[Marxism] Muslims of Somalia capital rally against Pentagon-backed (and organized?) assault

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

So far, the people of Mogadishu are making a strong case that the
Bush-Clinton defeat there in 1991 was no fluke (see "Blackhawk Down" for
counterline).  The US-backed attack on Islamic forces highlights the
degree to which the US "war on terror" is becoming a genuine war against
Islamic believers on a broad scale.  The description of the warlords as
"secular" is hilarious.  In the Somalian context, it should be noted
that the call for "Islamic law" is simply a demand that there be some
kind of established law and safety, and not just the whims of the
warlords' gunmen.
Fred Feldman

New York Times
June 3, 2006
World Briefing | AFRICA

Somalia: Throngs Denounce U.S. in Mogadishu

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thousands of Somalis denounced the United
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritorie
s/unitedstates/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> States and called for Islamic
law at a rally in the war-torn capital, Mogadishu, where Islamic
militias have been battling a secular alliance. Eleven people were
killed in fighting in the northern suburbs and four died in the city
when a booby-trapped bicycle exploded. A Muslim leader at the rally
called America an enemy of Islam and said Washington supported the
secular warlords, whose battle with Islamist fighters has spawned some
of Somalia's
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritorie
s/somalia/index.html?inline=nyt-geo>  worst fighting in 15 years of
anarchy. The United States is widely believed to support the secular
alliance, but American officials have not commented. Somalia has had no
effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew the former
dictator, then turned on each other. The Islamic militias are surging as
a United
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/uni
ted_nations/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Nations-backed transitional
government struggles to assert control outside its base in Baidoa, 155
miles northwest of Mogadishu.




<http://promos.hotbar.com/promos/promodll.dll?RunPromo&El=&SG=&RAND=2070
8&partner=hbtools> Upgrade Your Email - Click here!

________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text before replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism