Somalia: the forgotten front in the US GWOT

Somalia is a mostly forgotten front of the US Global War on Terror. True, only a limited number of US personnel is deployed there or directly involved in the fighting; this is a war by proxy, courtesy of the US backed regime in Ethiopia who invaded Somalia under orders from Washington.

After many years of chaos and violence Somalia had finally found a modicum of stability under the Islamic Courts Union, an umbrella organization bringing together various Islamist groups. Obviously, to have Somalia return to some stability under the leadership of an Islamist group was just not something the Empire could tolerate and it ordered Ethiopia, a faithful ally of the Empire in the GWOT, to (illegally) invade Somalia and oust the Islamic Courts Union (for more details about this war, see here).

Needless to say, just like in Afghanistan or Iraq, this intervention plunged the country in total chaos, violence is everywhere, the Somalis are fighting the Ethiopian invaders in endless and brutal clashes which resulted in over half of the population of the capital city, Mogadishu, leaving their homes and becoming 'internally displaced persons'.

In a bizarre and ironic twist of fate, some are now floating the idea of sending a UN peacekeeping force to Somalia ('Black Hawk Down' anyone?) instead of overlooking the self-evident first step to resolve this unfolding nightmare: demand an Ethiopian withdrawal. The other solution, which is what I predict will eventually happen, is for the Somalis themselves to expel the Ethiopians and liberate their country.

In the meantime, here is a good Al-Jazerra report on the humanitarian consequences of the GWOT in Somalia: