|
|
The Kenyans' response to the mall attack showed deficiencies in professionalism and command-and-control capabilities.
Reports say some first responders to the mall attack were seen looting rather than rescuing victims. And there are complaints of disorganized rescue efforts and heavy-handed tactics that resulted in victims' deaths.
Analyst Vanda Felbab-Brown says those types of tactical and technical issues should be easy for U.S. trainers to fix.
"In some ways, figuring how you knock down the door is far easier than figuring how you get broad intelligence. And the fact that the Kenyans struggled even with this tactical a bit so much shows the real paucity of capacities despite our training so far."
For now, U.S. officials consider al-Shabab a regional threat with no real capacity to hit U.S. territory. However, memories of the 1998 U.S. embassy attacks in East Africa by al-Qaida - then also considered only a regional threat - are bolstering calls for closer attention and a strong - albeit low-key - U.S. response. |
|