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Mike Clough writes an opinion article on the Los Angeles Times and says:

(…) Somalia is on the brink of becoming the fourth front in the U.S. war on terror. As in Afghanistan, Iraq and in Lebanon, the U.S. is allied in some way against radical Islamic fundamentalists. The Islamic Courts Union, a growing alliance of Islamic militants, recently routed U.S.-backed warlords and took over Mogadishu. It seeks to oust a transitional federal government, which is supported by the African Union but controls only the town of Baidoa. On the sidelines is the U.S.-backed regime in Ethiopia that is eager to lead the battle against the Islamists, who may have ties to Al Qaeda. (…) In many ways, this latest front in the war on terror is the culmination of nearly 30 years of alternating Washington policy blunders and neglect in the Horn of Africa. That history has left the U.S. with few good options in a worsening situation. U.S. missteps in the region date to 1977, when policymakers tacitly — and foolishly — encouraged Somalia to take advantage of political instability in the Ethiopian capital and grab control of Ethiopia’s Somali-inhabited Ogaden region. The move backfired when Soviet and Cuban troops rushed in to defend the Marxist regime in Addis Ababa, turning Ethiopia into Moscow’s staunchest ally in Africa. In response, Washington armed Mohamed Siad Barre’s thugocracy in Somalia.

Mike Clough concluded by saying:

With a growing likelihood of war in the Horn of Africa, Bush has little maneuvering room. He could accept the emergence of an anti-American Islamist Somalia. He could back Ethiopian intervention on the side of the transition government in Baidoa, which would lead to a bloody war. Or he could try to persuade another African government to militarily support the transitional government. None of these are particularly appealing, even when practical. This time, Somalia doesn’t seem to be going away.

I do not believe that more U.S involvement, the kind of political and military involvement Mike Clough seems to favor would have made any difference at all. The fact is that, the “Right Wing” bullish U.S foreign policy advocated by Mike Clough and his like-minded folks is at best counter-productive and at worse destructive as the catastrophic military adventure in Iraq proves beyond any doubt. Indeed, the failed U.S. clandestine military involvement made things more complicated in Somalia by helping popular political upraising that propelled the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) to higher political ground.

I believe strategic U.S. interests can best be achieved by talking to the leaders of the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia. The ICU made several important political signals indicating that they want to address U.S. security concerns in Somalia. The U.S. should not blindly refuse to engage Somalia’s new rulers exclusively on unrealistic ideological grounds that is based on dogma rather reason and realpolitik!

I do not believe that ICU is hiding “terrorists” in their camps as some “Right Wing” political commentators (propagandists) would like us to believe!

Click here to view the full article on the LA Times.

The Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEW) paint a grim prospect for Somalia by saying:

Prospects for the 2006 main “gu” cereal crops, for harvest from August, are poor due to insufficient rains; the rainy season is complete, with patchy results. This would lead to the third consecutive season of below average harvest. Despite some heavy rains at the beginning of the season, large areas in Gedo, Bakol, Hiran, Bay, Lower Shabelle, Lower and Middle Juba, Galgadud, Toghdeer, Sool, Sanaag and Bari received below normal rains (see map). The gu is the main rainy season (April–June) with about 70 to 80 percent of annual cereal production in normal years.

Despite favourable rains in several drought-affected regions of Somalia, the food security situation of about 2.1 million drought-affected people thus remains precarious. Extremely high levels of malnutrition persist in many areas including Gedo, Bakool and Juba Valley. Recent nutrition surveys of these areas found unacceptably high rates of acute malnutrition between 16.2 and 23.8 percent (GAM), with corresponding severe malnutrition rates of 3.7 to 4.2 percent (SAM).

This is one of the tragedies of the Somali political conflict, while the so called “leaders” (Myopic triblists) are bickering among themselves, thousands of Somalis die everyday due to hunger and starvation!

Click here to view the article GIEW website.

