Trump’s secret war

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Trump’s secret war"

Podcast: Today, Explained (Vox)
Release Date: July 6, 2026
Hosts: Sean Rameswaram, Noel King
Episode Topic: The escalation and secrecy of U.S. military operations in Somalia during Trump’s second term, the civilian toll, why the war persists with little public scrutiny, and its wider implications for both Somalis and U.S. policy.

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into an ongoing, largely unspoken U.S. military campaign in Somalia, featuring reporting direct from Mogadishu and analysis from Vox’s senior foreign policy correspondent, Josh Keating. The hosts focus on the significant recent escalation of U.S. airstrikes during Trump’s second term, the dire humanitarian consequences, why this conflict stays under the American public’s radar, and what Somalis and experts have to say about it.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Approach: Bombastic Rhetoric, Silent Escalation

• [00:02–00:41] On July 4th, President Trump delivered a heavily anti-communist, militaristic address, celebrating supposed “victories” abroad. Notably absent: any mention of the U.S. involvement in Somalia, which has intensified during his second term.
  • Quote: “America will never be a communist country. Won’t happen.” — Donald Trump (00:14)
  • Observation: Trump claims “we wiped out” Iran but ignores the drawn-out war there and the intensifying conflict in Somalia.

2. Background: U.S. War in Somalia—Who, What, Why?

• [02:10–02:53] Journalist Mohammed Gabobe summarizes the conflict's roots: Somalia’s 20-year Islamist insurgency, Al Shabaab’s dominance, and increasing international involvement, especially by the U.S.
  • Quote: “The US has been carrying out airstrikes in Somalia for two decades and it's heightened... under the Trump administration. So far, there’s been 196 airstrikes in Somalia since the Trump administration took the helms of the White House.” — Mohammed Gabobe (02:53)

3. Impact on Civilians: The Hidden Toll

• [03:23–03:56] U.S. airstrikes target insurgents but often kill civilians due to challenging conditions on the ground.
  • Quote: “It's difficult to differentiate between a civilian and Shabab... So how is the US Government going to do it? Put a drone hundreds of miles away?” — Mohammed Gabobe (03:41)
• [06:24–08:25] Gabobe recounts a tragic airstrike in Jemma, where the U.S. killed 12 civilians (including 8 children). He details survivors’ trauma and the lack of medical resources.
  • Quote: “‘All of my children were lying on the ground covered in blood... Shells began falling everywhere.’” — Somali Civilian (07:29)
  • Quote: “What's worse than being a mother who can't do anything for her wounded children?” — Somali Civilian (08:04)

4. Why Is the U.S. Still There? Strategic, Political, and Bureaucratic Reasons

• [09:10–10:06] The U.S. supports the Somali federal government for counterterrorism and state-building, not necessarily helping ordinary Somalis.
  • Quote: “They don’t support ordinary Somalis... they support the ministries, the security services...” — Mohammed Gabobe (09:10)
• [10:55–11:40] Gabobe argues U.S. intervention does “more harm than good,” suggesting airstrikes fuel insurgent recruitment and further destabilize Somalia.

5. Why Don’t Americans Hear About This War?

• [15:32–17:48] Vox’s Josh Keating explains the lack of public debate:
  • Strikes are now mostly “on autopilot,” with dramatically increased tempo since Trump removed Biden-era oversight.
  • U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) now has authority to authorize strikes without White House sign-off.
  • Quote: “To a certain extent, the war on terrorism works on autopilot... these strikes just continue to happen unless somebody takes a step to stop them.” — Josh Keating (16:44)
  • Trump’s narrative: “Less than 30 hours later... watching on the giant screens this leading ISIS jihadi... get turned into red mist. Since that time, we are stacking them like cordwood.” — Sebastian Gorka (18:45)

6. Historical Context & Why Somalia is Ignored in the U.S.

• [20:28–21:35] Somalia’s long civil war (since the early 1990s) is “off the radar” for most Americans.
  • The U.S. learned since 9/11 that with minimal U.S. troop presence and few American casualties, public or press attention fades.
  • Quote: “When US troops aren’t in harm’s way... people just don’t pay that much attention to it.” — Josh Keating (21:35)

