Somali capital falls to Islamists

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13148204/

Looks like we got a new Taliban on our hands...

[Bono]

Old news.
Not gonna last, but it's better than control by the provisional government.

[Rob]

It's certainly a possibility, but I don't think so for several reasons.

Thousands of Somalis have been protesting in the streets over the Islamist takeover, and the secular warlords are regrouping- this may not be a final victory. Also, they have given at least lip service to the idea of peaceful relations with the US, and the US has responded with cautious optimism thus far.

Overall, I'd say wait and see; the idea of a religious regime disgusts me, but if they can bring stability with some semblance of a central government, and if they assist the US in rooting out al-Qaeda... I could live with it.

[Bono]

It's certainly a possibility, but I don't think so for several reasons.

Thousands of Somalis have been protesting in the streets over the Islamist takeover, and the secular warlords are regrouping- this may not be a final victory. Also, they have given at least lip service to the idea of peaceful relations with the US, and the US has responded with cautious optimism thus far.

Overall, I'd say wait and see; the idea of a religious regime disgusts me, but if they can bring stability with some semblance of a central government, and if they assist the US in rooting out al-Qaeda... I could live with it.

They control Mogadishu.
How this follows to central government is beyond me.

[Rob]

Hmm? Control of the biggest city in the country=potential for greater power. Admittedly, this will be some time down the road if their winning streak continues (doubtful, as I said above), but it's certainly a foreseeable possibility.

[minionofmidas]

Hmm? Control of the biggest city in the country=potential for greater power.

It never did much for Afghani warlords capturing Kabul...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Hmm? Control of the biggest city in the country=potential for greater power.

It never did much for Afghani warlords capturing Kabul...

True. Quite the reverse actually.

[MODU]

Time to do this right . . . Send in the Canadians! 

[ATFFL]

Time to do this right . . . Send in the Canadians! 

Headline June 10, 2006:

Canada enters Somalian conflict!

headline June 14, 2006:

Canadian capitol falls to Islamists.

[12th Doctor]

Yeah... well, we were trying to solve the problem over there, but then this guy named Clinton got elected, and....

[WMS]

Yes, both Stratfor and StrategyPage.com have been reporting on this for some time...sorry peeps, but the Islamic Courts are very friendly to Al Qaida, which means there will be no peaceful resolution to this.

Now is the point at which I start to worry about Somaliland's security...well, this could actually benefit them in certain ways as well.

[12th Doctor]

Time to do this right . . . Send in the Canadians! 

Headline June 10, 2006:

Canada enters Somalian conflict!

headline June 14, 2006:

Canadian capitol falls to Islamists.

ROTFLMAO...  Wow... how did I miss that post?

[Bono]

Yes, both Stratfor and StrategyPage.com have been reporting on this for some time...sorry peeps, but the Islamic Courts are very friendly to Al Qaida, which means there will be no peaceful resolution to this.

Now is the point at which I start to worry about Somaliland's security...well, this could actually benefit them in certain ways as well.

Don't worry, they'll get kicked out after a while.
Besides, at this point, much of Somalia is unconquerable.

[WMS]

Yes, both Stratfor and StrategyPage.com have been reporting on this for some time...sorry peeps, but the Islamic Courts are very friendly to Al Qaida, which means there will be no peaceful resolution to this.

Now is the point at which I start to worry about Somaliland's security...well, this could actually benefit them in certain ways as well.

Don't worry, they'll get kicked out after a while.
Besides, at this point, much of Somalia is unconquerable.

Yes, and normal service will resume.
True...especially Somaliland.

[Rob]

Hmm? Control of the biggest city in the country=potential for greater power.

It never did much for Afghani warlords capturing Kabul...

That's why I said "potential", Lewis.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Besides, at this point, much of Somalia is unconquerable.

That's what people said about Afghanistan in the early '90's.

[??????????]

Besides, at this point, much of Somalia is unconquerable.

That's what people said about Afghanistan in the early '90's.

They were saying that after 9/11 as well. Remember? "Oh they are gonna slaughter US troops in the mountains" "We shouldn't go into that quagmire".

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Yeah... well, we were trying to solve the problem over there, but then this guy named Clinton got elected, and....

There was no serious Islamist presence in Somalia then. The US was there as a part of a UN humanitarian mission to prevent famine.

And Clinton had absolutely nothing to do with that helicopter being downed and the marines being killed. That would've happened regardless of who was president.

[© tweed]

Besides, at this point, much of Somalia is unconquerable.

That's what people said about Afghanistan in the early '90's.

