Somalia's "Best Chance"
By Michael Goldfarb
WorldwideStandard.com
In what is perhaps the wackiest analysis of the recent war in Somalia, the New Republic's John B. Judis stops just shy of calling Bush a terrorist for his complicity in the Ethiopian invasion:
<<< What exactly are we doing in the Horn of Africa, where we have encouraged the Christian government of Ethiopia to invade Somalia and replace its Islamic government? As far as I can tell, we have violated international law, committed war crimes, helped Al Qaeda recruit new members, and involved ourselves in a guerrilla war that could last decades. It's Iraq writ small. >>>
The United Nations, however, seems to have taken a kinder view to the ousting of Somalia's al Qaeda affiliated ICU. The BBC reports that Francois Fall, the U.N. envoy to Somalia, has warned President Abdullahi Yusuf not to squander what he called "the best opportunity for peace for 16 years." Of course it's not all good news, the ICU has pledged to fight a drawn out insurgency, though it seems unlikely that the decimated group would be capable of any such thing, and there are more credible fears that Yusuf is no Thomas Jefferson. Still, the country is largely at peace, the bad guys have fled, and not a single American life has been lost. That's about as good as anyone could have hoped for 2 months ago.
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