You are missing nothing. Ethiopia has a larger force than Kenya standing at 500000 strong, more war experience and better equipped. Besides its said they have 40000 troops on the ground.
What you ought to understand is that its not a competition.
That begs the question. For how long is Kenya prepared to be in Somalia? Remember if KDF overstays in Somalia there is all likelihood that the locals might view it as an occupation force. Losing support from the local populace will be detrimental to the forces' advance towards Kismayu. Support for the invasion is also likely to wane back home as time goes by without tangible results.
The solution is simply for Kenya and Ethiopia to occupy Somalia, backed by the AU, and if necessary, by the UN for as long as it takes as I argue in It's About Time Someone Occupies Somali,
omwenga.com/2012/02/23/all-else-having-failed-thus-far-its-time-someone-occupies-the-whole-of-somalia/According to the Standard Online,
www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000052711&cid=4 President Kibaki has lauded the efforts of United Nations Security Council towards strengthening the operations of the African Union Mission in Somalia.
“Kenya welcomes the United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 2036 of 2012 that has reviewed the AMISOM future operations in Somalia, as recommended by the African Union,” said President Kibaki.
The President, however, noted that the resolution does not provide for a maritime component, which is critical to the eventual success of the campaign in Somalia, as well as the fight against piracy and international terrorism.
Speaking Thursday during the London Conference on Somalia at Lancaster House, London, President Kibaki said that a new and more dangerous theatre for terrorist action had emerged in Somalia following the involvement of Al Qaeda elements in the Al Shabaab insurgency.
To further enhance security in Somalia, President Kibaki underscored the need for the development of a Somali national security force.
Meanwhile, the BBC,
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17131208 reports that other world leaders attending the conference have urged Somalis to seize an “unprecedented opportunity” to rebuild their nation, at a gathering in London on the war-torn nation’s future.
UK Prime Minister noted ending threats of terrorism and piracy were in everyone’s interests, while Hillary Clinton said plans to elect leaders and adopt a constitution before August were “ambitious,” adding the mandate of the UN-backed interim government would not be extended any longer.
Representatives from many Somali factions are attending the London conference, but the Islamist group which controls much of the center and south of the country was not invited.
Somalia is the world’s worst failed state but PM Cameron and others believe it needs a “second chance”.
There have already been more than 15 attempts to end more than 20 years of fighting in Somalia
Mr Cameron told the gathered world leaders, who included Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi and UN chief Ban Ki-moon, that the world would pay a high price if it ignored the plight of Somalia.
“In a country where there is so little hope, where there is chaos and violence and terrorism, pirates are disrupting vital trade routes and kidnapping tourists,” he said.
During his speech, Somalia’s President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed called for an end to the arms embargo, saying: “We’re looking for security. We’re scared of tomorrow.”
Yoweri Museveni, the leader of Uganda – which has provided the bulk of troops for African Union (AU) forces in Somalia – told the gathering African solutions to African problems worked best.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council approved a resolution increasing the number of AU troops in Somalia by 5,000 to more than 17,000. Council members also agreed to extra funding for the mission and to extend its mandate.
The UK says its increased focus on the country is justified as the activities of militant groups and pirates operating off the coast of Somalia pose a direct threat to British interests in the region and to both regional and global security.
Naval ships from the UK and other countries around the world have been sent to patrol the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast to deter pirate attacks.
They have foiled a number of kidnapping attempts in recent months but attacks continue – and have been staged further from the shore.
The UK has also said it cannot rule out sending more military advisers to boost its small team currently assisting Ugandan forces part of the AU mission.
Kenya has also sent troops into Somalia to tackle al-Shabab, blaming the group for a number of kidnappings on its territory last year. Its forces will now be absorbed into the AU force following the UN resolution.
All this is good and well but the solution may just be simply occupying Somalia.
The two countries with the most at stake on this issue, Kenya and Ethiopia should simply move in and occupy the country, backed with the entire AU and, if necessary, the UN.
They should rule the nation until the locals either come back to their senses and agree to once again become a one nation, curve it up to two or three countries or forever occupy it, if they don’t get serious in pursuing and reaching either of the two options.
These half-hearted or weak at best efforts are simply delaying the inevitable and that is, someone occupying the country which has proven over and over it does not deserve to be considered a sovereign nation.
The warloads who have made it impossible to establish a government system in Somalia should be simply rounded up and forced to either accept a nationally imposed government by the occupying forces or they simply must be incarcerated.
The world cannot just sit by and watch or take these endless ineffective approaches to a problem that cannot be allowed to go on forever and getting worse along the way.
No band of people, small or large, lethal or otherwise should be allowed to rain terror on the innocent and hold hostage a whole region, indeed, the whole world when we have seen decisive actions taken in other places to root out worse enemies.
There simply reaches a time the sovereignty of a nation must give way to what is more practical for its own good and for the sake of the rest of the world and there can’t be a better example of that than Somalia.
Again, occupying the country does not mean doing so infinitely but only as necessary to restore peace and security within and without it.
Granted, there are logistical and political considerations that may not be easy to execute beyond the theoretical but, given the gravity of the situation and the urgency of it, this should be accomplished with relative ease so long as the end objectives and means are well thought out and made clear from the outset by those with nothing but the clean intentions to meet those objectives.