7. Link Between Trump's Domestic Rhetoric and Foreign Policy

• [21:47–23:34] Trump's anti-Somali rhetoric doesn’t directly inform the military campaign, but it frames Somalia as a failed state, justifying both tough immigration and aggressive military policy.
  • Quote: “Their country stinks. Somalia's considered by many to be the worst country on earth.” — Donald Trump (21:57)
  • Keating: “It’s too simplistic to say... that the reason we’re bombing Somalia is because Trump has this antipathy towards Somalis... but in his mind, the chaos there is more reason to keep Somalis out of the U.S.” (22:11–23:34)

8. State of the War, Humanitarian Crisis, and No End in Sight

• [23:34–25:23] Despite massive U.S. intervention, Al Shabaab remains entrenched. Humanitarian conditions worsen due to war, famine, and aid cutbacks; food insecurity has become a weapon in the conflict.
  • Quote: “The World Food Program has warned it’s on the verge of famine... exacerbated by cutbacks in aid... and the increase in global food and fuel prices caused by the recent war in Iran.” — Josh Keating (24:27)
  • Despite U.S. bombings, little progress is evident, and the “forever war” in Somalia continues.

9. The ‘Forever War’ Contradiction

• [25:23–27:03] Trump publicly speaks against endless military interventions but presides over one in Somalia.
  • Quote: “While he said this, we’re literally policing the far reaches of Somalia... against this militant group... with little end in sight. And it’s exactly the sort of ongoing, unclear mission that Trump came into office promising to end.” — Josh Keating (25:39)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On U.S. Targeting in Somalia:
  “There's no way that you're going to defeat Al Shabaab at airstrikes. It's been going on for two decades. There's no tangible results. They're even more powerful today.” — Mohammed Gabobe (10:58)

• On Trump’s Policy Shift:
  “When Trump returned to the White House, he got rid of those rules. So now basically AFRICOM... has much more authority to launch strikes as it sees fit.” — Josh Keating (16:44)

• On Press Attention and Civilian Casualties:
  “When US troops aren’t in harm’s way... people just don’t pay that much attention to it.” — Josh Keating (21:35)

• Somali Survivor on Civilian Harm:
  “What's worse than being a mother who can't do anything for her wounded children?” — Somali mother, cited in The Guardian (08:04)

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Important Timestamps

• [00:02–00:41] Trump’s July 4th speech and what he doesn’t say about Somalia
• [02:10–03:20] Somalia’s conflict & the U.S. escalation overview
• [06:24–08:25] Detailed account of civilian casualties from a U.S. airstrike
• [09:10–11:40] U.S.-Somali government relationship and impact on Somalis
• [15:32–17:48] Why U.S. strikes escalate and persist under Trump
• [20:28–21:35] Why Americans are not paying attention to Somalia
• [21:47–22:11] Trump on Somalis and framing of the conflict
• [24:27–25:23] Somalia’s humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by U.S. policies and global events
• [25:23–27:03] The forever war contradiction and lack of endgame

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Tone and Narrative

The episode is sharp, direct, and questioning. Vox’s hosts and correspondents probe beneath surface-level political rhetoric to expose the complexity and scale of America’s little-discussed war in Somalia. The narrative foregrounds Somali voices, the cost in civilian lives, and the grim cycle of intervention and insurgency—while starkly illustrating the indifference or ignorance that typifies U.S. discourse and policy on the conflict.

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Summary for New Listeners

“Trump’s secret war” exposes a major, escalating U.S. military operation in Somalia—marked by hundreds of airstrikes, civilian casualties, and little public or political debate in America. Reporting from Mogadishu and Washington, the episode reveals how loosened oversight under Trump has fueled “autopilot” warfare, highlights the disconnect between American policy and Somali well-being, and challenges the myth that the U.S. has ended its “forever wars.” The podcast is an essential listen for anyone seeking to understand how America’s military footprint endures, often invisibly, across the world.

Transcript

[Sean Rames]

The President's half rally, half national address on the 4th of July was evacuated, delayed, but eventually delivered just before the clock struck 5th of July. He talked about communism so much it felt like 1954 out there on the National Mall.

[Donald Trump]

America will never be a communist country. Won't happen.

[Sean Rames]

He talked at length about some of the nation's past military glories, and he spoke briefly about some of his recent interventions.

[Donald Trump]

Our recent victory by sinking the Entire Iranian Navy159 Ships to the bott, all done in just a moment's time.

[Sean Rames]

He did not mention that he still hasn't really managed to end his war in Iran.

[Donald Trump]

You look at Iran, we wiped it out.

[Sean Rames]

And the President made zero mention of the nation's longest ongoing military intervention. In fact, he seldom talks about it. Few people in Washington do. But President Trump has been quietly ratcheting up airstrikes in Somalia, so we are going to talk about that on Today Explained from Vox.

