SOMALIA AND AL QAEDA

On Saturday, June 17, 2006 I posted the article, 3 Parts Of The World To Watch. One of the countries that I said people should keep an eye on was, Somalia. I still believe Somalia is a country that will have a great impact on the United States. Here is a link to all the articles I have posted about Somalia

Today I came across the following article:
Conditions may be ripe for Al Qaeda in Somalia

NAIROBI, KENYA -- Conventional wisdom long held that Somalia was so inhospitable that even Al Qaeda gave up trying to gain a foothold amid feuding clans, erratic warlords and a wily population hardened by years of anarchy.

Now, in the wake of an aggressive U.S. counter-terrorism program that has alienated many Somalis, there are signs that Al Qaeda may have its best chance in years to win over Islamic hard-liners in the Horn of Africa nation.

After once denying or downplaying links to the terrorist network, a senior leader of Somalia's most notorious Islamic militia now acknowledges that his group has long-standing ties to Al Qaeda and says he is seeking to forge a closer relationship.

"We are negotiating how we can unite into one," said Muktar Robow, a top military commander of Shabab, which the U.S. State Department designated a terrorist organization this year. "We will take our orders from Sheik Osama bin Laden because we are his students.

"Merging with Al Qaeda operatives in the region makes sense, he said, given the recent U.S. crackdown, including a May 1 airstrike that killed Shabab's previous commander.

You can read the rest of the report at this link:
AL QAEDA

I also found the following article which offered some commentary on the above report:

REPORT: SOMALIA AND AL QAEDA

This is what happens when you elevate counter-terrorism to the status of grand strategy. The LA Times is reporting that Somalia, once inhospitable to Al Qaeda, may turn out to be the next front. Some clans and Islamic militias are radicalizing and foreign fighters are trickling in. Somalia is a great (although relatively unknown) example of how an obsession with counter-terrorism is wrecking American foreign policy. After Somalia was unified by the Islamic Courts Union, we backed Ethiopia's invasion because some Al Qaeda members were embedded within the ICU. Unfortunately, we forgot that Ethiopia was Somalia's traditional enemy and got suckered into giving our legitimacy to another country's power play. Ethiopia's increasingly brutal occupation and American airstrikes in Somalia are slowly creating the conditions for Al Qaeda to gain a foothold, as the conflict takes on the tenor of a holy war against the American-backed Ethiopians.

You can check out the report at this link:
Somalia


I will continue to post information about Somalia and the situation there.