July 02, 2006

African Taliban Deceiving West

In September of 1996 Taliban forces captured the city of Kabul. I remember the optimism of many in the West that the group of young 'scholars' would unify and bring stability to the country. Today, history is repeating itself as Somalia's Taliban practices taqiya and lies to the Western press about it's radical goals.

And just like Afghanistan, many in the West express optimism that the 'Union of Islamic Courts' will at least bring stability to the war-torn country. Stability yes, but at what price? Only fools can believe post-9/11 that stability is a foreign policy goal worthy of pursuit.

Oh, and as the Islamists who now rule much of Southern Somalia disclaim any ties to al Qaeda and Osamna bin Laden, it would be good to look closely at the above photo showing a placard being carried by supporters of the Somali Taliban. And who can forget their public support of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?

BBC News:

The powerful Islamist movement in Somalia has distanced itself from comments about Somalia attributed to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden....

An internet audio recording warned the West not to send troops to Somalia.

But a leader of the Union of Islamic Courts, which has taken control of the capital, Mogadishu, said they did not rely on any outside group. ..

Speaking to reporters in Mogadishu, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, also a figurehead of the Islamic Courts, said Bin Laden was expressing his personal opinion in the audio recording, which has not been verified.

Somalia's Islamists have regularly denied harbouring al-Qaeda fighters in their ranks....

But Mogadishu's new rulers have been at pains to convince Washington and regional African governments that they pose no threat, despite their Islamic leanings, and want to bring stability to Somalia, our correspondent adds.

Diplomats have suggested there is a new window of opportunity to secure peace in Somalia, after 15 years without a functioning central government.

And this WaPo article is a whitewash of the highest proportions. For some reason, the author, Karen DeYoung, thinks she knows what is going on in Somalia far better than U.S. Intelligence agents. As if by interviewing a few expatriates and African Taliban sympathizers she really knows what is going on. Is there such a thing as an anti-Pulitzer? One for poor reporting?

In her version, the whole Somalia conflict is just a big mistake. The Islamists pose no real threat. America became alarmed only after they thought they were being fired upon--which they weren't. We backed some bad guys in Somalia as a result--not like the 'good guys' who set up Sharia courts in Mogadishu and are summarily executing people suspected of committing crimes against Islam.

It only gets worse from there. Here's a short excerpt:

The U.S. effort failed, Somalis said, because it focused only on seizing terrorism suspects, not attempting to improve living conditions in one of the world's poorest countries.

"It will radicalize the people," said Ali, a naturalized U.S. citizen. "Unless I am also safe, you are not going to be safe. That's the message the Americans must learn. They cannot fight this alone."

Right. As if the people weren't already radicalized.

She also overlooks the fact that the U.S. has long--years before the violence this year--suspected a working relationship (or much more) between the Islamist militias in Somalia and al Qaeda.

Related: Osama bin Laden is in Africa

By Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. at 05:10 PM | |