C. Bryson Hull of the Reuters News Agency writes:

Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, a veterinarian thrust into office two years ago, finds himself clinging to power in the Horn of Africa nation. But whether he stays or goes, many believe he is the pivotal figure in deciding the fate of his fragile administration — the 14th attempt to restore central rule since Somalia fell into anarchy in 1991 after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted. After narrowly surviving a no-confidence vote on July 30, Gedi must name a streamlined cabinet by Monday and deliver on a plan of action to be reviewed in three months under a deal brokered with President Abdullahi Yusuf on Sunday. “Whether he stays is not important. It is whether he creates a competent cabinet,” legislator Abdullahi Haji said in Baidoa, the government’s temporary capital and only stronghold at home.

Interesting perspective… worth reading!

Click here to view the full analysis on the AlertNet.

The Reuters News Agency reports:

Somalia’s interim cabinet has been dissolved and a new one will be appointed within a week, President Abdullahi Yusuf said on Monday. “The bloated cabinet of (Prime Minister) Ali Mohamed Gedi’s government did not do anything during its tenure,”Yusuf told parliament. “From today onwards, the government has been dissolved, only the prime minister will remain”

Well, this should not surprise anyone at all. The TFG collapsed long time ago and Col. Cabdullahi Yuusuf has been trying hard to resuscitate a lifeless government that nobody really cares about. He has also been trying hard to distance himself from Cali Geedi and the rest of failed cabinet in a futile attempt to save himself from eminent political onslaught from the Somali Islamic Courts’ Union. I do not believe that Col. Cabdullahi Yuusuf will be able to fool anyone other than himself!

Cabdullaahi Yuusuf had amble opportunities to find lasting political solutions to Somalia’s tragic civil war. The fact is that he failed and he failed miserably on everyone’s eyes! Hence, he is part of Somalia’s biggest problems not part of the solution as he mistakenly believes to be. Therefore, Somalia will be better of if he goes to where he really belongs; Addis Abba! His biggest political aspiration seems to have been to be an Ethiopian Viceroy in Somalia and he did indeed succeed doing that to some extend even though it may not have been long enough for him.

As I have written many times on this page, there is no viable alternative to the rule of the Islamic Courts Union! They must be given a chance to show what they are capable of doing! They succeeded to clean Mogadishu from the tyrany of warlordism. I am sure they will be able to clean the rest of the country including the northern and easter regions!

Click here to view the full dispatch on Reuters.

The Eritrea Daily Newspaper (Online Edition) reports:

Twelve more ministers walked away from the Western-backed weak interim government of Somalia Tuesday, raising fears of imminent collapse of the government, said reports from the area. Minister of Minerals and Water Mohamud Salad Nur and three other assistant ministers announced their resignation less than a week after 18 senior officials also quit, dealing a blow to the fragile interim government. Eight more ministers and assistant ministers later resigned after Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi called for peace talks with rival Islamists, scheduled for this week, to be postponed. “We had no option but to resign because we believe if the talks are postponed again it will affect the reconciliation efforts,” Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources Hassan Abshir Farah told Reuters. “Gedi’s government is unpopular among most members of parliament and its work plans will not be accepted by the national assembly,” Water and Mineral Resources Minister Muhamoud Salat Nur told reporters Tuesday.

Let’s face it; there is no viable alternative to the Islamic Courts Union. Hence, they must be allowed to take over the executive branch of the government. The Federal parliament should stay for the time being as a transitional body while the ICU consolidates the control of the country including the northern and eastern regions. Col. Cabdullaahi Yuusuf should go where he belongs; Adis Ababa! Cali Geedi can be allowed to stay in the country and work on animal “behinds”.

However, both of them should stand trial for treason once peace is restored through out our beloved country! Anyone who dares to betray the Somali Nation should not go unpunished! Period!

Click here to view the full report on Eritrea Daily.

Dr. Jendayi Frazer; U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs was quoted as saying:

Very clearly the transitional federal institutions are considered the legitimate entities for government and they need to have some type of defense.

Dr. Fraser went on by saying:

We as a matter of urgency need to consider the request for some type of force to come in and train up those transitional federal institutions. That’s the best way to keep out these more immediate neighbours.

