Part 2
Lack of human intel hampered AQ hunt in Africa
It was late summer in the hot, dusty Ethiopian town of Gode and Marine Capt. Rye Barcott wandered into a mud hut restaurant in an attempt to talk to the locals. Inside were four ethnic Somalis – the norm in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. Barcott, armed only with a pistol, spotted two AK-series assault rifles beside them.
He tried to engage the men in conversation, but their tone turned bitter when the subject of the Ethiopian army arose.
“They’re the same as they were during the Dergue,” one man said angrily. “They’re f— dogs. You understand? You understand what they do to us, to our women? Nothing has changed. Only now they wait until you turn your back.’”