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[Sean Rames]

If you want to hear more about what's going on in Somalia, it's best to head to Somalia. So we reached out to journalist Mohammed Gabobe in Mogadishu.

[Mohammed Gabobe]

Somalia, as you know, has been plagued two decades by an ongoing Islamist insurgency.

[Josh Keating]

Al Shabaab was formed in 2002 and came to prominence in 2006.

[Rapid Rajsan]

Their targets were citizens, government officials and diplomats in southern and central Somalia.

[Mohammed Gabobe]

But the conflict in Somalia is not just between the government and the insurgents. It also includes international actors, namely the United States of America.

[Josh Keating]

The United States has at least 500 soldiers in this country, but it's trained and paid for Somali troops to form

[Mohammed Gabobe]

the Danab unit or lightning force.

[Rapid Rajsan]

In addition to training, US Troops provide critical support to the Somali troops, including surveillance from overhead drones and airstrikes.

[Mohammed Gabobe]

The US has been carrying out airstrikes in Somalia for two decades and it's heightened or I should say even worsened under the Trump administration. So far, there's been 196 airstrikes in Somalia since the Trump administration took the helms of the White House. This is compared to 219 during his first term. So in essence, what you have is a very upscale and escalating US Hair war in Somalia at the moment.

[Interviewer]

And who's being attacked, who's dying?

[Mohammed Gabobe]

The insurgents are being attacked, as they say. But unfortunately, civilians are getting caught up in the mist in these airstrikes. The reason being is oftentimes in a place like Somalia, it's difficult to differentiate between a civilian and Shabab. Right. The insurgents live amongst the local population. They're embedded in the local population and they are fabric of the society. So oftentimes as a Somali, for me, for example, it's hard for me to differentiate between insurgents and a civ. So how is the US Government going to do it? Put a drone hundreds of miles away? You know, so that's what's happening.

[Interviewer]

So let's talk about each of those groups. First, let's talk about the insurgents. What is going on with the insurgents and does that have anything to do with the United States, the President of the United States, namely escalating his attacks in Somalia?

[Mohammed Gabobe]

Yes. Somalia is plagued by multiple insurgencies. The most relevant one is Al Shabaab. It's engaged in a two decade surge against the Somali government. And it's the international coalition. Even though they've been pushed out of most major cities, they still control large swaths of territory in Somalia.

[Sean Rames]

United nations experts say the threat of Al Shabaab remains the greatest immediate threat

[Sponsor Voice]

to Somalia and the East Africa region, especially Kenya.

[Sean Rames]

The Al Qaeda linked group controls significant parts of southern and central Somalia.

[Rapid Rajsan]

Despite sustained military pressure from Somali and international forces, the Al Qaeda linked group has retained its capacity to carry out complex asymmetric attacks, including high profile operations in Mogadishuda.

[Mohammed Gabobe]

They've been able to create a parallel government and even a de facto state within Somalia's borders. They pretty much have a monopoly on the use of force in the areas they control. So they are a factor in Somalia. The US Is determined to battle them and weaken them on behalf of their allies, which is the Somali federal government. But at the same time, two decades of airstrikes, tens of thousands of foreign forces, and yet the insurgency is still fighting. They're still going, if not strengthening, in my observations.

[Interviewer]

And meanwhile, it sounds like the United States is killing civilians.

[Mohammed Gabobe]

Yes, over the years there's been numerous incidents of the civilians dying in US airstrikes going back to Bush, all the way to now under Trump's second term. But it's worse than under Trump's second term. And the reason for that is, for example, when Biden or Obama were in the White House, there were certain levels of, I would say, transparency. So when the US Wanted to carry an air strike in Somalia, the commanders would have to inform, let's say, for example, their superiors. Those superiors would have to inform the Pentagon. Pentagon would inform, let's say the CIA or the White House. Every department had to sign on off it before the airstrike was conducted. This was made to be sure who is being targeted is actually the person who should be targeted in reference to avoiding civilian casualties. Since Trump took over the White House, that doesn't exist. No more low level or mid level commanders on the ground are given the green light to do as they please. So there's less transparency. And this is why a lot of civilians are dying, unfortunately.

[Interviewer]

And you wrote for the Guardian one story, a particularly tragic story about civilian death in Somalia. Could you tell us what happened?