I agree with Dr. Frazer that federal institutions have some limited political legitimacy. I also agree with her that in order to keep the Ethiopians out, Somalia must build strong defense force. However, I do believe that the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) should be given the benefit of the doubt and should be allowed to proceed with their relentless campaign to eliminate the tyranny of warlordism once and for all from our beloved country! They have succeeded to weed out the tyrannical warlords from the Mogadishu. As a result, life in Mogadishu is clearly getting back to normal with both the Airport and Seaport open for business. It is worth noting that neither the TFG nor the United States could ever manage to achieve what the ICU achieved with such amazing speed and less bloodshed!

It is true that the ICU did not spell out their true political agenda thus far. Understandably, this makes lots of people included my self nerves. However, I do believe that Sheekh Shariif Axmed is an honest man who has the best interest of the Somali people in his heart. Unlike the more belligerent and hard-line Sheekh Daahir Caways, Sheekh Shariif Axmed looks like a true Muslim; humble, kind, gentle and soft spoken with no ill-will to anyone.

My hope is that Sheekh Daahir Caways will step down from power for the good of the country! I also hope that the ICU will be able to put screeching halt to the secessionist madness in northern Somalia soon by uniting the country peacefully.

Click here to view the full dispatch by the AlertNet.

Speaking to reporters in London, Lord David Triesman; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of the British Foreign Office was quoted as saying:

I think it would be profoundly damaging to the interests of the people of Somalia … were he to be a leading member of government….. It would be unacceptable … for people to seize by force the government of Somalia.

Lord David Triesman went on by saying:

It would be deeply disturbing … if a force led by people who we have good reason to believe were involved with the bombing of embassies in East Africa were the leaders of that government.

I do not think that Lord David Triesman is in a moral position to preach Somalis about their political problems. The question many Somalis are asking is: were was Lord Triesman for past last fifteen years when the Somali people were butchered everyday by the warlords? He is talking like someone who just woke up from a long hibernation! If the truth is to be told, the British government and Lord Triesman were looking the Somali conflict with a blind eye. Indeed, I have sent countless number of emails to Lord Triesman and his office asking him what the British government wanted to do about the tragic Somali civil war. For the record, I never got more than a short reply saying “we are looking into the issue”!

Lord Triesman has never been a friend of the Somali people and I believe he will never be for obvious reasons! Therefore, he should leave Somalia to its people and to those others who care about their plight!

Click here to view the full dispatch on the AlertNet. You may also like to click here for more Lord Triesman and Somalia.

Mohamed Olad Hassan of the Associated Press reports:

Somalia’s virtually powerless government was unravelling as a fifth of its cabinet resigned in disgust and the administration’s Islamic rivals took over the presidential palace in the capital of Mogadishu. Eighteen key ministers in the 102-member cabinet said on Thursday their government had failed to bring peace to this chaotic African nation as it emerged from 15 years of anarchy. The leadership had no power outside its base in Baidoa, 250km from the capital. According to a letter of resignation issued by the MPs: “We have seen that the government can’t carry out national reconciliation and development.” The MPs included the ministers for domestic co-operation and for planning and international relations.

The MPs has a good point! The TFG has failed. It must disband ASAP! The warlords must be ejected from the transitional parliament.

Click here to view the full dispatch on the South African News 24.

According to the South African Mail & Guardian newspaper, Cali Geedi; the failed Somali Prime Minister was quoted as saying:

Egypt, Libya and Iran, whom we thought were friends, are engaged in fuelling the conflict in Somalia by supporting the terrorists.

Cali Geedi went on by saying:

We call for the international community to put pressure on these countries who want the problems in Somalia to continue.

This is nothing but foolish and a desperate attempt by Cali Geedi to smear friendly Arab countries that cares deeply about the plight of the Somali people. The fact is that Cali Geedi has failed as a prime minister. Hence, the current Somali political conflict will continue as long as he is still the head of the failed TFG.

He ordered the invasion of his country by a hostile force! Yet, he is saying that those who oppose his treachery against the Somali people are “terrorists”. This man must be sleeping walking in the dark!

He must resign as soon as possible. If he refused to do so he must be forced to leave. Working on animals “behind” is his chosen profession and he must go back to that! I am sure everyone will better once he does that!

Enough is enough… he gotta go period!

Click here to view the full article on the Mail & Guardian.

