Rolling up Al Qaeda in Somalia

[Barnabas]

They are nothing without Ethiopia, Nothing!

Fellow landlocked nation! may you get a sea port
!

[Sandman]

Well done to to Ethiopia. Just like Afghanistan, when you want results, don't use American troops.

[Gatekeeper]

It's good to hear of the occasional successes in the Global War on Terrorism (TM, Republican Party, September 2001).

Gatekeeper

[dannubis]

I will wait to see who they actually killed...

Hopefully they killed at least some AQ this time.

[Ned]

When this news broke earlier, CNN had it live, but MSNBC and FOXNews carried on with regular programming. I find this surprising.

[Last Conformist]

So, what's the reaction inside Somalia? Given the demonstrations against Ethiopian presence, I find it hard to believe most Somalis are very happy about American strikes inside their borders.

[Ned]

LC, they are more happy with AQ?

[Last Conformist]

Originally posted by Ned
LC, they are more happy with AQ?

Wouldn't surprise me, but I don't know, hence I'm asking.

[Ned]

I think the problem with this "people support" kind of argument is that in places like Somalia, there is no free press to inform the people of what actually is going on and there is no way to find out what the people actually think. There are just warlords of one flavor or another in charge here or there, and religious Imams who preach hate.

I suspect the people just want to stay clear of any actual fighting.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by dannubis
I will wait to see who they actually killed...

Hopefully they killed at least some AQ this time.

AQ's #2, obviously

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Last Conformist

Wouldn't surprise me, but I don't know, hence I'm asking.

I've read a lengthy article in Le Monde about it. Apparently, people were very tired with the Muslim Courts, who were pretty much as foreign as the Ethiopians (many many whites in their ranks: Arabs, Pakistanis and some westerners). The Muslim Courts were culturally alien to Somalia, and the initial sympathy they got for them, by restoring order in an otherwise anarchic country, quickly faded out because of all their moralistic laws that go contrary to traditional Somalian morals, and because of their brutal enforcement of said laws. As a result, the local population didn't provide any support to the Muslim Courts during the war, which made the war much easier for the Ethiopian invader.

OTOH, the Ethiopians are an age-old enemy. Their presence is somewhat tolerated, but it will last very little. If Ethiopia was to become an occupation force, it'll have to suffer the wrath from the local population. Everybody calls for a UN or AU peacekeeping force as fast as possible.

[Last Conformist]

Thanks, Spiff.

Originally posted by Spiffor
Apparently, people were very tired with the Muslim Courts, who were pretty much as foreign as the Ethiopians (many many whites in their ranks: Arabs, Pakistanis and some westerners)

Totally tangential, but I thought I'd mention that to the average Swedish racist, Arabs, Pakistanis, and Somalis are just one undifferentiated mass of "blackheads". The world's xenophobes should come up with a common set of definitions.

[Ned]

Spiff, even in Afghanistan, most people were more than upset with the extreme Islamism being forced down their throats by the Taliban. This is one of the reasons the overthrow of the Taliban was so easy.

[Chemical Ollie]

I have yet to decide if this is a good or bad event. We don't even know if they hit the right target, or if most of the victims were "Average Mr Sammy" rather than AQ.

But I believe it's good Apolyton manners to avoid celebration about deaths, no matter who died, so I won't.

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by Ned
Spiff, even in Afghanistan, most people were more than upset with the extreme Islamism being forced down their throats by the Taliban. This is one of the reasons the overthrow of the Taliban was so easy.

You didn't overthrow the Taliban, you just moved their bases.