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U.S.
Goes After al-Qaida Suspects in Somalia |
Posted:
01.10.07
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The United States has sent war planes into the East African country
of Somalia to kill al-Qaida terrorists suspected of planning the
1998 bombings of United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
that killed more than 225 people.
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The al-Qaida members were in the process of fleeing Somalia for
the neighboring country of Kenya.
Al-Qaida was reportedly being protected by an Islamic militia
group that ruled most of the country. But in recent weeks, that
militia was ousted by forces from the U.S.-backed transitional
government and troops from the neighboring country of Ethiopia.
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U.S. involvement |
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Somalia's transitional president,
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, said he gave permission for the U.S. air
attacks. The government also  has
asked for ground troops.
"The only way we are going to kill or capture the surviving
al-Qaida terrorists is for U.S. special forces to go in on the
ground," Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aideed said,
according to the Associated Press.
The last U.S. military involvement in Somalia was in the early
'90s when troops were sent to help deliver much-needed food
and medicine and stabilize the country after the government was
overthrown.
That mission spun out of control in 1993, when U.S. helicopters
were attacked by militants. The deaths of 18 U.S. soldiers resulted
from the incident, which became known as "Black Hawk Down."
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Al-Qaida
in Somalia |
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U.S. officials have been worried that Somalia is a breeding ground
for terrorists, in part because of the chaotic environment in
the country.
Until December 2006, Somalia's government had no power outside
of the town of Baidoa, 150 miles from the capital. The countryside
and the capital were run by warlords and militia groups who could
be paid to protect terrorist groups.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officers kept close tabs on
the country and paid a group of Somali warlords to help hunt down
members of al-Qaida in 2006, according to the New York Times.
Meanwhile, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the deputy to al-Qaida leader Osama
bin Laden, issued a message this month calling for all Muslims
to come to Somalia to help fight U.S. allies.
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The struggle
for government |
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In the wake of the U.S. strikes in Somalia, experts are focusing
on the importance of strengthening Somalia's government to weaken
terrorist groups in the region.
Since 1991, warlords have battled for control of Somalia and
there have been 14 different governments.
The country's most recent attempt at a government, known as the
transitional government, was formed in 2004 with the help of the
United Nations.
 The
transitional government has never had the popular support of the
public and has been unable to exert any real control over the
country.
The government has close ties to neighboring Ethiopia, a secular
country with a large Christian population, that many in the primarily
Muslim nation of Somalia distrust.
"[Ethiopia's] support of the transitional government greatly
tarnishes the image that the transitional government has at a
popular level," Stephen Morrison, director of the Africa
program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies,
told the NewsHour.
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Conflict
with the Islamic Courts |
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One movement that was able to find support from the Somali people
was the Islamic Courts, a group that sought to impose Islamic
law on the country.
"Somalia was an ungoverned space for a very long time. And
in this ungoverned space, you had the Islamic Courts providing
security, providing charitable assistance," Andre Le Sage
of the National Defense University told the NewsHour.
 The
group seized control of southern Somalia, including the country's
capital Mogadishu, in June of 2006, prompting Ethiopia to send
in troops to try to protect the transitional government.
In December, the Islamic Courts warned Ethiopia they would declare
war if Ethiopia did not remove all troops from Somalia. Sheikh
Sharif Ahmed, leader of the Islamic Courts called for a jihad,
or holy war, against Ethiopia and encouraged foreign Islamic fighters
to come to Somalia.
At that time, the United States accused the group of being controlled
by al-Qaida, but the Islamic Courts denied that charge.
War broke out on Dec. 24, and the Islamic Courts were overpowered
and quickly defeated by Ethiopia's military.
After the Islamists were driven out, Somalia's President Abdullahi
Yusuf was able to enter the country's capital for the first time.
--Compiled
by Talea Miller for NewsHour Extra
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I think we've been witnessing violence for years, whether in reality through the media or through video games, and I don't think that's a first-hand effect.
