I've been seeing this story the last few days, but I haven't seen any dairies. But now I see the NYTimes has a new article.
Islamic Militants Declare Victory in Mogadishu
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 5 -- Islamic militias declared victory today over Somalia's traditional warlords in the battle for control of Mogadishu, quelling months of fierce fighting in the lawless capital but raising new questions about whether this regime, which American officials have accused of sheltering terrorists, will steer the country down an extremist path.
Do I understand this correctly? While Bush and a majority of the GOP have been busy peering into our bedrooms, the followers of
Sayyid Kotb and
Ayman al-Zawahiri have gained control of another country?
Does this sound familiar? I remember reading similar stories as the Taliban was rising to power (the first time, not this time).
[The warlords] had been defeated by militia fighters allied with the Islamic courts that have grown in influence throughout Somalia in recent years, filling a void left by the lack of a central government. The Islamists are a loose coalition of leaders who have put forward Islam, the universal religion in Somalia, as the way out of anarchy.
Actually, this also echos with contemporary Afghanistan. There is a district in Afghanistan where once again the Taliban court administers the justice, complete with capital punishment. Are we seeing a new avenue of control for the radial Islamist movement, though a country's judiciary?
I am ready getting worried that the State Dept has truly been ruined. Just as with Hamas coming into power amongst the Palestinians, they seem completely unaware,
Today in Washington, a State Department spokesman said he had no details about the latest reports, but expressed concerns about the potential for aiding terrorists.
Always ones to put a positive spin on events:
"We're very interested in seeing that the Somali people start to build up institutions that are responsive to the Somali people, that at some point have the hope of being democratic institutions that respect the rights of all individuals there," said the spokesman, Sean McCormack.
To be fair, the US has been trying to help, in the only way they can think to help. To take sides and play favorites, to wit
Washington has been widely accused of secretly financing the warlords, who fashioned themselves into a counter-terrorism alliance to root out Al Qaeda elements in Mogadishu.
But wouldn't you know it, this didn't seem to be the way to solve the problem. Moreover, it only helped to excaserbate the problem:
...the widespread belief that money was changing hands [between the US and warloads] only seemed to strengthen the hands of the Islamists among many Somalis.
Maybe more focus of the central fact of matter,
"Somalia has been without a central government since the country slipped into civil war in 1992", would have helped.
The upheaval in Mogadishu comes as a transitional government that was created after two years of peace talks struggles to establish a toehold in the country. Based in Baidoa, outside Mogadishu, because it lacked the strength to take on the many gunmen based in the capital, the government finds itself negotiating with a largely unknown force.
I might have thought that helping this government would have been a better way to spend money.
This is what Orwell's endless war looks like. Never really stamp out sources of terrorism. W. S. Burroughs points out the inherent contradiction with the police. Its ideal goal is the elimination of a need for the police, for us all to be safe. And no organization can stay true to that goal.
[Update] Due to questions concerning the claimed link between Islamic courts organization and al-Qaeda, I did some digging. Please also read through the comments for what else I found.