Taliban-like Islamic fundamentalist group takes control of Somali capital Mogadishu

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Islamic fundamentalists whose ideology is similar to the Taliban seized control of Somalia's capital Monday, unifying the city for the first time in more than a decade and posing a direct challenge to a fledging U.N.-backed government.

The advance against a secular alliance rumored to be backed by Washington comes after weeks of bloody fighting and 15 years of anarchy in the Horn of Africa nation, raising fears that Somalia could fall under the sway of al Qaeda.

"We won the fight against the enemy of Islam; Mogadishu is under control of its people," said Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic Courts Union, on a radio broadcast. The militia now controls a 65-mile (100-kilometer) radius around the capital after fighting off a secular alliance of warlords.

The Islamic militia is gaining ground just as the U.N.-backed interim government struggles to assert control outside its base in Baidoa, 155 miles (249 kilometers) from Mogadishu. Weapons prices soared there Monday amid fears that the militia could head next to Baidoa.

The militia is the first group to consolidate control over all of Mogadishu's neighborhoods since the last government collapsed in 1991 and warlords took over, dividing the impoverished country of 8 million into a patchwork of rival fiefdoms.

Omar Jamal, director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, said the Islamic militia's victory in Mogadishu was a major turning point in the country's history.

"It is exactly the same thing that happened with the rise to power of the Taliban," he said, adding that the extremists are "using the people's weariness of violence, rape and civil war" to gain support for a government based on Islamic law.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/06/05...g.ap/index.html

An article from November 2002:

US defence officials have announced that they will be sending an extra 400 elite troops to the US base in the Horn of Africa to help in the hunt for suspected terrorists.

[...]

"The Horn of Africa turns out to be a fairly busy place in terms of the flow of people and other instruments of war - weapons, explosives, perhaps weapons of mass destruction," General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

[...]

There has also been much speculation that al-Qaeda operatives could regroup in Somalia.

The transitional government in Somalis has promised to cooperate with the US war on terror.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2420443.stm

They knew this was going to happen, back in November of 2002, probably earlier. They decided to do something about it.

It happened anyway.

[slim 1,525]

I love how the first line of this is "Islamic fundamentalists!" (Wow, even the AP is on the bandwagon! Now that's fair and balanced journalism right there. Unbiased and all that.)

Anyone that knows anything about the Mog knows that no matter who takes control of the city, it's going to be better for the inhabitants in the long run, even if that group is unfavorable to the US.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I'm scratching Somali off my world tour.

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

I love how the first line of this is "Islamic fundamentalists!" (Wow, even the AP is on the bandwagon! Now that's fair and balanced journalism right there. Unbiased and all that.)

Anyone that knows anything about the Mog knows that no matter who takes control of the city, it's going to be better for the inhabitants in the long run, even if that group is unfavorable to the US.

and bound to be very favorable for anyone who is an islamic fundamentalist too....

I'm scratching Somali off my world tour.

wise idea

[Mirorgate 0]

I'm scratching Somali off my world tour.

bah! I had front row tickets!

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

I'm scratching Somali off my world tour.

bah! I had front row tickets!

oh so the chickens were to sit on your lap on the bus

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Somalia has been pretty much uninhabitable for anyone other than those with serious death wishes. The place is a major shithole. Somalis have long abandoned that nightmare and make their home everywhere else in the world but there. What's it matter who runs that fcuked up piece of the world anyway?

[Mirorgate 0]

Somalia has been pretty much uninhabitable for anyone other than those with serious death wishes. The place is a major shithole. Somalis have long abandoned that nightmare and make their home everywhere else in the world but there. What's it matter who runs that fcuked up piece of the world anyway?

And you said US policy would was never set like with words as these

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Somalia has been pretty much uninhabitable for anyone other than those with serious death wishes. The place is a major shithole. Somalis have long abandoned that nightmare and make their home everywhere else in the world but there. What's it matter who runs that fcuked up piece of the world anyway?

Noone cared about Afghanistan either till Bin Laden set up shop.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Somalia has been pretty much uninhabitable for anyone other than those with serious death wishes. The place is a major shithole. Somalis have long abandoned that nightmare and make their home everywhere else in the world but there. What's it matter who runs that fcuked up piece of the world anyway?