[Mohammed Gabobe]

So this story was about a US airstrike targeting a Shabab controlled farming town called Jemma Deep in southern Somalia. When that airstrike happened, the US killed 12 civilians, including eight children. So many things happened, honestly, because there were so many victims. But if I can give you like a general breakdown of what happened is one lady, three of her underage children were wounded in the airstrike. She lived in the town of Jemmamet.

[Josh Keating]

The timing of the attack concurs with

[Sponsor Voice]

an airstrike claimed by US Africa Command

[Josh Keating]

together with the federal government. AFRICOM alongside the federal government of Somalia and Somali Armed forces continues to take actions to degrade Al Shabaab's ability to threaten the US Homeland, our forces and our citizens abroad.

[Mohammed Gabobe]

A big explosion happened outside. They didn't know what it was then, but it would later to be found out to be a missile.

[Somali Civilian]

All of my children were lying on the ground covered in blood when I tried to tend to them Shells began falling everywhere. Every direction you turned, there were shells and missiles raining Everywhere. The Guardian, June 2026.

[Mohammed Gabobe]

Eventually, she carried her wounded children and fled into the bushes deep in the countryside outside of town. The reason for that, she says, is because the drones were still hovering ahead. So she feared if she came out of the bushes, she hit in another airstrike. When she came to Mogadishu, she's trying to get help for her son, which she hasn't gotten yet.

[Somali Civilian]

They told me if the shrapnel isn't removed from his body, it could affect his ability to continue walking. But I don't have $1,000 needed for the operation to remove the shrapnel from my son's body. What's worse than being a mother who can't do anything for her wounded children? The Guardian, June 2026.

[Mohammed Gabobe]

Another man lost four of his grandchildren. They were ripped to pieces when he tried to pick them up from the floor. He couldn't even pick them up because they were ripped to so many pieces and they were so small. So these are some of the things, you know, that these people went through. And then for the US to release a statement or say AFRICOM and say we targeted Al Shabaab to degrade them this and that, I mean, you might have targeted them, but you didn't get your target. You know, this is who you harmed.

[Interviewer]

What is the US Government's relationship with the Somali government like? Is the Somali government okay with these airstrikes? Are they aiding the United States in executing these airstrikes?

[Mohammed Gabobe]

Yeah, I would say so, because US Is here on behalf of supporting the Somali federal government in counterterrorism, state building, even humanitarianism. Before US Aid was discarded about a year ago, they were the biggest funder of the of projects and support in Somalia. So I would say the US has played a big role in supporting Somalia. But there's a misconception when I say they support Somali, they don't support ordinary Somalis. They support the Somali government. Right. So they support the ministries, the security services, the civil society, the NGOs, things like that. But they don't support the average, you know, Joe Shimo walking down the street. So, and especially when it comes to these airstrikes, I think the Somali government needs them because they're fighting a more aggressive and some can even argue, more powerful foe.

[Interviewer]

What do the people want in Somalia? Do they want the Somali government cornering with the United States to fight Al Shabaab, or do they want the United States to get out of their Business.

[Mohammed Gabobe]

It depends who you ask. Based on my observation, I think it's better to look at it from the perspective of what do Somalis want in reference to their country and the state of their nation and where things are heading. I think most Somalis just want to be left alone. I think most Somalis want to be in a position where they can dictate and choose the faith and the route and just rule on their own accord, pick their own leaders, live how they want instead of the international community always intervening. I think that's the biggest problem. The international community has done a lot for Somali, but I think it's done more damage than benefit in my opinion. So many foreign interventions, so many international resolutions being passed and it weakens the country even more. I really believe most Somalis are bothered by the foreign interference and the foreign subjugation more than anything. If they're left alone, I think Somalis can fix their own problems.

[Interviewer]

Now is that to say that the United States isn't helping?

[Mohammed Gabobe]

Yeah, actually personally, based on my observation and research, I think they're doing more harm than good. Because there's no way that you're going to defeat Al Shabaab at airstrikes. It's been going on for two decades. There's no tangible results. They're even more powerful today. They run a parallel government in Somalia. They have a de facto state within Somalia's borders. So with the US King at airstrikes propping up counterinsurgency operations, I just feel like they want to fight Al Shabaab. They're doing more harm because you have to bear in mind every time a bomb or a missile falls from the sky, it forces more young people to take up arms and join the insurgency. So I think that's just my observation.

[Sean Rames]

You can read Mohammed Gabobe in the Guardian at Al Jazeera all over. He's a freelance journalist based in Mogadishu. When we're back on TODAY Explained, we're going to ask a colleague of ours at Vox why we don't hear much about this war of ours. Stateside.

