley another american freelance journalist who was who had been captured before by the isis milita

>> two attacks in somalia. many americans killed, and americans are pleased to be among the casualties. >> hello and welcome to al jazeera. i'm jane dutton. welcome to the program. iraq's parliament may not vote on a new cabinet until tomorrow. >>> and a political stalemate in afghanistan as two presidential candidates fail to reach an agreement on power-sharing government. the boeing dreamliner gets a failing grade for safety, and al jazeera's investigation takes a look at why 73. >> four americans are reportedly among 15 people killed after two car bombings southwest of the somali capitol. the rebel group sal shah babb said its behind the explosions. a car packed explosives ran a convoy of africaen troops. a second convoy was attacked and 15 people are reported dead. al jazeera's team recently on occasion with a recent convoy there. africa union peace-keeping troops in somalia are being accused of preying on vulnerable women and girls. a new human rights report has detailed offense and cites rape, sexual assa

aljazeera in southern somalia. >> al shabab's goal is to impose its own strict version of islam in somalia. the malattack left 67 people dead. >> service members are safe this morning. the helicopter they were on crashed. everyone onboard was recovered. the crash was not the result of hostile activity, the chopper was transferring marines and so i lowers back to the ussmesa verde. >> russian tanks were used in a fight for the airport and nato is making plans to deploy a new rapid response force. >> it will ensure we have the right forces and right equipment in the right place at the right time. >> nato wants to stash military equipment throughout eastern europe so 4,000 troops con mobilize within 48 hours. lisa stark joins us from washington. good morning, the president is heading to the nato summit in wails this week. what kind of a message is the u.s. sending to it's strategic allies ahead of the this meeting in ukraine. >> what the president really wants to do is reiterate the u.s. support for nato, or the alliance to ensure that they have the u.s. commitment and also reiterate that the

operation targeting terror leaders in somalia. our g

al shabab and somalia was largely a product of a disastrous decision by president bush to invade somalialitary in 2006-2007. it it gave rise to al shabab. osama bin laden always wanted to get a foothold in somalia, but he couldn't because of the clan-based structure of the country. one the u.s. partnered with the ethiopian military invaded and then they became the vanguard with the crusaders. and they started backing gangsters and warlords that were overthrown by an islamic government. in yemen, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula does have aspirations to attack the united states and the way that the administration has approached yemen has exacerbated the problem because the drone strikes have killed a tremendous number of innocent people and they've killed high-ranking al qaeda figures, but if you sort of look at the calculous of this, i think we've made more new enemies in the islamic world than we've gained allies as a result of the drone bombings and the combination of the first them of obama and the entire bush legacy. >> if you apply that thesis in an analysis of what happened thus f

but those operations in somalia are relatively limited. al shabaab is not isis, yemen, this is a u.s. bombing campaign using other actors on the ground to actually fight. is that going to work? >> in and of itself, short answer is no. isis is a lot more than simply a terrorist organization. it is interesting today, the secretary of homeland security, jay johnson, described isis as yes a terrorist organization but also an insurgent army. and we have to deal with it in both dimensions. so what the united states needs is a bigger strategy, if you will. the good news is the president talked about expanding the purposes of the u.s. policies besides protecting the u.s. personnel and opened up the syria note that it will no longer be a sanctuary. but what is missing in the speech is any ground partner in syria. we're talking about building up the opposition in syria. that is a long, long proposition and risky. the real question is what are we going to use to challenge isis on the ground? what are we going to use for air power? that is the achille

aircraft leading strikes in somalia against an al qaeda group known as al shabaab. shabaab has said it has already killed americans. crutle on thamericans. christof putzel on the story. >> targeting a convoy of african peace keepers outside mogadishu. workers for an american private security contractor. the blast came just hours after the group vowed to avel avenge s leader's death. stronghold port of barawa. the 37-year-old trained and fought in afghanistan before assuming leadership of al shabaab in 2007. alabama are native omar hamami killed by loyalist fighters late last year. reaching beyond somalia's borders, targeting regional aneighbors to send troops to fight them and he did it with substantial support from al qaeda. bounty leading to gadani's death and capture. year ago this month coordinated attack on the westgate shopping mall in the nier kenya, a -- nairobi kenya. somali national army have been steadily winning back large swaths of territory in central and northern somalia. their sites now set on the group's last stronghold, the port city of baraway. >>

this is not somal somalia and yemen. the resources they have, the thousands of people who are pouring in. the inroads they have to some extent jordan. the expertise they've managed to gather. this is a formidable enemy. i would not dismiss them and assume by unleashing the m militias they will disappear. they will not disappear. this is going to be long termed and entrenched. the more you get others to sign off on doing this and get them involved, the more chances you have with dealing with it. it is way beyond iraq, and it cannot be fixed by air. >> you sound skeptical about using the comparison to yemen and somalia, but in those two countries drones were used heavily in order to decapitate al-shabab and alqaida in the arabian peninsula. the idea was to continue to take out the leadership, and you neutralize the effectiveness of these organizations. is that true? >> we all know that such radical movement of al-qaeda and it's different franchises, they breed when there is chaos. they breed when there is destruction every

