The Proxy War in Somalia
<http://canadianobserver.wordpress.com/2006/07/21/the-proxy-war-in-somalia/>
/By ECZ/
Today the BBC reported that the Ethiopian army (the US ally in the Horn of Africa region) had officially crossed over into Somalia. This new development has occurred in the context of the recent military victory in Southern Somalia of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). I am told that ordinary people in Mogadishu supported the ICU because the alternative they faced was the 15 year ineptitude of so called secular warlords. These same warlords were recently supported by Ethiopia/US and the UN to form the present transitional government, yet rather than bringing order, warlords continued to act with impunity. On the other hand, the ICU has brought stability to Mogadishu for the first time in 15 years. So, although some sections of the ICU would like to import a form of Saudi Wahabism into what is a largely Sufi practicing country, the victory of the ICU must still be seen as a partial victory for ordinary people.
However, under the pretext that the ICU threatens stability in the Horn of Africa and the transition in Somalia, the Ethiopian state has decided to move into Somalia. This is a weak pretext given that residents of Mogadishu have been waiting for 15 years for a transition! Today, it is clear that there is a complicated proxy war happening in the Horn of Africa (one that in fact has been happening throughout the 90's). In this war the US plays a heavy hand despite their supposed absence from the scene after Black Hawk Down...
Article continues here: http://canadianobserver.wordpress.com/2006/07/21/the-proxy-war-in-somalia/
tfast
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