[Sponsor Voice]

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[Josh Keating]

This is today, explained.

[Sean Rames]

Josh Keating, senior correspondent at Vox, covering

[Interviewer]

foreign policy, national security.

[Sean Rames]

I want to ask you a question that you yourself asked in a piece

[Interviewer]

you wrote for Vox earlier this year.

[Sean Rames]

Why is the United States bombing Somalia

[Interviewer]

so much in and why isn't anyone talking about it?

[Josh Keating]

Well, I'll take the first part of that first. There are really two reasons. One is that Somalia is an increasingly important country when it comes to the global ISIS network. Since ISIS has been sort of degraded and lost its territorial control in Syria and Iraq, a lot of the sort of focus of the leadership has shifted to Somalia. And actually there are some senior officials who say that the global caliph, the head of isis, is actually located in Somalia. Now.

[Donald Trump]

Africa remains a nexus theater from which the United States cannot shift its gaze. ISIS controls her global network from Somalia.

[Josh Keating]

It was the Islamic State's new stronghold.

[Sean Rames]

From this village in northern Somalia, jihadists

[Josh Keating]

sought to expand the group's influence worldwide

[Sean Rames]

and finance other factions across the continent.

[Josh Keating]

That doesn't fully answer the question, though, because there are other countries where there are ISIS and al Qaed cells operating, where the US Is not conducting as many airstrikes, and the US Is also launching strikes against Al Shabaab, which doesn't really pose as direct a threat to the US Homeland. So basically the conclusion I've come to is that to a certain extent, the war on terrorism works on autopilot, that these strikes just continue to happen unless somebody takes a step to stop them. I think the reason we saw strikes go down when Joe Biden was president is they put these new targeting rules into where basically the military had to get approval from the White House to launch a counterterrorism strike against one of these senior ISIS or al Shabaab terrorists. When Trump returned to the White House, he got rid of those rules. So now basically africom, the US Africa Command, has much more authority to launch strikes as it sees fit. And that's exactly what it's doing.

[Interviewer]

So you're saying basically that the United States military can execute strikes on Somali

[Sean Rames]

territory without running it by the president,

[Interviewer]

the White House, and because of that we're doing it a bunch and in some cases even killing civilians?

[Josh Keating]

Yeah. I mean, you can look at a speech that Sebastian Gorka, the White House counterterrorism coordinator, gave Last summer at the foundation for the Defense of Democracies, where basically his interpretation of is when the Trump administration got back in office, he says that officials were telling him that they weren't allowed to go after the bad guys.

[Sebastian Gorka]

The Biden administration had this insane system whereby any strike against a high value target had to be sent up to the White House through Jake Sullivan to the president for a green light. Insane.

[Josh Keating]

And, you know, when Trump and Gorka came back in, you know, according to their narrative, they took the shackles off.

[Sebastian Gorka]

Less than 30 hours later, I was back in the Sit Room under the West Wing, watching on the giant screens this leading ISIS jihadi walk around this compound and then get turned into red mist. Since that time, we are stacking them like cordwood.

[Interviewer]

Hmm.

[Sean Rames]

And so tell us how much more

[Interviewer]

the United States is going after them than they maybe were under President Biden, Obama before him, Bush before him.

[Josh Keating]

Right. So in 2025, last year, the US carried out 125 airstrikes and one ground raid in Somalia. And this year there have already been 70. Now, to put that into context, both of those individual years are more than the number of operations that Joe Biden carried out during his entire presidency in the country. That would be 51. You know, this is also a much larger operation than, you know, say, the US Campaign against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which has gotten a lot more attention and I think up until, you know, epic fury, the US War in Iran. You could say, you know, this was the Trump administration's largest war. And, you know, when's the last time you, you saw any sort of public debate about what the US Is doing in Somalia? It's very rare that President Trump even talks about what we're doing in Somalia.

[Interviewer]

I mean, this is the second part of the question that you posed in your piece. Why aren't we talking about it? What's the reason? Do we just accept this ongoing incursion because it's been going on so long?

[Josh Keating]

I think that's part of it. I mean, Somalia's been in effectively a state of civil war since the early 1990s. And the US has been involved almost since the beginning. You know, the Black Hawk down incident was 1993.

[Rapid Rajsan]

This is Super 61. Moments after it was hit by a rocket propelled grenade spinning out of control before it's torn apart on impact.

