MOGADISHU, Somalia - An Islamic militia said Monday it has seized Somalia's capital after weeks of bloody fighting and 15 years of anarchy in this Horn of Africa nation, raising fears that the nation could fall under the sway of al-Qaida....
The militia appeared in control of Mogadishu. Most of the leaders of a secular alliance that opposed them — and was rumored to be backed by the United States — appeared to have fled the city by Monday afternoon...
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said recently that three al-Qaida leaders indicted in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania are being sheltered by Islamic leaders in Mogadishu.
The same al-Qaida cell is believed responsible for the 2002 suicide bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya that killed 15 people and a simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner...
Mogadishu residents expressed relief at Monday's relative peace, but had mixed responses to the Islamic militia's advance.
"The Somali people are afraid of Islamists' new wave of hatred and renewed fighting. The Islamic clerics want to be like Taliban regime in Afghanistan" said Abdulqaadir Bashir, a computer engineer.
But Somali economist Abdinasir Ahmed disagreed, saying: "The victory of Islamic courts is a major step toward a lasting peaceful settlement in Mogadishu. We are tired of the deception and rhetoric of the warlords."
Ralph Peters warned us of this eventuality just a few days ago; take a look back at that post dated 5/31:
THIRTEEN years ago, our troops won a lopsided battlefield victory in Mogadishu. President Clinton declared defeat and pulled out. We've been paying the price in terror ever since - and it might be about to soar.
We were close to finishing it. And a cowardly president quit.
Now there's fighting in Mogadishu again. With several hundred dead in a week... A movement fronted by Somali-Muslim judges and clerics is gobbling up Mogadishu. It's the Taliban, Somali-style.
Check the déjà vu block: The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after the Americans walked away...Meanwhile, the remains of al Qaeda dream of building a new Afghanistan in Somalia. A terrorist organization our military smashed is being allowed to rebuild itself.
There's a vital lesson here: In the War on Terror, you've got to finish what you start...
Anyone listening yet?
1 comment:
cannot believe, a dozen years on, we are still paying for the foreign policy disaters of that president.
Someone needs to be asking Hillary some questions!
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