NYT: Somali Islamists Declare Victory; Warlords on Run

[Patsy Stone]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/06/world/africa/06somalia.html?hp&ex=1149566400&en=45a877124779b888&ei=5094&partner=homepage

By MARC LACEY
Published: June 6, 2006

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 5 — After months of fierce fighting, Islamic militias declared Monday that they had taken control of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, defeating the warlords widely believed to be backed by the United States and raising questions about whether the country would head down an extremist path.

The battle for Mogadishu has been a proxy war, of sorts, in the Bush administration's campaign against terrorism, with the warlords echoing Washington's goal of rooting out radical Islam and the presence of Al Qaeda in the region.

But as the warlords who have ruled over Mogadishu for the last 15 years went on the run on Monday, it appeared that Washington had backed the losing side, presenting the administration with a major setback at a time of continued sectarian violence in Iraq and the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

One of the warlords, Muse Sudi Yalahow, was holed up in a hospital north of the city on Monday, surrounded by his enemies. Others fled the capital after their forces had been pushed from the strategic center, diplomats and local journalists said.

[daleo]

1. "Washington had backed the losing side"

That goes right back to the Supreme Court, December 2000, who also backed the losing side.

[Gman]

2. So Bush is financing pirates off the Somali coast

that fire on cruise ships. Why am I not surprised? It makes all the sense in the world.

[Patsy Stone]

6. Proof * believes in the FSM!

This is his plan to combat global warming! We've found it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

"You may be interested to know that global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s. For your interest, I have included a graph of the approximate number of pirates versus the average global temperature over the last 200 years. As you can see, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between pirates and global temperature."

[seriousstan]

3. What's the matter with Islamists?

[msongs]

4. surely you jest?????? nt

[PsychoDad]

5. However many people don't want to hear this....

The "Islamists" may bring a semblance of stability to this torn country. If they can get along after defeating the warlords.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3830

since the collapse of the government in 1991, a variety of Islamist reformist movements have sprung up inside the country – some inspired or sponsored by foreign interests. The vast majority are non-violent and opposed to ideological extremism. The largest groups, notably Jama’at al-Tabligh and the Salafiyya Jadiida, practise missionary activism aimed at steering lax Muslims back towards the true path of their faith. A much smaller proportion, including Harakaat al-Islah and Majma’ ‘Ulimadda Islaamka ee Soomaaliya, are politically active but not extremist, struggling rather to influence the future of the Somali state and its political system. By far the smallest reformist groups are those composed of jihadis, such as the now-defunct al-Itihaad al-Islaami and the new, nameless one fronted by Aden Hashi ‘Ayro.

Other, ostensibly Islamist entities have more complex origins and agendas. The Shari’a (Islamic law) courts that have sprung up across southern Somalia over the past decade began as essentially clan-based institutions intended to restore security and order in a stateless society. Attempts to unify and coordinate the court system, however, have been in large part politically motivated, and some courts have been hijacked by jihadi leaders. This kind of cooperation, combined with independent sources of funding, has allowed some courts to exercise greater independence from their clans, and since early 2005, the Shari’a court system in Mogadishu has been pursuing an aggressive political and social agenda.

The growth of courts, charities and businesses with an apparently Islamist character has sparked fears in some circles of a conspiracy to transform Somalia into an Islamic state. In reality, the Islamist activists are a diverse community, characterised more by competition and contradiction than cooperation, making a broad-based conspiracy implausible.

Islamist extremism has failed to take a broader hold in Somalia because of Somali resistance – not foreign counter-terrorism efforts.

[WinkyDink]

7. I take it you're not a female?