Posted on 12/16/2006 4:37:30 PM PST by Flavius
Somalia, our next-door neighbour, is headed to war. This is no longer expression of fear or speculation. The drumbeats of war are on. Face-off may be Tuesday. The guns are being oiled. The consequences for the region, particularly Kenya — which is likely to host thousands of those who will flee the bloodbath — are grim. There is every indication that the war is set to begin any time.
Somalia’s President Abdulahi Yusuf says the door to peace is closed. Talks with the country’s Islamic movement, he says, are no longer the option. He adds: "They are the ones who effectively closed the door to peace talks and they are the ones waging the war." His parting shot: "The fighting can happen any time now…. we will not be the first to attack.’’
That comes from a President leading a Government with regional, Western and UN recognition, but little authority on the ground. His country has not had an effective government since 1991. Except for a few friendly states in the region, and pockets of support in his country, President Yusuf is standing on sinking sand.
Beneath the veneer lies the grim prospect that Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden’s merchants of death, could have opened shop in Somalia. "This is a new chapter and part of the terror group’s plan to wage war against the West,’’ says the Somali President. That draws the magnitude of the war if it breaks out; the ordinary Islamist gunman sees more than Ethiopian presence.
On the crosshairs are the perceived anti-Muslim states, top on the list being the US and the UK. The two have vast interests in Kenya. As we have seen in the past, it is not beyond Al Qaeda, if indeed it has opened shop in Somalia, to strike Western interests on the Kenyan soil. The package includes massive injuries and deaths.
The Council of Islamic Courts, which controls most of southern Somalia, has vowed to launch a Holy War (Jihad) starting Tuesday "unless Ethiopian troops supporting the government leave Somalia.’’ On Friday Islamic leaders distributed sermons about the Jihad for dissemination at mosques during worship — all in the effort to galvanise the nation as it slides to war.
The Islamists see the face of America in Ethiopia, which they believe is nudging their neighbour to cross big-time into Somalia and smother the Islamic movement. That actually could be the flicker at the end of the explosive.
The effort to create an African force to train and protect Yusuf’s Government is still on the mould. That leaves us with one solution — peacemaking and dialogue. The world should help Somalia reopen the door of peace talks.
It is in Kenya’s interest — particularly now that President Kibaki, who last week hosted the groundbreaking Great Lakes heads of Government peace conference and was picked to head the peace-making portfolio — to lead the way.
We need to raise the attention of the global family to the fact that Somalia is not just a regional problem. Insecurity anywhere is a threat to security everywhere. If the war breaks out, it would take more effort to quell it.
We can count on the regional governments; they know too well whom the tongues of fires in Somalia can scald.
That is why they met and agonised over conflicts in their orbit. In his new mission, President Kibaki has so much to do. The world is watching. Kenya has a good track record in peacemaking and we must grab the opportunity to restore calm in the region. The clock is ticking.
Islam is on the move, taking over continents while we pretend it is not happening.
ON THE NET...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747324/posts?page=749#749
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747324/posts?page=750#750
Can we please stop sending Billions of dollars to this hell hole now?
A few weeks back the Ethiopians made it pretty clear that they're a Christian nation who don't plan to let the cancer spread. Better yet they gave a big ole finger to the UN when they said they aren't going to wait for approval from anyone.
From Wikipedia -
Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs [5], with Christianity and Islam being the most widespread. Approximately 46.3% of all Africans are Christians and another 40.5% are Muslims. Roughly 11.8% of Africans primarily follow indigenous African religions. A small number of Africans are Hindu, or have beliefs from the Judaic tradition. Examples of African Jews are the Beta Israel, Lemba peoples and the Abayudaya of Eastern Uganda.
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