posted on Nov, 15 2012 @ 01:36 PM
This is a very interesting read about the secret UAV operations going on in the Somalia region of Africa. It includes AC-130 strikes, Special Forces
teams inserted by submarine, and numerous UAV strikes. A lot of it is educated and informed guesses, but based on the information available, they are
highly informed.
The CIA, while attempting to build an intelligence network used the carrot and stick method with the Somali warlords. Cash to bring them over to the
American side as the carrot, and the threat of UAV strikes as the stick. The only thing is that the UAVs were all busy in Iraq and Afghanistan at the
time, so they bluffed the warlords into thinking that they were flying overhead at will, and it apparently worked.
The evidence for what is going on includes crash reports, of UAV accidents that occurred in a "forward operating location". If they were talking
about Iraq and Afghanistan, they would be mentioned by name. If you look at the AIB Report webpage, accidents in both of those countries are named.
Based on reports, UAVs have flown a minimum of 25,000 hours over the Somalia region. They have recently had an accident rate of 7 per 100,000 hours
flown, with four to five Predators, and two Reapers lost in East Africa (since 2009).
It's a very interesting, very in depth read, and while it remains mostly speculation, I'm impressed at the amount of investigation put into this
article, and from what I've followed, it seems to match closely to the information being released by the press.
Wired
article