Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

The Known Unknowns of the Secret US Drone War in Somalia
This Is Hell
06 Mar 2019
🖨️ Print Article

US troops landed in oil-rich Somalia in 1992 and never really left. Over the years some have been replaced with drones and mercenary contractors, but Americans still prop up their version of a Somali government, headed by a US citizen whose writ doesn't go much beyond the capital. Obama bombed Somalia regularly, but under Trump the number of drone strikes have tripled, killing unknown numbers of Africans and terrorizing large swaths of the countryside. The US government doesn't even reveal which agency is conducting many of the bombing strikes, and next to no reporting on the long war in Somalia appears in the US press or broadcast media.

ThisIsHell host Chuck Mertz interviews Mogadishu based journalist Amanda Sperber. Amanda wrote the article "Inside the Secretive US Air Campaign In Somalia" for The Nation: www.thenation.com/article/somalia-…et-air-campaign/

This interview was originally broadcasted by our friends at ThisISHell.com on Saturday February 16, 2019.

Somalia
drone warfare

Related Podcasts

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Israel's Recognition of Somaliland Destabilizes the Horn of Africa
09 January 2026
Israel is the first and only nation to recognize the Somaliland region of Somalia as an independent state.
Map of the Horn of Africa
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Trump Administration Continues U.S. Destabilization of Somalia
21 February 2025
Abayomi Azikiwe, is the editor of Pan-African Newswire.

More Stories


  • Israeli Ambassador at the United Nations
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Israel Declares Most of Humanity Illegitimate and Irrelevant
    01 Nov 2023
    After 120 members of the 193 members of the UN General Assembly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Israel demonstrated its increasing isolation by declaring the UN illegitimate and irrelevant.
  • Facebook censorship
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Pro-Israel War Propaganda and Censorship
    25 Oct 2023
    Any public statement which questions Israel's war against Gaza is potentially met with personal attack and punishment but the stamp of approval from the Biden administration is the real cause of the…
  • Orisanmi Burton and his book, "Tip of the Sphere"
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Orisanmi Burton’s Book, “Tip of the Spear”
    25 Oct 2023
    This week’s featured author is Orisanmi Burton. His book is Tip of the Spear: Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt
  • Javonte Alexander (left) and Basaime Spate (right), researchers at Center for Justice Innovation.
    Shannon Chaffers
    Driven By Fear: Why Some Brooklyn Youth Carry Guns
    25 Oct 2023
    Tropes about violent Black youth prevail but efforts to analyze the causes of firearm use are rarely seen.
  • Niger army sergeant and artist Maman Sani Maigochi performs as supporters gather at Place de la Concertation in the capital Niamey
    Black Alliance For Peace
    AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #48
    25 Oct 2023
    The Black Alliance for Peace U.S. Out of Africa Network provides an update of events taking place on the African continent.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us