Photo source: New York Times By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront In the fight against extremism, the United States deployed thousands of troops in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, a move that resulted in a crushing failure. But, in places like Somalia, the United States turned to a different playbook. They favoured spies, special operation raids, and drone strikes, instead of troop deployment. The mission was to hunt al-Qaeda fugitives, which later expanded to fighting Al-Shabaab, the most dangerous of al-Qaeda affiliates. Now, with time, this playbook is also failing. Al-Shabaab has been strongest in Somalia for years. They roam the countryside, bomb cities, run an undercover state, make extortion rackets, and demand parallel taxes, which are at least $120 million a year, by American government estimates. Al-Shabaab also has had plans to attack the United States, after the arrest of a militant in 2019, who took flying missions in the Philippines, for conducting another 9/11 attack...