"Kenya's government has made an
urgent appeal to the Obama administration for the Pentagon to provide
intelligence and logistical support to Kenya's faltering month-old military
operation in Somalia against the Shabab, a
powerful Al
Qaeda-linked militia. Administration officials are considering the
request, which came through the State
Department, to provide military surveillance and reconnaissance that could
include imagery from drone aircraft. Such aid would represent a significant
expansion of U.S. involvement in the chaotic East African nation."