I just visited the headquarters of the U.S. military's Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) headquartered at Camp Lemonier in the tiny nation of Djibouti. The trip was part of the reporting effort for a public radio documentary, produced by the Stanley Foundation (full disclosure: my employer) and KQED San Francisco.
I was deeply impressed by the people and the mission of CJTF-HOA. Their mission is to fight terrorism with what most people would call basic human kindness.
They want to promote stability in the region by providing humanitarian assistance and kick-starting economic development. The goal is to take away the fertile soil for terrorist recruiting by digging wells, building schools, and providing services (like medical and veterinary care).