Somalia The New Afghanistan?

28 July, 2006. 321 words.

Now here’s something interesting that nobody’s talking about: Somali minister assassinated. By “interesting,” I really mean “scary,” but at least it’s not the same old “more ways that the UN and the mainstream media hate Israel and love terrorists” news from the Middle East.

I mentioned this in passing before, but it looks to me like Somalia is quickly turning into the next Afghanistan. I’ve been watching developments there with some interest, since I first heard that Islamic militants were taking over Mogadishu. I’m still mad about Clinton pulling us out of there, so I remain hopeful that one day we’ll storm back for some payback. Maybe that’s not a great attitude. Anyway, the Al-Qaeda-friendly Islamic Courts Union militia now basically owns Balad, Jowhar, and the capital Mogadishu, and the U.S.-backed “legitimate” government, run by Ali Mohamed Gedi, is running for their lives. The ICU is brutally enforcing Islamic law in areas they control, just like the Taliban did in Afghanistan. So if you’re a terrorist in need of a vacation spot, or you’re a small-government, pure-free-market enthusiast, Somalia’s the place to go. If you want to watch soccer without being killed, then um, don’t go there.

I feel bad for those people over there. It’s hard to fathom the state of chaos they must live in. You might think you have a stressful job, but can you imagine a worse job than that of Ali Mohamed Gedi, Prime Minister of the Transitional Government of Somalia? I mean, the country was in total anarchy for 10 years before you even got there, and now you get the job of “fixing it.” You’ve got a hundred different warring clans to unite, arms dealers falling all over themselves to sell guns to your people, and a big group of hard-line Islamic militants howling at your door. And your experience for this job? You were… a veterinarian. (I’m not making that up .) Yikes.

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