Noone cared about Afghanistan either till Bin Laden set up shop.

Well, actually, there was some "interest" when Moscow tried to sort of "annex" the place back in the 80's. Remember, that's when the US helped BinLaden to set-up shop there.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Somalia has been pretty much uninhabitable for anyone other than those with serious death wishes. The place is a major shithole. Somalis have long abandoned that nightmare and make their home everywhere else in the world but there. What's it matter who runs that fcuked up piece of the world anyway?

Noone cared about Afghanistan either till Bin Laden set up shop.

Well, actually, there was some "interest" when Moscow tried to sort of "annex" the place back in the 80's. Remember, that's when the US helped BinLaden to set-up shop there.

Yep and when the Soviets pulled out, everyone was content to let that country effectively rot for 12 years

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Somalia has been pretty much uninhabitable for anyone other than those with serious death wishes. The place is a major shithole. Somalis have long abandoned that nightmare and make their home everywhere else in the world but there. What's it matter who runs that fcuked up piece of the world anyway?

Noone cared about Afghanistan either till Bin Laden set up shop.

Well, actually, there was some "interest" when Moscow tried to sort of "annex" the place back in the 80's. Remember, that's when the US helped BinLaden to set-up shop there.

Yep and when the Soviets pulled out, everyone was content to let that country effectively rot for 12 years

Not just rot. It was kind of fueling this "war on drugs". Until the focus shifted to the "war on terror". Man, such a small country and so much trouble, eh? Makes one go hmmm....

Edited June 6, 2006 by ET-US2004

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Somalia has been pretty much uninhabitable for anyone other than those with serious death wishes. The place is a major shithole. Somalis have long abandoned that nightmare and make their home everywhere else in the world but there. What's it matter who runs that fcuked up piece of the world anyway?

Noone cared about Afghanistan either till Bin Laden set up shop.

Well, actually, there was some "interest" when Moscow tried to sort of "annex" the place back in the 80's. Remember, that's when the US helped BinLaden to set-up shop there.

Yep and when the Soviets pulled out, everyone was content to let that country effectively rot for 12 years

Not just rot. It was kind of fueling this "war on drugs". Until the focus shifted to the "war on terror". Man, such a small country and so much trouble, eh? Makes one go hmmm....

Still is by all accounts - still the worlds biggest exporter of heroin. What does that tell you?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Somalia has been pretty much uninhabitable for anyone other than those with serious death wishes. The place is a major shithole. Somalis have long abandoned that nightmare and make their home everywhere else in the world but there. What's it matter who runs that fcuked up piece of the world anyway?

Noone cared about Afghanistan either till Bin Laden set up shop.

Well, actually, there was some "interest" when Moscow tried to sort of "annex" the place back in the 80's. Remember, that's when the US helped BinLaden to set-up shop there.

Yep and when the Soviets pulled out, everyone was content to let that country effectively rot for 12 years

Not just rot. It was kind of fueling this "war on drugs". Until the focus shifted to the "war on terror". Man, such a small country and so much trouble, eh? Makes one go hmmm....

Still is by all accounts - still the worlds biggest exporter of heroin. What does that tell you?

That Americans love their drugs?

[almaty 19]

Somalia has been pretty much uninhabitable for anyone other than those with serious death wishes. The place is a major shithole. Somalis have long abandoned that nightmare and make their home everywhere else in the world but there. What's it matter who runs that fcuked up piece of the world anyway?

Noone cared about Afghanistan either till Bin Laden set up shop.

Well, actually, there was some "interest" when Moscow tried to sort of "annex" the place back in the 80's. Remember, that's when the US helped BinLaden to set-up shop there.

Yep and when the Soviets pulled out, everyone was content to let that country effectively rot for 12 years

Not just rot. It was kind of fueling this "war on drugs". Until the focus shifted to the "war on terror". Man, such a small country and so much trouble, eh? Makes one go hmmm....

Still is by all accounts - still the worlds biggest exporter of heroin. What does that tell you?

That Americans love their drugs?

yeap...and the economic has not changed.....