March 10, 2012: Grenade attack at bus station in Kenya

NAIROBI, KENYA – When you elect to send military troops to a neighbouring country you should expect blowback.

It seems fairly obvious that when a state decides to send its troops abroad to occupy another nation, if only in part and for what seems like justifiable reasons, that the locals rarely jump up and down for joy.

No one wants to see foreigners in their streets, no matter how bad the original situation was. There are of course exceptions – the Canadian presence in late 1944-early 1945 to oust the Nazis from the Netherlands is a good example – but often even then the usurpers outstay their welcome.

Kenya is one of the members of the African Union’s AMISOM mission in Somalia that is seeking to push back against the terrorist group Al Shabaab (AS). This makes sense in that Somalia is Kenya‘s neighbour and instability next door can spill over to your land.

Alas, for Kenya, this is exactly what has happened on several occasions.

On this day in 2012

At least six people were killed and more than 60 injured in an attack at a busy bus station in the capital city, Nairobi. AS was suspected of having been behind the incident.

This is an attack by people who think they can puncture the resolve of Kenyan people to fight against terror. It is a difficult moment, but it should strengthen our resolve.

Kenyan Vice-President

This is far from the only attack by AS in Kenya. Much of that nation’s northeastern county of Mandera is Somali and AS has taken advantage of that to recruit terrorists. The group has also warned Kenya that its presence in Somalia will invite retribution.

Kenya is damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t. It is unclear what it should do, as it is whenever a nation goes into another one.

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