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[QUOTE="Queen, post: 86012, member: 27"]
After years of bloodshed and warnings, concrete and asphalt are getting thrown down in coastal Kenya to harden a frontline air hub meant to squeeze militants across the Horn.

Runway construction at Manda Bay
[LIST]
[*]The United States kicked off a 70 million runway expansion at Manda Bay.
[*]Sits in Lamu County near Somalia’s border.
[*]Supports counterterror pushes across the Horn of Africa.
[*]Uses a Kenya Defence Forces base shared with US troops.
[/LIST]
Strategic partnership signaling
[LIST]
[*]Joe Biden flagged Kenya as a top non-NATO ally in 2024.
[*]Framed as deeper military and diplomatic ties.
[*]Lacked a formal security pact.
[*]Messaging aimed at deterring hostile actors.
[/LIST]
Security scares driving urgency
[LIST]
[*]Al-Shabaab fighters smashed into Camp Simba in 2020.
[*]Killed three Americans and wrecked an aircraft.
[*]Earlier embassy attacks struck Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
[*]The death toll topped two hundred, with thousands hurt.
[/LIST]
Diplomacy talk at the base
[LIST]
[*]Christopher Landau pitched resolve during the groundbreaking.
[*]Called the outpost proof of shared defense.
[*]Framed it as a warning to adversaries.
[/LIST]
Kenya’s role beyond East Africa
[LIST]
[*]Christopher Landau praised Kenya’s Haiti security work.
[*]Leads a United Nations-backed mission there.
[*]Backs police against gangs holding territory.
[*]Helped sketch plans for a new suppression force.
[/LIST]
[/QUOTE]

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