Somalia

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Has anyone been following this story closely? It's very interesting, and it seems like it has put the U.S. in quite a pickle. Here's (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003067339_somalia17.html) a pretty good report on it.

So apparently for the first time in over a decade, Mogadishu is calm, gunfire has stopped, and warlords are nowhere to be seen. The Islamic militias, who swear they have no ties to Al Qaeda and only want peace, have semingly brought some stability.

However, there are already accounts now of strict Islamic punishment and regulations being implemented in Mogadishu. More women are covering their faces, and it seems that in place of a real government, jobs, and long-term security, the appeal of "stable" Islam could at least overtake the capital.

So what's the deal with the Islamic Courts Union? Also, has anyone seen or read anything that supports the speculation that the CIA has been heavily financing the warlord there?

[Grislygus]

We hate the warlords, and the government hates Islam more. I figure if we were funding a warlord, it was only to keep the fighting going in hopes that they would wipe each other out.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

thanks, I can lock the thread now.

[Emu]

Wait, isn't Somalia the place that anarchists cite as an example of an anarchic place? I think I remember OAO bringing it up once.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Bingo. Paradise lost, am I right?

:(

[Abcdxxxx]

Here's another article:
http://www.news1130.com/news/international/article.jsp?content=w061631A
It was the second public protest in as many days against the Somali transitional parliament's vote Wednesday in favour of a plan for the deployment of Ugandan and Sudanese peacekeepers to help the government try to establish its authority.

Yeah, let's get some Janjaweed peace keeping up in that bitch!

It's no Disneyland but Somaliland is a small drop of hope for the region, and they've adopted some basic Islamic courtesies without going full out Shari'a. Somaliland is in the Northern part next to Dijouti where the Spain, German, and the US keep troops, and they were originally under British rule, as opposed to Italian like the rest of Somalia.

After 20 years of war, they're worn down and willing to accept any offering of peace even under restrictive Shari'a... and this is starting to become a trend...Islamists*, Jihadists*, Chose your term of favor here* make things as chaotic as possible until people can't take it any more and agree to anything under the Islamists terms just to end the hostility. Meanwhile, it's not like the warlords are an easier sell.

This means we can predict some Somalian conflict with Kenya, Ethiopea/Eritrea (where Muslims of the Horn tried to eradicate the Christians in the 16th Century), and Nigeria (which has a lot of Catholics).