The war on terror: Meet the Press Reports

The U.S. is still quietly fighting the secret war on terror across the globe. Average Americans may recognize countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq as public centers of this fight over the last 20 years, but the full extent of U.S. involvement in the war on terror is less known.

Elite teams of the U.S. military special operators work with local forces worldwide to fight secret wars. This includes fighting Al-Shabaab in Somalia and East Africa, ISIS in Iraq and Syria and ISIS off-shoots in Afghanistan and into Pakistan. U.S. forces are also combating the spread of Al Qaeda ideology within terror groups and affiliates in West Africa.

A 2022 report by the Brennan Center for Justice found that the U.S. has fought secret wars in at least 20 countries in the past 20 years.

United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict Christopher Maier says that the current U.S. military presence is much different than its past in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“There are not large combat deployments,” Maier said. “They’re focused principally on empowering local partners to deal with the threat themselves.”

NBC News Pentagon correspondent Courtney Kube traveled to Somalia for a behind-the-scenes look at the tense battle against Al-Shabaab, an Islamic terrorist group with ties to Al Qaeda. 

Her team embedded with U.S. forces training the Danab — elite Somali military troops. The teams participated in live-fire drills and hand-to-hand combat and learned how to handle roadside bombs, the biggest threat from Al-Shabaab. 

A senior enlisted SEAL who works with Somali troops and cannot be named for security reasons said IEDs pose a “significant problem” in Somalia.

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“Some of our troops provide that support as well and basic marksmanship of tactics, small unit warfare,” he said. 

Al-Shabaab has terrorized Somalia for nearly two decades, targeting citizens, government officials and diplomats in southern and central Somalia. While Somali forces and allied troops have fought against Al-Shabaab, their power falls short at points. Al-Shabaab is is the largest and richest Al Qaeda affiliate and has overpowered Somali forces in fighters, weapons and equipment. 

Maeir says that he sees small groups fighting alongside local troops as a norm going forward in the war on terror. 

“It’s a dangerous mission,” Maier said. “But, I think we can take with well-conditioned and well-considered risk."

For more on the war on terror, check out the latest episode of Meet The Press Reports.