Nick Kristof has an interesting (though a little analytically superficial) article on Al-Qaeda's endorsement of McCain. (McCain is good for recruitment, basically).
The main topic - and both protagonists - are of no interest to me. However, this I found interesting:
The main topic - and both protagonists - are of no interest to me. However, this I found interesting:
Bush administration officials, however, were aghast at the rise of an Islamist movement that they feared would be uncooperative in the war on terror. So they gave
I said that (admittedly in a less articulate fashion, and with more profanity) nearly two years ago. (Kristof, you plagiarist.)
But it's good that someone finally acknowledged it.
Somalia is a nasty mess that has lasted for so long we got bored with it. The US administration's 'feelings' and subsequent irrational behaviour have helped extend it.
BTW, Pyjama Samsara blogs from there.
3 comments:
This has actually been in the news a lot....the problem is that so few English-speakers care to educate themselves about what's going on in the world.
Kristoff has his own anti-Bush Left-Democratic agenda to push. None of his statements are totally factually inaccurate, but many would disagree with the spin he's given it. Opposition to the Islamic Courts may have more to do with their al Qaeda connections than to making Ethiopia or the US Marines happy:
"Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is wanted by the U.S. government for involvement of al Qaeda, and his allies shrewdly co-opted indigenous Islamist movements under the guise of restoring order to Somalia. Aweys' ties to Somali terror goes back to the early 1990s, where he was part of the al Qaeda backed Union of Islam (al-Ittihad al-Islamiya), the predecessor of the Islamic Courts Union (al-Ittihad Mahakem al-Islamiya)." From an admittedly conservative source at http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/01/the_rise_fall_of_som.php, which also sets forth a timeline for the Islamic Courts power play.
Kudos to you for blogging on it early, but I've been following this also. I like Kristoff because he is one of the few western journalists who covers Africa a LOT and clues otherwise clueless westerners into what's going on there---even if I don't always agree with his spin.
Hi Aliyah06!
Thanks for the link, btw.
I agree that Kristof has an agenda (though, what journalist doesn't).
Nevertheless, he does bring an outside perspective to the NYTimes public - and beyond - which I appreciate.
I am not saying that the ICU is not an islamist group (they are so self-defined anyway). This was however no excuse for the US to get all freaky about it and deprive Somalia of its first chance for stability in a very long time.
I also find appalling that the US gave the green light to a regional hegemonic power like Ethiopia to invade - besides furthering US interests, they also have their own stake in the Horn region - which will only make this more complicated.
Sometimes I just search what countries looked like before the war and man! They were stunning....and Somalia, was the only African country that provided free university education to all Africans, regardless of religion,race, whatever....
Furthermore, it's interesting to note that as you look at older databases, it sates that Somalia is 100% Muslim country and as the time progresses...it keeps decresing, and decreasing, makes you wonder eh?
Moreover, this summer we had this Islamic cultural expo, where countries with a significant muslim population display their countries to the general public, and this gentleman visited the Somalia tent and got really pissed off when he saw that a poster said that the population is 98% Muslim. The poor person in the tent was so speechless and was like "Man, sorry, they provide us with theses posters" and he's like "NO! THIS WRONG. Somalia ALWAYS 100% MUSLIM!!" and he stormed off!
I found that umm...cute?
....and pardon me for the run-on sentences.
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