November 13, 2006

Iran Trading Arms for Uraniam With Somalian Islamists: al Qaeda, Hezbollah Linked

What do Somalian Sunni extremists with ties to al Qaeda have in common with the Shia mullahs of Iran? The 'African Taliban' of the Somali Courts Union need weapons to solidify their control and establish an Islamic state in the Horn of Africa. The Mullahs of Iran need uranium to fuel their nuclear ambitions.

Somalia has uranium, Iran has arms.

Is Iran secretly buying uranium from Islamists in Somalia? That is what a new U.N. report which indicates:

Iran may have sought to trade arms for uranium from Somalia or elsewhere in Africa to fuel its nuclear ambitions.

And there is also new evidence that elements of al Qaeda are involved in Somalia, and that Somalia has begun to export the jihad elsewhere. As I've been saying for months, Somalia is the next Afghanistan. An Islamic state in Somalia (which is already a reality in most parts of the country) is every bit as dangerous to U.S. national interests as the Taliban were in Afghanistan.

The report claims that in addition to Afghan trained foreign fighters with links to al Qaeda in Somalia, that over 700 Somali fighters went to Lebanon during the recent conflict to support Hezbollah's war with Israel. In exchange, Iran and Syria have given arms, training, and other supplies to the Somalian extremists who now control most of that country.

That included shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, grenade launchers, machine guns, ammunition, medicine, uniforms and other supplies. Additionally, Syria hosted about 200 Islamist fighters for training in guerrilla warfare, the report says.

The report also gives a hint that Iran, locked in a battle with the West over its nuclear ambitions, may have sought help in finding uranium in the hometown of Somali Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys

"At the time of the writing of the present report, there were two Iranians in Dusa Mareb engaged in matters linked to uranium in exchange for arms," it says, but gives no more information.

Plenty of evidence suggests that the U.S. is already secretly arming anybody and everybody willing to fight the Islamic Courts Union. In fact, opposition groups in Puntland claim to have retaken some villages from the ICU, which would be a first.

Perhaps this explains why the Ethiopia (and U.S.) backed Somalian interim government (which controls very little actual territory) has rejected a peace deal with the African Taliban. To whatever extent we are arming the opposition, we need to step up our efforts.

Some in the Ethiopian ex-patriot community have reminded me in the past that the Ethiopian government isn't exactly immune from charges of corruption and doesn't have the greatest human rights record itself. Maybe not, but in war you look for help from nations with mutual interests and not ones that are perfect.

The U.S. has plenty of experience fighting proxy wars from our experience with the Cold War. It's high time we began to use that experience in the Horn of Africa.

Meanwhile, al Qaeda is still seeking nukes. The only good thing about this news is that al Qaeda is still seeking nukes. Which implies they don't already have them yet.