From the Economist (the best magazine there is): "Still, the American action raises uncomfortable questions. For a start, how many people died in the air raids and who exactly were they? Taken together, the attacks claimed dozens, possibly hundreds of lives. Sketchy reports, including one from a doctor working for the Islamists, suggest that women and children were among the dead. The Americans used the AC-130, a behemoth designed to shred large areas instantly, in the knowledge that the killing fields would be cleared before journalists and aid workers could reach them. The Americans said that their first overt action in Somalia since 1993 was limited to stopping “al-Qaeda terrorists” from escaping. But that label hardly describes the bulk of the Islamist fighters, many of whom are little more than boys."
PS For some of the silly comments on my endorsement of the Economist: I think it is the best magazine there is although I don't obviously endorse its politics. Can't you separate the two? I must credit anthropologist Dale Eickelman who turned me into the Economist 12 years ago during a summer I spent at Dartmouth.