[Donald Trump]

An American helicopter pilot taken prisoner in Somalia, one of six US Soldiers listed as missing in the heaviest fighting yet in Mogadishu. 12American soldiers killed, 78 wounded. Some of the dead dragged through the streets by jeering Somalis.

[Josh Keating]

And I think that, you know, Somalia is just a country that doesn't get a lot of attention in general. And I think that the fact that, you know, U.S. troops aren't in harm's way is a big part of it, too. But I think one thing that the US military has learned since 9, 11 is that when US troops aren't in harm's way and when there aren't large numbers of casualties, people just don't pay that much attention to it.

[Sean Rames]

President Trump doesn't talk much about what

[Interviewer]

the United States military is doing in Somalia, but he certainly does sometimes talk about Somali immigrants and, you know, a racist sort of way.

[Donald Trump]

I don't want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks. Somalia's considered by many to be the worst country on earth.

[Mohammed Gabobe]

I don't know.

[Donald Trump]

I haven't been there. I won't be there anytime soon.

[Sean Rames]

Does his feelings about the Somali people,

[Interviewer]

especially in the United States, color the way he's conducting our military operations in the country?

[Josh Keating]

I don't think that the two are directly coordinated, but I think you have to. You can't ignore that context either. And it's important to remember these strikes are being conducted in cooperation with the Somali government. We're not at war with the nation of Somalia. So I don't think, you know, it's. It's too simplistic to say that the reason we are bombing Somalia is because Trump has this antipathy towards Somalis, that he's called them low iq people or any of the terrible things he said about them. The way he talks about it, as if he's not that involved or as if he's just sort of finding out about it. From articles on Fox News that come across his social media feed, it's not as if he seems to be taking a sort of daily operational supervision of it. So in his mind, the fact that Somalia is in this state of chaos, that there is this ongoing violence there, that there is humanitarian crisis there, that's all the more reason to be keeping Somalis of the United States. So I think in that respect, the two are connected, even though I don't think that his antipathy or feelings about Somalis are the reason that we're conducting this campaign.

[Interviewer]

Have things gotten any better? I mean, the United States has been at this for so long. You mentioned Black Hawk down, which feels like a lifetime ago.

[Josh Keating]

I think that the Somali government is not currently at risk of falling to These groups, which is something you could not necessarily say at various points over the last 20 years. But Al Shabaab and ISIS to a lesser extent, do control territory outside of the major cities in Somalia. And let's remember, this is a country in the grips of a humanitarian crisis, too. The World Food Program has war that it's on the verge of famine. And that's been exacerbated by the cutbacks in aid that we've seen primarily from the United States, as well as the increase in global food and fuel prices caused by the recent war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. So this is a security crisis on top of a humanitarian crisis. And those two are interrelated because one thing we've seen in the past is the way that armed in countries like Somalia can weaponize food insecurity, both for recruitment and is actually using food and famine as a weapon. So the situation in Somalia remains dire, remains very serious, even though, thanks in part to American air power, I don't think that the government in Mogadishu itself is in sort of direct danger of collapsing anytime soon and in some respects is more stable than it's been in a long time.

[Sean Rames]

So for all the talk of forever

[Interviewer]

wars in this country and ending them and not getting involved in military interventions that have no end game, we are literally involved in one in Somalia, and there's no sign of it stopping.

[Josh Keating]

Yeah. I mean, I'll give you a quote from last fall from when Trump gathered that group of US Military leaders together at Quantico to talk about the new vision for the US Military. He said, only in recent decades did politicians somehow come to believe that our job is to police the far reaches of Kenya and Somalia while America is under invasion from within. And while he said this, we're literally policing the far reaches of Somalia, we're literally conducting these operation against this militant group in Somalia, which, you know, know, poses a questionable, at best, national security threat to the United States with little end in sight. And it's exactly the sort of ongoing, unclear mission that Trump came into office promising to end. And, you know, the most dramatic and publicly discussed counterfactual to that is the war in Iran. But I think it's even before that that it's worth noting that, you know, we're very much still doing forever war stuff in the Horn of Africa in Somalia.

[Sean Rames]

Read josh [e-mail] Hadi Mwogdi produced the show today. Jolie Myers edited, Gabriel Donatov was on fax, and David Tadashore and and Patrick Boyd were on the mix. I'm Sean Ramis for We're going to talk a bit more about the US Military on tomorrow's Today explained namely how Pete Hegseth no longer wants to promote qualified women and black people. What a time.