“The War on Terror,” Version 163 announced by Obama last week, is taking a significant toll on American tourism and business in East Africa.
This weekend the U.S. embassy in Kampala issued the most serious warning in their lexicon of warnings, “shelter in place,” one step before evacuation:
“All U.S. citizens are advised to stay at home or proceed to a safe location. Shelter-in-place and await further guidance. Follow U.S. Embassy Kampala on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates.”
The warning was issued Saturday and rescinded Sunday, after Ugandan authorities claimed to have foiled a terrorist attack Saturday night.
Then all day Sunday Ugandan military and police went through Kampala ransacking houses and shooting people. This, by the way, is how the Ugandan military works: shoot first, ask later.
It is the same philosophy that gave rise to terrorism in the first place.
It doesn’t work.
Uganda is neither a place to visit or live, right now, and it hasn’t been for some time. That isn’t because of an increased threat of terrorism, but because of the government’s increased militarism.
That seems to be in fashion with U.S. authorities right now.
Kenya is doing a much better job. Security outside the border region is improving, although security along the coast and Somali border is not.
Beheading, by the way, has been a modis homocide among terrorist groups for the last several decades. Recently another Kenyan border village experienced one.
What’s new, of course, is the beheading of westerners. The roughly thousand beheadings of Africans and Arabs didn’t draw any serious attention. But my goodness, we’ve now had three innocent westerners brutally beheaded! Time for action.
Until now terrorists felt that the potential ransom for a westerner was more valuable than the potential public reaction.
They’ve realized now that the PR value of a few beheadings is worth zillions more than a couple hundred million dollars.
We’re now playing into their game exactly as they wish us to.
That’s why they’re winning.