They were saying that after 9/11 as well. Remember? "Oh they are gonna slaughter US troops in the mountains" "We shouldn't go into that quagmire".

alot of that was rooted in the memories of all the problems the Soviets had in Afghanistan.  I'm still surprised we rolled through that quickly.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The big difference is the Soviets were trying to prop up an unpopular regime while the US-led operation was trying to depose an unpopular one.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Anyway, I think that one valid point is that with no central government, the capital of Somalia hs only symbolic value, and it doesn't sound like the Islamists control much else, meaning they might end up having about as much power as the transititional "government". Still worrying.

Front page of the StarTrib news due to our large Somali population, plus an extra article on local Somalis' reactions. Almost all were worried and are strongly against such Islamists, which it sounds like is largely the view in much of Somalia as well, even though Minnesotan Somalis tend to be much more westernized than the ones back there, in fact one of the bartenders at my favorite strip club is one. I also saw a fairly surreal site a few weeks ago, while walking back from class, I ran into a Somali girl going to class. She was wearing a traditional headscarve, but below that an MSU sweatshirt, and a traditional African dress beneath that, and tennis shoes. And the most bizarre thing: She was listening to an iPod.

[WMS]

It's not over yet.

Warlords advance toward Somali capital-residents
Thu Jun 8, 2006 12:52pm ET
By Mohamed Ali Bile

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Warlords driven out of Mogadishu by an Islamist militia are advancing back toward the Somali capital from their last stronghold of Jowhar, residents said on Thursday.

The residents, reached by telephone, told Reuters the Islamists were pulling back toward the town of Balad, which fell on Sunday and is on the road to the capital.

They said Jowhar warlords, reinforced by allies defeated in Mogadishu and Balad, had moved into positions south of the town that were previously occupied by the militia loyal to Mogadishu sharia courts.


"The (warlord) coalition has moved forward to Qalimoy, where the Islamic courts militia was yesterday. While the Islamic militia have moved back and are now in Gololey, which is 20 km (12 miles) from Balad," said local farmer Abdi Warsame.

"I think they moved back because their leaders are busy meeting in Mogadishu and they want to tighten their defenses there."

The warlords have vowed to win back the capital.

Earlier, Islamic courts chairman Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said his forces would not push into Jowhar unless they were attacked.

Scores of residents had fled Jowhar fearing an Islamist offensive. They had stopped leaving on Thursday.

"The town is much calmer. Residents are happy the Islamic militia have moved back," Warsame said.

He said hundreds took to the streets there to support U.S. President George W. Bush's statement of concern that Somalia should not become an al Qaeda safe haven.

"Local administration leaders vowed to continue fighting what they called 'al-Qaeda in Somalia'," Warsame said.

The Islamic militia won control of Mogadishu on Monday from a self-styled anti-terrorism warlord coalition, widely believed to be backed by Washington, after fierce fighting that had killed 350 people since February.


GOVERNMENT HEADING TO MOGADISHU

Awad Ashara, a member of parliament, told Reuters the country's interim government was planning to meet the Islamists.

"The government will in the coming days be sending cabinet members, lawmakers as well as influential traditional elders to Mogadishu. They will try to achieve reconciliation between the Islamic courts and the other groups," he said.

Ashara said the government wanted the Islamists to open Mogadishu's main seaport and airport, closed since 1994.

"The government urged the Islamic courts to take immediate necessary measures of establishing law and order in Mogadishu until the government comes and to work out voluntary disarmament," he said

The interim government, too weak to enter Mogadishu from its base in the provincial city of Baidoa, has welcomed the defeat of warlords widely believed to have undermined it.

The Islamist victory dislodged warlords from Mogadishu for the first time since they ousted military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, but clan fighters vowed to reclaim lost ground.

Ali Nur, a warlord fighter, said his Sa'ad clan was boosting defenses in its areas of Mogadishu.

"They have agreed to fight the Islamic courts. We will not attack them now but if they attack us, we will repel them and repossess our territories," he said.


In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed on Thursday to Somalia's warlords to now "come together and find a way of stabilizing and rebuilding their country".

Washington said on Wednesday it might be open to dealing with the Islamic militia, possibly signaling a new approach to Somalia.

It has long viewed the failed state as a potential shelter for international terrorists. But its reported covert funding of the defeated warlords has drawn domestic criticism.

Some analysts believe the defeat of the warlords, who ran their fiefdoms in Mogadishu with private armies for 15 years and are despised by much of the population, could create an opening for peace in the anarchic country.

Washington, which has shied away from direct involvement in Somalia since a humiliating 1994 exit of U.S. and U.N. troops, refused to discuss reports it funneled $100,000 a month to warlords, but says it will support anyone fighting terrorism.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13148204/

Looks like we got a new Taliban on our hands...

But wait! Isn't there supposed to be a "war on terror" going on?

Or did Bush lie about the "war on terror" like he has about everything else?