Posted on 05/26/2006 3:21:15 PM PDT by FairOpinion
In October 1993, eighteen U.S. Marines on a UN relief mission were killed in the streets of Mogadishu in a prolonged gun battle that followed a raid gone awry (Philly Inquirer). The deaths shocked the American public and resulted in a more cautious U.S. approach to military interventions that lasted until 9/11. Since the UN withdrawal from Somalia in 1994, warlords and clan rivalries have ravaged the country. According to the U.S. State Department, this lawlessness and instability has created a terrorist haven that is "threatening the security of the whole region" (PDF). Yet as this new Backgrounder explains, there is a real threat that Somalia will become an incubator for more serious international terrorism.
The violence Mogadishu has experienced this month is some of the worst in more than a decade. Residents of the city are fleeing their homes (AllAfrica.com) as Islamist militias square off against a band of warlords calling themselves the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (BBC). The alliance's name is widely seen a marketing ploy to attract U.S. support (LAT), and there is some evidence to suggest that the United States is backing the group (WashPost).
Somalia is known to have been a transit point for terrorists, and an International Crisis Group (ICG) report says it is the likely hiding place of the al-Qaeda cell that bombed a Mombasa hotel and fired a missile at an Israeli passenger jet in 2002. In recent years, Somalia has spawned its own terrorist group (Jamestown), which has carried out a number of attacks, including the 2003 murder of an Italian nun. There are also concerns that Somalia will be overrun by Islamic extremists. In much of the country, the only semblance of law and order is provided by sharia courts, which are propped up by the Islamist militias involved in the current round of fighting. But another ICG report indicates militant Islamist movements in Somalia are often met by widespread resistance, and says it is remarkable "that Islamist militancy has not become more firmly rooted in what should, by most conventional assessments, be fertile ground."
Experts say the best counterterrorism strategy for Somalia is one that focuses on restoring order to the war-ravaged nation. As journalist Douglas Farah explains, failed states "are vital for the Islamist network to regenerate and improve itself." Since 1991, thirteen efforts to establish a functioning government have failed. A fourteenth, the product of prolonged international mediation, has produced a transitional government that may well collapse if the current violence persists (Reuters). International observers have called for African Union peacekeepers to protect the government (ICG), and the Somali cabinet has agreed, though they have specifically requested troops from Uganda and Sudan (AP), neither of which is a model of stability.
Even if a government is installed, Somalia faces a host of challenges, not the least of which is an entire generation of citizens who have known nothing but violence and anarchy (BBC). A BBC timeline offers a glance at Somalia's history.
Al Qaeda is looking for a state to take over, now that they have been chased out Afghanistan and Iraq.
You seem to have knowledge and interest about Somalia -- as you mentioned on the other thread, so I thought you might be interested in this article as well.
Really?
Bump.
Hope someone else responds because I am at a loss.
Not good news. The CFR, not content with One Happy Hemisphere and forty million illegals in the US, is also determined to involve the US in Africa. They were on C-Span a few months ago, promoting this. Massive foreign aid, which amounts to throwing it away, since Africa needs a human genome boost, not just vast amounts of money. US troops on the ground in Africa, under UN command would be, in their opinion, nirvana.
Sorry but I had to ping someone. I feel I need a reality check.
What is the question? Surely you have heard of this. "Blackhawk Down".
Later some evidence surfaced taht it was orchestrated by Al; Qaeda. They got the "desired response", the US, at Clinton's direction, withdrew. That's why they were surprised that under President Bush, we are not turning tail and running. CLinton should have started to War on Terror right then, in 1993.
http://www.answers.com/topic/battle-of-mogadishu
Yup! First the Grenada bulldozer caper a la Heartbreak Ridge, now BHD!
Where does it all end, you ask yourself? Even the wannabes are turning the Rangers into Marines now - look at how they roll their sleeves!
So everybody, repeat after me:
Recognizing that I volunteered as a Marine, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the presige, honor, and high esprit de corps of my Marine battalion! Huah! Oorah!
D'oh!
"A squadron of US Army Special Forces, Army Rangers, 10th Mountain Division, US Navy SEALs, and Marines executed an operation "
Were all those killed Army Rangers, not Marines? Is that the point -- I guess I have to admit to my ignorance.
I may be especially confused today but I recall the dead being Rangers and Delta Force. If that is correct then the CFR guy loses some credibility.
Damn... This yokel can't even get the service of the dead troops correct. That error alone makes it not worth reading.
The FReeper Foxhole Revisits Task Force Ranger: Mogadishu, Somalia - (10/3/1993) - Oct. 1st, 2004
Army Ranger.com ^
Posted on 09/30/2004 11:23:25 PM PDT by snippy_about_it
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/1232278/posts
No doubt our actual response will be to admit several hundred thousand additional Islamic Somali refugees (under the new immigration law) and settle them in Lewiston, Maine, and places like that.
That will solve the problem.
Of course, if they send them to Massachusetts, I would be happy. That is not really a part of the United States.
Thanks, folks. Thought I was running a fever.
Thanks. The total dead is 18, so 6 were Rangers, then the other 12 must have been other service members. The article mentioned a joint operation between several services.
Thanks for linking to our thread on this bwteim.
To all, there were Marines in Somalia but not on this mission. These were Delta Force and Rangers. Help yourself to the link in post 13 to the Foxhole Thread on this for the real story.
You are welcome, snip.
Memorial Day Bump.
Freeper Foxhole
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/search?s=freeper%20foxhole;ok=Search;m=all;o=time
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