Can you see the Democracy spreading from Iraq? The march of freedom taking place throughout the Middle East? Remember this, from less than two years ago?
Hardly a day goes by without Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or another senior administration official speaking publicly about the “march of freedom” and the success of the Iraq invasion in securing peace. “There’s a movement toward freedom around the world,” Bush said…
Well, that freedom is permeating Somalia, thanks in large part to America’s foreign policy. And now a new regional war is preparing to breakout between Ethiopia and the Islamic extremists of Somalia.
“I am ready to die,” said Osama Abdi Rahim, dressed head-to-toe in camouflage and marching around with a loaded Kalashnikov. He is 7 years old.
The coming conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia signals the powerful return of the same folks who sheltered bin Ladin for so long. It was just in July when bin Ladin went public with a warning to the US and the world about getting involved in Somalia:
Addressing Somalia, which was largely taken over in June by an Islamic militant group, [bin Ladin] urged Somalis to support the militants and said they were building an Islamic state in the Horn of Africa.
“You have no other means for salvation unless you commit to Islam, put your hands in the hands of the Islamic Courts to build an Islamic state in Somalia,” he said…His comments on Somalia included a stern warning to leaders of any country, including Islamic ones, against getting involved in the conflict.
“We pledge that we will fight your soldiers on the land of Somalia and we will fight you on your own land if you dispatch troops to Somalia.”
You remember how quickly the United States acted to prevent that from happening, right?
Wait, you mean that Osama bin Ladin openly declared that his forces and others loyal to the Al Qaeda cause were prepared to take over a nation, and the United States did absolutely nothing to prevent it?
Of course, our troops were tied down a bit somewhere else, but certainly our Secretary of State worked as hard as she could to hammer out a UN resolution to get peacekeepers to prevent this from happening.
Wait, you mean that the UN resolution passed actually lifted an arms ban on the region, resulting in an escalation of hostilities?
Well, certainly, the US is discouraging Ethiopia from invading Somalia and seeking a peaceful resolution to the war.
General John Abizaid of the U.S. Central Command, which has military authority for the Horn of Africa, flew to Ethiopia recently to meet with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who has told American officials that he could cripple the Islamists “in one to two weeks.”
Walking a careful line, Abizaid made it clear that a military invasion of Somalia could create a humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa.
But Abizaid did not tell Ethiopian officials to pull their troops out, Centcom officials said.
Hmm, ok, well, we’re sending mixed messages. But at least the Ethiopians are subduing the terrorist threat:
Officials in Washington have accused the Islamists of sheltering Al Qaeda terrorists, but whether or not that is true, the presence of Ethiopian troops seems to have increased the potential for terrorist activity.
Right. Wait, invading force creating terrorism? I think we may have known that. That’s dishearening. But at least the broader regional American policy-
“I’ll be honest,” said Sheik Muktar Robow Abu Monsur, the deputy security chief for the Islamists. “America is the best friend of Islam. It wakes up the sleeping Muslim.”
And, wait for it,
The problem with [the American foreign policy] strategy, many analysts said, is that it misreads the Islamists’ power, which is rooted not so much in their military strength — limited to a few hundred armed pick-up trucks and a few thousand fighters — but in their popular support.
Ethiopia may have the strongest military in the region, trained by American advisers and complete with jet fighters, but attacking Islamist forces may only drive them into a guerrilla insurgency.
Ok, I give up. I mean, I really freaking give up. Can anyone tell me why Condoleeza Rice still has her job?
Also at Daily Kos
