In October, a suicide bomber killed 30 people in northern Somalia, a region once considered fairly safe compared to rest of the war-torn country. Now it appears the bomber was an American, making him the first suicide jihadist to come......more
David Axe - Africa is Boring: February 2009 Archives
U.S. Navy Uses "Smart Power" to Fight Pirates
In January, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton advocated a new national security strategy entailing closer cooperation between the State Department, the military, government and civilian humanitarian agencies, and foreign allies. "Smart power," she called it. Just a month later,......more
Somali Journo Needs Your Help
Increasingly, my reporting career is reader-supported. In the past year, readers of my blogs have ponied up nearly $3,500 to send me to Chad, Kenya and, soon, Nigeria to report on war and humanitarian crises. For that, I'm grateful.......more
Send Axe to Africa! Again!
In late March, I'll be heading to Nigeria to embark aboard the USS Nashville amphibious ship during her "soft-power" deployment on the West African coast. Nashville's cruise is part of the U.S. Navy's Africa Partnership Station, which in turn......more
Skewz: On the Trail of Somali Pirates with David Axe
From Skewz: We had yet another amazing conversation with David Axe ... [T]he Bush Administration unwittingly assisted in the expansion of pirate activity several years ago. The Islamic Courts emerged in Somalia with some popular support to provide security......more
David Axe in the Horn of Africa
David Axe is freelance war correspondent based in Washington, D.C. He has reported from Iraq, Afghanistan,Lebanon, East Timor and Somalia....