In an opinion piece published on today’s Kenya “Daily Nation” newspaper, Ambrose Murunga urges the Kenya government to use force in order to stop the Somali Islamic Courts to complete their quest to free the Somali people from the tyranny of warlordism.

Ambrose Murunga writes:

Kenyan intelligence agencies should be advising the political leadership against allowing the collapse of Somalia’s transitional government. The BBC reports that 20 Cabinet ministers handed tendered in their resignations yesterday.

She concluded by saying:

The Islamic Courts Union is poised to take over, and a radical, theocratic government in our neighborhood is a definite ‘No Way’. It is in the interests of our national security to prevent any such development, by force, if need be.

I think this is at best a sick joke! And at worst it is a dangerous idea from a mind hallucinating with ignorance about the geo-politics and ethnic tensions in that part of the world. Ambrose Murunga and other Kenyans must know that one third of what is now called “Kenya” is a Somali territory under illegal Bantu (Kenyan) occupation. Hence, it is a very dangerous political gamesmanship to advocate ideas that could destabilize in an already volatile region. I understand that Kenyans are very afraid that Somali people under Kenyan occupation will rebel. However preaching hatred is not will fuel more hostilities towards the Kenyans.

Somalis under Kenyan occupation must be allowed to decide their political destiny!

Following is the full piece! (more…)

Alisha Ryu of the Voice of America sent a dispatch from Mogadishu and said:

Nineteen Cabinet ministers in Somalia’s fragile secular interim government in Baidoa resigned Thursday, possibly in an attempt to facilitate a power-sharing deal with rival Islamists. Meanwhile, the Islamists strengthened their grip on power, accepting the peaceful surrender of its last rival secular militia in Mogadishu. The list of those who resigned from Somalia’s U.N.-backed but powerless Transitional Federal Government includes seven ministers, seven assistant ministers, and four state ministers. In a joint letter, the ministers complained that the government lacked transparency and accountability and its leaders had failed to work toward national reconciliation and development since the interim body was formed 19 months ago.

If true this is a courageous act of patriotism. As I wrote before, no self respecting Somali parliamentarian should operation under Ethiopian colonial rule. The TFG must disband as soon as possible so that a care taker government can be installed.

Click here to view the full dispatch by the VOA.

Kuwaiti Times reports:

A mystery cargo plane that landed in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu yesterday has triggered accusations from the interim government that it was carrying weapons from Eritrea to support rival Islamists. In only the second arrival of a plane to Mogadishu’s old international airport since Islamists re-opened it days ago, residents reported seeing a medium-sized aircraft with no recognizable identity land and unload large boxes. “Eritrea has brought to Mogadishu by airplane weapons to support the Islamists,” Somalia’s deputy information minister Salad Ali Jelle told reporters from Baidoa, the provincial base of the fragile transitional government. Islamists blocked the area near the airport to stop residents from finding out about the plane, believed to be carrying guns and explosives, the official said, citing residents’ accounts as his evidence.

The last thing Somalia needs is more arms. We have enough of them!

Click here to view the full report.

David Gollust of VOA writes:

The Bush administration is again urging the main parties in the Somalia conflict to commit to dialogue for a unity government, and it is calling on Somalia’s neighbors to avoid any actions that might complicate those efforts. The U.S. appeal followed reports Wednesday that a Kazakh cargo plane carrying arms from Eritrea for Islamic militants had arrived in the Somali capital Mogadishu, and news accounts last week that Ethiopia had sent troops to shore up the country’s transitional government based in Baidoa. Both Eritrea and Ethiopia have denied intervening in the long-running Somali conflict and officials here say they cannot verify the news reports. However, the State Department is taking the accounts seriously. At a news briefing, State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said it is important that Somalia’s neighbors avoid any actions that would make the political reconciliation process in Somalia more difficult than it already is.

To me the Bush Administrations foreign policy regarding the Somali conflict is at best incoherent and it lacks strategic focus.

Click here to view the full dispatch on the VOA.

