Battlefield
intelligence wins battles, but it is strategic intelligence that wins
wars. Battlefield tactics may shift the balance of the war, but when a
belligerent is willing to do all that it takes to win, what will the
other side do to restore the balance or tilt it in his favour? It is
reported in the Daily Nation (How KDF used spy planes to seize Kismayu,
Monday 1 October 2012) that the Kenya Defence Forces employed drones
and human intelligence to steal a march on al Shabaab in their Kismayu
adventure. Soon after, two Administration Police officers were murdered
in cold blood on the streets of Garissa Town, a known hotbed of al
Shabaab sympathisers. On Sunday, church-goers in Nairobi's restive
Eastlands, a Sunday School class was bombed by suspected al Shabaab
sympathisers,although other reports indicate that the land on which the
church stands is hotly disputed between the church and a group of
"private businessmen".
Since the attack on the US embassy in 1998, Kenya has faced an increasing barrage of attacks by terrorists. Bombings, kidnappings and shootings have become the order of the day. Police officers claim that it could be worse; that they have thwarted more threats against Kenyans than Kenyans will ever know. The view from the cheap seats, though, is not so rosy. The growing death toll from the atrocities inflicted by al Shabaab and other terrorists is slowly sapping our confidence in the Kenya Police, the National Security Intelligence Service, the National Security Council and the army of private security operators. It seems that every month another outrage is perpetrated on the people of Kenya and that no one is brought to book. Our war in Somalia is now a year old and shows no sign of ending. Are we an occupying force now like the Americans and their adventures in the Middle East?
In all this it seems as if Kenya is increasingly relying on battlefield intelligence at the expense of strategic intelligence assets. The KDF claims that it had infiltrated al Shabaab prior to the Kismayu attack, Operation Sledgehammer, but it is not clear whether this is propaganda designed to demoralise al Shabaab and sow dissension in its ranks or it is true. If KDF had infiltrated al Shabaab, then why isn't the intelligence information gleaned from this operation being employed to keep the homeland safe?
It is all well and good to claim "national security" when it comes to intelligence operations, but the intelligence community needs to be reformed to more accountable. Billions are appropriated for the national security sector, but it is never accounted for nor is it clear what the priorities of the intelligence community are. No one is asking for the NSIS to walk buck-naked in the public arena; all Kenyans want is to be reassured that their taxes are being to the best use. If it is true that NSIS is spending more money spying on village headmen than in keeping track of foreign enemies, we really are fucked.
Since the attack on the US embassy in 1998, Kenya has faced an increasing barrage of attacks by terrorists. Bombings, kidnappings and shootings have become the order of the day. Police officers claim that it could be worse; that they have thwarted more threats against Kenyans than Kenyans will ever know. The view from the cheap seats, though, is not so rosy. The growing death toll from the atrocities inflicted by al Shabaab and other terrorists is slowly sapping our confidence in the Kenya Police, the National Security Intelligence Service, the National Security Council and the army of private security operators. It seems that every month another outrage is perpetrated on the people of Kenya and that no one is brought to book. Our war in Somalia is now a year old and shows no sign of ending. Are we an occupying force now like the Americans and their adventures in the Middle East?
In all this it seems as if Kenya is increasingly relying on battlefield intelligence at the expense of strategic intelligence assets. The KDF claims that it had infiltrated al Shabaab prior to the Kismayu attack, Operation Sledgehammer, but it is not clear whether this is propaganda designed to demoralise al Shabaab and sow dissension in its ranks or it is true. If KDF had infiltrated al Shabaab, then why isn't the intelligence information gleaned from this operation being employed to keep the homeland safe?
It is all well and good to claim "national security" when it comes to intelligence operations, but the intelligence community needs to be reformed to more accountable. Billions are appropriated for the national security sector, but it is never accounted for nor is it clear what the priorities of the intelligence community are. No one is asking for the NSIS to walk buck-naked in the public arena; all Kenyans want is to be reassured that their taxes are being to the best use. If it is true that NSIS is spending more money spying on village headmen than in keeping track of foreign enemies, we really are fucked.
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