Kenya - enraged by the kidnappings and the damage to its tourism industry and development plans - lashed out without warning or much planning, catching everyone off guard and sending its untested army into what could well prove to be a very dangerous trap.

BBC: A lot to lose - Kenya's Somali gambit

"Changing lease-sale schedules disrupts the certainty and consistency that industry needs for planning such investments for leasing and ensuing exploration and development, " Geoffrey Haddad, ConocoPhillips' manager of Alaska exploration wrote in a letter to the Interior Department dated May 3.

WSJ: Drilling Rules Hit Alaska Pipeline