It is improbable that the Al shabaab did not anticipate Kenya's reaction to the recent kidnappings it has conducted.

By Kenya going after them, the Somali crisis will worsen, and the 'Jihadists' will find easy targets for attack within Kenya.

Considering the prevailing economic conditions and the social tension that is likely to follow, the Al shabaab will succeed in raising insecurity and within a short time many youth will 'identify with the aggressor'

I think that the Kenyan government should find ways of giving its youth a sense of identity, purpose, power and responsibility in order to win against these aggressors.

This would mean a rethinking of our politics and culture; but is the old guard ready for this?

And are the youth ready for responsibility?

Or are we about 'to lose a battle before it has started?'

labda mungu atusaidie

.....lack of education has never been a detterent to committing acts of violence and terror, in fact it may spur even more. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed didnt hold a degree in anything and look what him and his crew did in 1998!

as for kenya, such vital matters seem to be dealt with on a reactionary mode instead of preventative and protective....

if they could have...they would have.

With the way things are, how many bullets, approximately, will we need to do this al shabaab job?

Anyway, I fear Kenya may merely be seeking to make a point after its army has been long accused of ineptitude.

Covert sabotage and precise assassinations might be not only economical but also safer for Kenya.

These need not be announced at press conferences. We just need to witness a diminishing al shabaab and the TFG and Ugandans will take care of the rest.

I'm not sure whether Kenya has the capacity for a long sustained war with al-shabaab.BTW why are our soldiers still using the world war 2 G3 rifles??It is a good assault rifle but its been overtaken by time..it belongs to military museums.If at all we hope to succeed in eliminating al shabaab,the government needs to upgrade the military weaponry for starters...On the other hand,the internal security ministry needs to target areas such as Eastleigh because it is a known major support base for al shabaab.either for funds,support,intelligence,investment etc....The chaos that is Eastleigh is the best starting point for the government.

@butter, u got me wrong. A state needs an educated citizenry if the law is to be followed at all, thus security n stability. A good public education system can only be provided by a government. It can take at least 20yrs to get an educated adult, in peace time. My point? I dont see Somalia recovering in my lifetime.

An election, a huge bill for constitution implementation, major infrastructure works, spiralling inflation...bad time for us to be in war with any enemy but I dont see any better option. But the cash taps for these criminals are here in Kenya!

Apparently national Defence council met on Thursday and Kibaki okayed

As I speak, the Kenyan Army is in War, Ground Troops and Kenya Airforce in serious fighting with Al-Shabaab

Instead of venturing into Somalia we should have first sought to secure the border by ensuring that these heathens cannot cross over at will.

If the beating that the US got there is anything to go by,our soldiers had better be prepared.