The Amazing Disappearing Islamists

Now who’s the Paper Tiger? A report from inside Somalia.

Somalia: Islamists disappearing in the capital

(SomaliNet) Here in Mogadishu, it is within hours of mess and disorder, and no one rules the capital right now as the people began to worry about what is next. Once powerful Islamic Courts’ men but just weak seem to be disappearing.

It is now the end of eight months rule by the Islamic Courts Union in central and southern Somalia, despite the ICU hardliners vowed to launch hit and run attack in Somalia…Despite people in Mogadishu now fear of air raids by the Ethiopian forces, Somalia Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said that there is no intension to bomb the capital.

“We don’t absolutely intend to attack Mogadishu but my government is confident that it will be welcomed by the its people in the capital,” said Gedi. “what we are hunting down is the foreign insurgents in Somalia and will crush them until their end, the Islamists made the country base for international terrorists,”

Despite that last quote I highlighted, the fact that the Islamists are recognized as terrorists, are foreigners, and backed by AQ, consider the asinine comments (HT Hot Air) by Bolton’s, let’s hope temporary, replacement, at the UN:

The Security Council “shares the view that this is a situation that has to resolve itself through dialogue by the parties inside Somalia, calling on all sides to refrain from further violence, and particularly to respect humanitarian rights and law,” he said.

All sides? Terrorists aren’t a “side,” they’re savages who need to be vanquished. We’re dealing here with two nations, Somalia and Ethiopia, confronting an al-Qaida puppet death squad without the support of anyone else in the world. To suggest that the AQ death squad is owed the same expectations as a legitimate, normal government defending itself is absurd. But the genius of our pathetic elite “thinkers” on the issue doesn’t end there. Keep in mind, this entire WSJ opinion piece [HT Hot Air) by Jonathan Stevenson, noted as "a professor of strategic studies in the Strategic Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College," is ridiculous. It stinks of the James Baker stone-age view of politics--make deals with the devil, and then get right into that cozy, warm bed with him. File this one under "Don't you just hate it when Defeat is snatched away by the Jaws of Victory?":

Though 98% Muslim and long without a functioning government, southern Somalia has not, so far, ripened into the fully fledged terrorist threat that many have feared it would. This week, however, as Ethiopia engaged Islamist Somali militiamen [most of whom are foreign fighters and terrorists, not Somali 'militiamen'--ed] became the site of a nascent regional war. The primary combatants are Somalia’s secular Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which is internationally recognized [actually established by the UN--ed.] and politically supported by the U.S., [and everyone else. Sheesh.--ed.] and the Islamist “Islamic Courts Union” that holds sway on the ground. They are backed militarily by two fierce rivals, Ethiopia [backed by the world--ed.] and Eritrea, [backed by AQ--ed.] respectively.

Thus far, the major powers have tacitly allowed Ethiopia and Eritrea to keep assets deployed in Somalia while pressuring both to refrain from escalating to all-out war. But these weak constraints cannot produce operational equilibrium between the TFG and the Islamic Courts Union for long enough to allow effective major-power attention to gravitate to Somalia before war arises.

Power sharing with an AQ puppet? Here’s a newsflash for Mr. Professor of Strategic Studies: Stay in the schoolroom because “war” already has broken out–in the world in 2001, and in Somalia two weeks ago. And guess what? The Good Guys are winning and the Bad Guys soiled themselves and are “disappearing.” That’s called “winning,” something the American “Strategic Elite” clearly do not recognize.

UPDATE:

Richard Miniter chimes in from Pajamas with “Why Ethiopia is Winning in Somalia.”

Related Link:

Learn more about Ethiopia from: State Department: Background Note on Ethiopia