Somalia Jihad Update. "Islamic Fighters Move Into Somali Town," by Mohammed Olad Hassan for the Associated Press:
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — More than 100 masked Islamic militiamen entered a strategic town Thursday in the latest bold move by a force defeated two years ago at the hands of Somalia's Western-backed government and its Ethiopian allies.
The Islamists held the capital, Mogadishu, and much of southern Somalia for six months before they were pushed out by the Ethiopians in December 2006.
They have since waged a deadly insurgency and carried out numerous attacks in Mogadishu. They have also staged brazen raids in towns including Bur Haqaba, a hilltop town about 35 miles from the provincial capital of Baidoa in the south. The group released prisoners from jail and killed a police chief before retreating, witnesses said.
Last month, Islamic fighters briefly took over Dinsor in southern Somalia, killing nine soldiers, police said.
The U.S. has linked the militiamen to al-Qaida, and on Monday, the U.S. launched a missile strike in eastern Somalia targeting a suspect in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
On Thursday, the masked fighters entered Hudur, a southwestern town that lies along the road leading from Ethiopia into Somalia.
"There was not a single gunshot," said Mustaf Mahad, a well-known businessman in Hudur.
"The fighters took positions at two locations in the town, we do not know if their aim is to take over the town or not," another resident told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He and other residents said there have been only a smattering of government troops in the town recently.
A government spokesman said he could not confirm Islamists had moved into the town and had no comment.
Sounds like another convention of death-eaters getting together to support the comeback of he-who-must-not-be-named. And once again, an organized group of 100 can intimidate a much larger number of individuals. The only way to oppose these guys is through an even stronger organized group. Like the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines, for example.
Western Media believe the Islamic Courts were good for Somalia. After all, there was order on the streets, crime was greatly reduced, the clans stopped fighting one another, and the trains ran on time.
... or so we were told.
The only way to oppose these guys is through an even stronger organized group. Like the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines, for example.
Europe and Africa, this is YOUR job. America's to-do list is full.
A strategic town in Somalia? How can we tell? Is there really anything in all of Somalia that is strategic? Strategic to whom?
I'll wager that the entire country could sink beneath a sea of junked automobiles and camel dung - and nobody would notice it's missing for six weeks. Strategic? Please.
HotSpur,
It depends on how you define "strategic". The town might be at a location through which goods flow. Maybe the country isn't important in our eyes, but losing the wrong pawn on your chessboard could cost you the game.
We might not notice if the country disappears but until then the people in it can do a heck of a lot of damage.
"Europe and Africa, this is YOUR job. America's to-do list is full."
Agreed that America cannot do it all. But, without a military opposition somewhere, these guys will take over everywhere. So, we do need to seek military alliances in order to stand up with a military resistance to the expansion of Islam's bloody borders. This will require some diplomacy, but the alliance with the Ethiopians and the U.S. air support is an example of how a little involvement by the Americans can empower an effective opposition.