NO PEACE ON EARTH

"No Bush/Big Oil/Neocon connection, no story."

The US press hasn't paid too much attention to Somalia since the withdrawal of troops from there by President Clinton in 1995. The country has an interim government that is losing ground to the islamic radicals, particularly those in charge of the sharia courts after they took control of Mogadishu earlier this year. In 2002, Southwestern Somalia, comprising Bay and Bakool provinces declared itself "temporarily" autonomous, a condition that persists to this day with Baidoa being the effective capital. Another section of Somalia split off in 2006, declaring its self Jubaland.

The transitional government has requested peacekeepers from East Africa come to stabilize the country, but the Muslims who are trying to take over the country strongly oppose this step. The Union of Islamic Court leaders lobbied African Union member states in Libya to abandon plans to send peacekeepers to Somalia. According to US intelligence,

four al-Qaida leaders blamed for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania have become leaders in Somalia's Islamic militia

The UIC leaders claim Ethiopia plans to take over Somalia, and oppose any of them being present in the country, especially since the war between these two countries in 1977-1978. The Islamist Militia declared a jihad against the government of Ethiopia in October 2006.

At present civil war is feared in Somalia between forces backed by Ethiopia (such as the interim government) and Eritreans backing the Islamic forces. This month the Islamist Militia declared war on Ethiopia and started to attack the Ethiopian forces along the border, and portions of the Ethiopian army entered into Somalia.

Then on Christmas Eve, an Ethiopian strike force bombed targets in Somalia near Baidoa, and on Christmas, they bombed an airport in Mogadishu. The AP story goes on:

Ethiopian Information Minister Berhan Hailu said before Meles' announcement that Ethiopian soldiers were fighting alongside Somali government soldiers in Dinsoor, Belet Weyne, Bandiradley and Bur Haqaba.

Witnesses said a major road and an Islamic recruiting center were bombed in Belet Weyne, and 12 Ethiopian soldiers were reportedly captured nearby.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi went on television to announce that his country was at war with the Islamic movement that wants to rule neighboring Somalia by the Quran.

"Our defense force has been forced to enter a war to defend (against) the attacks from extremists and anti-Ethiopian forces and to protect the sovereignty of the land," Meles said a few hours after his military attacked the Islamic militia with fighter jets and artillery.

Meles has said his government has a legal and moral obligation to support Somalia's internationally recognized government. He also accuses the Islamic movement of backing ethnic Somali rebels fighting for independence from Ethiopia and has called such support an act of war.

Leaders of the Islamic militia have repeatedly said they want to incorporate ethnic Somalis living in eastern Ethiopia, northeastern Kenya and Djibouti into a Greater Somalia.

Over at the Ace of Spades HQ, LauraW noted "Yeah. Patience is a really bad way to deal with people who spread their religion by the sword," and commenters responded:

Just one more example of how the US and Israel are causing all the problems in the Muslim world. If only those dam Israelis would give back Palestine, and the US would pull out of Iraq, the Somalis and Ethiopians could live in peace!
/sarcasm off
-by Tobias Magan


If this was a US strike, there would be the inevitable outcry about collateral damage and civilian deaths. An Ethiopian strike apparently gets a pass.
-by Geoff


Yes, but will they unleash the Secret Weapon?
-by See-Dubya


Geoff,

I too was surprised that the "eyewitness" to the attack said they were hitting roads and recruiting centers. The PR advisors from AQ have not arrived yet, or AP would be quoting "police Lt. Mohammed" that an orphanage and a mosque were hit with 100 women and children killed.
-by Aaron


I'm tempted to say we should back any country that is fighting psycho Islamic death cult terrorists. However, that's what our strategery was in the Cold War when our enemy was the USSR and global communism, and we ended up in bed with a number of disreputable characters, such as Anastasio Samoza and the Shah of Iran.

On the other hand, Jimmy Carter tried a foreign policy based on "human rights" and it was a complete and utter disaster. Thanks to his incompetence, Nicaragua was lost to the commies and Iran morphed into the first Islamic terrorist state

So my question is, must we then base our foreign policy on the lesser-of-two-evils Realpolitiking, or is there a better way?
-by OregonMuse


Unfortunately, this isn't a good guys vs. bad guys fight. Ethiopia has a hideous human rights record. See Link

There aren't that many good actors in this part of the world, but I side with them against the islamo-nutters on this one
-by Redhand


Read THIS blog post I wrote on Nov 19 and click the CJTF-HOA news link in it.

I think you'll notice that Kenya features prominently in many of the news stories.

Now look at a map of Kenya. You'll notice Kenya has borders with Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan (Sudan? Darfur?)

Now go read THIS post where I suggested we get heavily in bed with Ethiopia.

Ha, I am ****ing Nostradamus - I knew something was up over there over a month ago. The details don't all match, but I got the broad strokes dead on.
-by Purple Avenger

They are cowards," said Sheik Mohamoud Ibrahim Suley, an official with Somalia's Council of Islamic Courts. "They are afraid of the face-to-face war and resorted to airstrikes. I hope God will help us shoot down their planes."

If God doesn't help, will the Somalia's Council of Islamic Courts get the message?
-by Maggie


The Ethiopians fought Italian tanks with spears. Are the Islamic Courts sure they've thought this through?
-by Richard McEnroe

Just a week ago, Islamic Court leaders fled Somalia, apparently in a bold move to demonstrate their warrior spirits and stand by their followers in the jihad after the declaration of war on Ethiopia. Seems like they knew what was coming, and didn't want any part of it.

So now you know some of what's going on in Northeastern Africa. Sometimes it seems like that vast continent is doomed to constant misery and strife.

Africa, Islam