QUANTICO, Virginia – US President Donald Trump on Tuesday rejected the idea of the American military acting as a police force in Somalia, a declaration that stands in stark contrast to his administration’s record-breaking escalation of airstrikes in the Horn of Africa nation.
Speaking to military leaders in Quantico, Virginia, Trump advocated for a more isolationist posture. “We’ve brought back the fundamental principle that defending the homeland is the military’s first and most important priority,” the president said, according to official transcripts. “Only in recent decades did politicians somehow come to believe that our job is to police the far-reaches of Kenya and Somalia.”
The comments came on the same day that US Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced it had conducted its 80th airstrike in Somalia this year. The latest strike targeted militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, continuing an unprecedented air campaign that has already shattered previous records.
An unprecedented air campaign
The 80 strikes conducted in 2025 represent a significant intensification of US military action in Somalia. This figure surpasses the previous annual record of 63 strikes, which was set in 2019 during Trump’s first term in office.
The escalation marks a dramatic departure from the policies of previous administrations. According to data from conflict monitoring organizations like Airwars and the New America think tank, President Joe Biden’s administration conducted 51 strikes over its entire four-year term, while President Barack Obama authorized 48 strikes during his eight years in office.
After returning to the office, President Trump reportedly eased the rules of engagement for airstrikes and ground raids, granting field commanders greater authority to authorize operations in areas outside of declared US war zones, including Somalia. This policy shift is seen as a key driver behind the surge in military activity.
The US air war in Somalia primarily targets two militant groups: Al-Shabaab and a smaller, rival affiliate of the Islamic State.
Al-Shabaab, which means “The Youth” in Arabic, is a powerful Al-Qaeda affiliate that has been waging a violent insurgency against the internationally-backed federal government in Mogadishu for over 15 years. The group controls large swathes of rural southern and central Somalia and frequently carries out attacks in the capital and neighboring countries, including Kenya.
The Islamic State in Somalia (ISS) is a much smaller faction that emerged in 2015. Based primarily in the mountains of Puntland in northeastern Somalia, it has struggled to compete with the more established Al-Shabaab. AFRICOM has stated its strikes are conducted in coordination with the Somali government to degrade the capabilities of these terror groups.
A shifting US posture in the HofA
US policy in Somalia has undergone significant fluctuations in recent years. Near the end of his first term, Trump ordered the withdrawal of approximately 700 US troops from the country, shifting to a strategy of “offshore” counter-terrorism operations.
In 2022, President Biden reversed that decision, redeploying several hundred US soldiers to Somalia to provide more consistent support and training to local partner forces.
The current administration’s strategy appears to blend Trump’s non-interventionist rhetoric with a highly aggressive military campaign mainly conducted from the air. This approach mirrors a recent heavy bombing campaign in Yemen, where US forces launched hundreds of strikes against Houthi rebels but failed to halt their operations in the Red Sea.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about the risk to non-combatants. Groups like Amnesty International have documented cases of civilian casualties from US airstrikes in Somalia, highlighting the challenge of conducting precise operations in a complex conflict zone. AFRICOM maintains that it takes extensive measures to prevent civilian harm.