Mohamed Sheikh Nor of the Associated Press writes:

A mysterious Russian-built cargo plane believed to be loaded with weapons landed in this capital Wednesday, setting off a fresh round of allegations that Somalia has become a proxy battleground for its neighbors Eritrea and Ethiopia. The United States and other Western powers have cautioned outsiders against meddling in Somalia, which has no single ruling authority and can be manipulated by anyone with money and guns. But there’s little sign the warning has been heeded. Somalia’s virtually powerless government charged on Wednesday that the Ilyushin-76, only the second flight to land at Mogadishu International Airport in a decade was packed with land mines, bombs and guns. It said the shipment had come from Eritrea, which supports the Islamic militia that has seized the capital along with most of southern Somalia.

It looks that, detrimental to the Somali people, that history is repeating it self. Somalia was a battle ground for ideologically based proxy wars during the Cold War era! And now what have we got? Somalia as a new frontline on the “War on Terror” and Ethiopian/Eritrean proxy wars? Can a country be so unlucky like Somalia?

Click here to view the full dispatch on the Houston Chronicle.

The Foreign Policy in Focus Magazine says:

Somalia today is very much like Afghanistan was in 1996. In the wake of years of civil war, chaotic rule by warlords, and the death and displacement of countless Muslims, a ragtag Islamic militia has moved in to take control of much of Somalia.

(more…)

The Pan-Arab Al Jazeera Television Network reports:

The leader of Somalia’s Islamist movement has rejected peace talks just hours after the country’s interim government agreed to meet in Sudan. Shaikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said the presence of Ethiopian troops sent to reinforce Somalia’s government had ruined any chance for peace. Aweys said: “Until Ethiopian troops leave Somali soil, we will never negotiate with the government.” Earlier on Tuesday, the government had agreed to attend unconditional peace talks in Khartoum.

This is a very dangerous move!

After this, the TFG becomes completely irrelevant unless of course Cabdullaahi Yuusuf asks the Ethiopians to complete their invasion through out the entire country. An impossible task if you ask me.

It is so sad to see the demise of the TFG so soon. So much time and resources were invested on its creation. However, both Cabdullaahi Yuusuf and Cali Geedi have no vision to lead the country as they could not see beyond myopic tribalist interests!

Shariif Xasan should dissolve the federal parliament as soon as possible and tell them to go home for now! A self respecting Somali parliamentarian cannot and should operate under Ethiopian occupation! Alternatively, the parliament could negotiate a peace deal the with Somali Union of Islamic Courts with the involvement of the TFG and then open the old parliament building in Mogadishu as an operational base. I am this could work well for Somalia and its people.

Bottom-line is that the TFG has failed. Hence, we must find an alternative way to govern the country!

Click here to view the full dispatch on Al Jazeera.

The International Herald Tribune writes:

When a Coca-Cola bottling plant opened here two years ago, the 400-plus investors invited to finance the project were carefully chosen by clan. There were Abgal investors and Habar Gedir investors and representatives of other clans around Somalia as well. Each contributed a minimum of $300 to help start the United Bottling Company, Somalia’s only maker of Coca-Cola. The project was a deliberate effort to create a feeling of communal ownership for the factory in a place where clan-based conflict has long been the rule. Building a sparkling, $8.3 million facility in such a tumultuous capital was a bold business venture. The thinking was that Somalia had huge business potential and that long years of anarchy, which erupted after Somalia’s last government collapsed in 1991, would eventually give way to a mending of the country. But Somalia is a difficult place to read, and now the Coke brand faces a much-changed business environment, one fraught with both opportunity and peril. Islamic militias took over the capital in June and brought some stability to the city - so much that the Coke bottler predicts the company’s sky-high security costs will soon plummet.

Click here to view the full dispatch on the IHT.

The United Integrated News service (IRIN NEWS) writes:

The takeover of Mogadishu on 4 June by the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) was the most important political event in Somalia in the last 16 years. It removed a political class of clan-based extortionists and dealers in everything from drugs to people, known as ‘warlords’, which has divided and ruled the country since the collapse of the central state in 1991. Warlordism created one of the world’s most protracted humanitarian crises. In the absence of any significant political, military or humanitarian intervention, Somalia has suffered chronic impoverishment, exodus, displacement and international isolation.
However, the recent military victory by UIC, triggered by popular revolt against the warlords, achieved what international military intervention and peace talks have failed to accomplish since 1991. Unable to neutralise or control the warlords, the international community ultimately resorted to working with them. Fifteen rounds of internationally sponsored peace talks, held externally, in 2004 resulted in the establishment of the present Transitional Federal Government (TFG), headed by Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, a former army colonel.