pursued in yemen and somalia for years.u agree with the president that the strategy in yemen and somalia has been successful? >> no, i don't think we crossed the threshold in either of the countries. what i heard him say, first word out of his mouth tonight. he said something to the effect of here is what we are going to do with our friend and allies. i thought this was as much a speech senate w speech that was geared to win support to an in the national audience where he was serving notice of a nixonan doctrine. we'll supply funding, know-how, technology, expertise, you need to supply the troops. reminded me, wolf, he delivered the commencement at west point in the spring. he invoked jfk, and invoked ike, really thinking richard nixon. he would never use the name. similar to what nixon said in the height of the vietnam conflict. i think this was as much a speech about serving notice to the arab world. saying, hey, uae, saudis, turks, you need new be on board. >> quickly, newt gingrich, when the president makes the comparis

because this is bigger than yemen or somalia.isis has not risen to 9/11, but they will have to work both ways, he wants to assure the american people this is not george w. bush's iraq war. but the critics are saying mr. president we think you are late to this fight. >> let me bring general hurtling, because when you hear the president compare it to actions in somalia and yemen, if the president is promising no u.s. personnel for combat on the ground, i mean, for a real air campaign particularly in syria, don't you need -- if it is a long-term campaign, don't you need american spotters and forces and the like? >> you need some personnel. it doesn't necessarily have to be americans, but there has to be american control and advisory bodies. i think the president compared it to yemen and somalia. it is a combination, more complex than iraq ever was. there are borders we didn't have to consider within iraq. there is a civil war going on. so this takes what we did in iraq which by the way was extremely complex, the most complex kind of

, to go and participate in some way in the jihad in somalia.ck to denmark. you want to raise some money to do this you. see many friends in yemen, who part of the study circle, migrating to the jihad in somalia and other places. you want to do the same thing. talk a bit about that and then talk about what happened next. >> so, at that time in 2006, the islamic union were taking over somalia)rapidly. the somali president, the war lord, kicked out tribal lead evers and started to rule somalia with sharia law, and for the first time in 19 years, ever, there was some kind of system in somalia. and that is a huge sign, and the new islamic state. so, for every muslim who believed that we should live amongst the muslims and we'll be simple, believing or disbelievers, this was obligatory. so we -- so, we -- many of my friends traveled directly, one was -- actually got the permission from the american embassy to travel from yemen to somalia. he left over there. i stored his furniture. i -- i didn't have money enough to buy a house in somalia, so i went

he raised the group's profiling with bombings and suicide attacks inside somalia and kenya and ugandadeath is being seen as a major setback for the group. >> i believe it will cause a rift among its ranks. some leaders who were not pleased with his actions may come to surface. this will stir the interests -- serve the interests of the somali government. >> in 2011, somalia's government pushed al shabaab out of the major cities with the hep of the african union soldiers but others say it was a tactical retreat and they have continued bombings and suicide attacks. somali forces have been trying to further reduce the group's influnence on high profile hits. despite government advances, many people in somalia are devastated by decades of civil unrest, not confident these wins will bring lasting peace. al jazeera. >>> pakistan is dealing with some of the worst flooding in decades. prime minister sharif flew over flooded areas on sunday. 120 people have been killed and many, 4,000 homes have been partially or completely destroyed. until cashmere, 175 people have been killed. prime primary h

we've had drone strikes in somalia in the past couple of weeks.t the president laid out and what the secretary forgot is we've also committed to help the new iraqi government blunt the insurgency trying to move into baghdad. that's a different question and different goal than what we described for somali and yemen. very different. >> here's what worries a lot of u.s. officials. if the u.s. provides sophisticated weapons to the free syrian army and rebels, they could wind up in the hands of other terrorist organizations. your reaction? >> the past eight months, free syrian army and the opposition forces on the ground have been using this military hardware. and we don't have a proof of those military systems falling into the wrong hands. so we've seen increased sophistication by the rebel forces on the ground. so that's very heartening and should be reassuring to u.s. officials. >> how much of a threat is isis right now, chris dicky, to the united states? >> look, it doesn't have to have 10,000 or 30,000 people willing to attack the united states. i

they were fighting for something in somalia.a pathway is open to them if they are offered not only an amnesty but real reintegration. jobs, economic opportunity. i think we can peel away. and the remaining hard core elements to want to carry out terrorist attacks not just in somalia but elsewhere, we, obviously, clearly have the means to deal with them. >> you mentioned threats elsewhere, of course. boko haram has been on the radar. a lot of people who survived the westgate killing saw boko haram-like tactics seeping into what al shabaab was doing. as a continentwide incubator for terrorism, do these african terror cells receive enough resources in the global treror effort? >> these groups communicate with each other. boko haram is alive and kicking because it got help from al qaeda and shabaab at one point. and we talk about isis and the islamic state and the caliphate they've created. boko haram in the last year has carved out an area roughly the size of maryland. just this week they seized a town bama in northeastern nigeria

for years. >> the somalia piece, some people are agreeing with because al shabaab in somalia has been their leader just killed. you can probably separate that and find agreement there, but some ap lists and others are saying when you look at yemen, some people believe really you cannot call that a success. senator marco rubio said that, others are saying that today, mainly because al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, aqap, is still a resilient, viable, terrorist organization that can till threaten the united states and put bombs on planes. their leade eer is still alive. their master bomb maker is still alive. that's the guy who successfully put bomb abouts on planes bound for the united states while the al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has been attacked by the army and u.s. drones and decimated in some areas they've shown resilience and been able to push into other areas and keep the capability alive. that's a question as to whether yemen is a real success. >> the other criticism of the president, you're comparing appsles and oranges in a sense. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula in ye