[Marxism] Victory of Islamic militia in Mogadishu, Somalia, may be big setback for US military, Rumsfeld

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The warlord drive to crush the Islamists in Mogadishu seems to have been
an application of policies that enabled Chadian troops organized by US
Special Forces to
defeat a much smaller pro-Al Qaeda force in Chad. After it was all over,
the operation in Chad was given wide publicity in "exposes" in the
Village Voice and elsewhere of the effectiveness of Rumsfeld's idea of a
small, Special Forces-based military as the key to defeating
insurgencies.  The blow in the battle of Mogadishu, which raged for
weeks, now takes its place with the ongoing and deepening US debacle in
Iran as blows to Rumsfeld's authority and standing.
Fred Feldman

Islamic Militia Captures Mogadishu from US-Backed Warlords

AP Headline: Islamic Militia Says Mogadishu Captured

  By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN Associated Press Writer

  Jun 5, 2006, 11:30 AM EDT

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) --

  An Islamic militia said Monday it has seized Somalia's capital after
weeks of bloody fighting and 15 years of anarchy in this Horn of Africa
nation.

  The militia appeared in control of Mogadishu. Most of the leaders of a

secular alliance that opposed them - and was rumored to be backed by
the United States - appeared to have fled the city by Monday afternoon.

  "We want to restore peace and stability to Mogadishu. We are ready to
meet and talk to anybody and any group for the interest of the people,"
Shaikh Sharif Shaikh Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic Courts Union, said
on a radio broadcast.

  The militia has been battling a secular alliance of warlords for
control of the country, with the fight intensifying since February.
More than 300 people have been killed and 1,700 wounded, many of them
civilians caught in the crossfire.

  The United States is widely believed to be backing the secular
alliance but American officials have refused to comment.

  The United States has not carried out any direct action in Somalia
since the deaths of 18 servicemen in a 1993 battle depicted in the film
"Black Hawk Down."

  The fundamentalists accuse the alliance of working for the CIA.

  Somalia, an impoverished country of 8 million, has been divided into
rival fiefdoms since 1991, when warlords overthrew longtime dictator
Mohamed Siad Barre.

  The Islamic militia is the first group to consolidate control over all

of Mogadishu's clan-divided neighborhoods since then, giving them
enormous political and economic power in Somalia.

  The Islamic militia and its secular rivals began competing for
influence after a U.N.-backed interim government slowly began to gain
international recognition. But the interim government has failed to
assert control outside its base in Baidoa, 155 miles from Mogadishu.

  The government has not even been able to enter the capital because of
the violence.

  Interim Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi recently fired four ministers
who are part of the secular alliance, leaving it without any support in
the government.

  In the past, Islamic leaders have denounced the interim government,
insisting that any new law be based on Islamic scripture. But both the
president and prime minister have rejected suggestions of forming an
Islamic republic.

  Somali economist Abdinasir Ahmed said: "The victory of Islamic courts
is a major step toward a lasting peaceful settlement in Mogadishu. We
are tired of the deception and rhetoric of the warlords."








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