I am glad to hear that Somalia’s popular Islamic Revolution is getting the recognition it deserves! Nonetheless, I must say that Islamic Courts’ leaders should be prepared to make political concessions with other groups including the TFG if they are really serious about bringing peace and normalcy back to Somalia. They must also convince the world that they mean PEACE!

Click here to view the full dispatch on Reuters’ Alertnet.

According to the BBC News:

IGAD has agreed to send peacekeeping troops to Somalia - but only when it is safe to do so.

Perhaps IGAD officials are getting the message,after all! I have my doubts, let’s wait and see!

Click here to view the full dispatch.

The Los Angeles Times says writes:

Somalia’s Islamist movement distanced itself from Osama bin Laden’s view that deployment of foreign troops to the Horn of Africa country would be part of a crusade to crush Islamic rule. “Osama bin Laden is expressing his views like any other international figure. We are not concerned about it,” said Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, former leader of the Islamist group. An audio recording by Bin Laden on Saturday warned the United States and other countries against sending troops to Somalia. It also praised Al Qaeda’s new leader in Iraq. The CIA said a technical analysis confirmed that the speaker was Bin Laden.

If true, it is a wise move by Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union.

Click here for the full dispatch on the LA Times. Please note that the LA Times requires free registration for access.

The BBC News reports:

A two-member United Nations security team has arrived in the Somali capital to hold talks with Islamist leaders. It is the UN’s first contact with Mogadishu’s new rulers since they took over from the warlords a month ago. Earlier one of the defeated warlords surrendered, with some 100 fighters and nine armed pick-up trucks. Omar Finish was one of the key members of the defeated warlord alliance and had been holed up in north Mogadishu, after his comrades had fled the city. “The team wants to check security in the capital before UN agencies can resume their work here,” Abdirahim Isse, a close aide to senior Islamic leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, told Reuters news agency.

Click here to view the full dispatch by the BBC News.

Justin Raimondo of the Anti-War.com has an interested piece on “How we (Americans) messed up Somalia – and paved the way for Islamist domination.” The article has lots of links to references for further reading.

It is a good read..

Click here to view the full article on the Anti-War.Com.

Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, the current chairman of the pan-African body, told a news conference today:

We have decided that the African Union, together with regional groups like IGAD, should take the situation in Somalia in hand.

President Denis Sassou Nguesso went on by saying:

The African Union will give all its support to the interim government, and we invite the international community to join us in supporting them, while favoring internal dialogue in Somalia.

This is, without a doubt, a grave political mistake by an organization run by dictators and oppressors which could have serious security repercussions for Somalia and for its neighbors. Indeed it could inflict damage to the political and security stability of the entire region and to a lesser degree the world as a whole.

Somalia does not need any foreign troops at the moment. The internal political conflict must be resolved by Somalis before armed foreigners can be invited into the country. As Tim Craig of the Washington Post newspaper reported today (see below) the misguided American military involvement in Somalia drastically altered the political landscape in the country-for the worse. A hasty and poorly thought plan to deploy foreign troops into Somalia as peace-keepers will most probably make things much worse. The political fire in Somali does not need more gasoline! Foreign troops must stay out for the moment!

It goes without saying that the fact that the AU will support the TFG is a step in the right direction.

You can click here to view a note I wrote about few days ago

Craig Timberg of the Washington Post writes:

The land was little more than a patch of scrub outside the city. But this being Somalia — lawless, fractured and armed to the teeth — it was a patch of scrub that two of the country’s most powerful families were prepared to fight over. The fighting, which began Jan. 13, quickly took on wider significance because of the presence, at an airstrip just three miles away, of a small team of U.S. intelligence officials, according to Somalis knowledgeable about the events of that day. The Americans were in Somalia because of concerns about terrorism, not land. But when the gunfire rang out, the sources said, the U.S. officials wrongly concluded that they were under attack by Islamic terrorists and abruptly fled. It was a provocation, U.S. officials later told Somalis, that demanded a muscular response. In the weeks that followed this little-known incident, which U.S. officials have refused to confirm or deny, the United States expanded its role in Somalia to levels not seen since it abandoned the country in 1994. The Americans helped organize a group of secular warlords into an “anti-terror coalition” and provided them with a large, steady diet of cash.

This is a very interesting revelation! It seems to me that the Bush administration is making things worse wherever they go. Now we have the Islamic Courts ruling Somalia, thanks to Bush’s misguided foreign policy initiatives.

Click here to view full article. Please note that the Post requires free registration for access.

Alisha Ryu of the Voice of America Radio sent following dispatch from Baydhabo.

Residents here received a flood of phone calls Sunday morning from anxious friends and family in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, asking if Ethiopian troops had really arrived in Baidoa. Residents in both cities say they have heard media reports that at least six large Ethiopian military trucks, carrying troops, entered Baidoa late Saturday night. Somalia’s interim Prime Minister, Ali Mohammed Geedi, told VOA, the reports are not true. “There are no foreign troops in Somalia, and in Baidoa, as well,” said Ali Mohammed Geedi. “There are no Ethiopian troops in Somalia and Baidoa. These rumors are originating from opportunists, who are trying to create a clash between Somalia and our neighbors.” Two weeks ago, the Islamist leadership that has taken control of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, accused Ethiopia of sending several hundred troops into Somalia in order to prop up the internationally recognized, but weak interim government. Militias loyal to the Islamist leaders in Mogadishu now control a large area of southern Somalia.

To put it politely, I think, Cali Geedi is making misleading statement at best!

Click here to view the full dispatch

The Online Monster and Critics reports:

A decision whether to approve a peacekeeping force for Somalia still looms as African leaders prepare for the second and last day of the annual African Union summit in the Gambian capital Banjul. It was not immediately clear if a purported recording of Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden warning against deployment of foreign troops to Somalia would be discussed. The recording warns Somalis against negotiations with the weak transitional authority. Hardline Islamists, thought by the United States of having links to bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network, currently control most of southern Somalia.

Click here to view the full article.

The United States Congress (House of Representatives) will have a hearing on Somalia today.

The title of a House hearing, “The Expanding Crisis in the Horn of Africa,” reflects the alarm many lawmakers feel about the political changes in Somalia. Among those testifying at the hearing Thursday is Jendayi Frazer, assistant secretary of state for African affairs.

The House hearing will be televised “live” on C-Span. The full program will be rebroadcasted tonight. The transcript will be available on C-Span with a small charge.

Click here to view the full article on the Herald Today newspaper.

The Somalia issue has the Senate’s attention. With Sen. Russ Feingold serving as chief sponsor, the Senate approved a resolution last week that urges U.S. support for “efforts to prevent Somalia from becoming a safe haven for terrorists and terrorist activities.” The House is expected to follow the Senate’s lead. Feingold believes the administration has failed to provide the resources needed to bring about a stable outcome in Somalia. Lawmakers have been told that only $2 million is being spent annually for development of political institutions in Somalia. They also have been told that the number of State Department personnel assigned to Somalia full time is minuscule.

Click here to view the full article on the Herald Today newspaper.

Al Jazeera; the Pan-Arab Television Network reports:

At least five people have been killed on the edge of the Somali capital after Islamist gunmen attacked two positions held by fighters loyal to a regional commander, militia sources said. In addition to the deaths on Tuesday, at least six people were wounded in the battles, the first clashes around the city since Islamists seized control of Mogadishu this month from a regional commanders alliance thought to be backed by the United States, the sources said. The regional commander whose positions at Lafole village just south of Mogadishu were seized in the fighting, Abdi Hassan Qeybdid, said: “Two of the dead are members of the Somali police and the other three are civilians.”

Like millions of Somalis both in and outside the country, I am glad to hear Qaybdiid-the murderer got the boot on his bottom!

Click here to view the full news dispatch by Al Jazeera. You also like to click here to view a time-line of the Somali conflict by Al Jazeera.