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U.S. policy in the Horn of Africa may aid al-Qaida, experts warn
Some fresh red meat for the spit. I get the distinct impression that the "Experts" are the usual variety of State Dept types... I leave it to the experts to sift the wheat from the experts, lol.
Is there anything that can be done by anyone that won't aid and/or abet the bad guyz?
By Jonathan S. Landay and Shashank Bengali
NAIROBI, Kenya — As fighting intensified Friday between Somali Islamists and an Ethiopian intervention force, Western diplomats and experts warned that U.S. policy in the Horn of Africa - intended to curb Islamic radicalism - may not only be fueling this newest conflict, but also may be making it easier for al-Qaida to gain a foothold in the strategic region.

Fighting raged for a fourth day around Baidoa, the last bastion of Somalia's U.N.-recognized Transitional Federal Government, which is depending on Ethiopian troops for its survival. Both Islamists and the government claimed advances after what was described as a heavy artillery exchange.

The top Islamist official renewed his call for "jihad" against what he said was Ethiopian invaders, and there were reports of an armored column of Ethiopian tanks heading into central Somalia.

The Ethiopian government, which had denied having troops in Somalia, said Friday that it had been patient with a situation that had gone "from bad to worse" and said "there is a limit." Ethiopia has said it will not tolerate an Islamist regime in neighboring Somalia.

Officials close to the Somali parliament confirmed Friday that more Ethiopian reinforcements had arrived since Thursday, setting the stage for possible full-scale war.

The Bush administration has publicly denounced the Islamists who control most of southern Somalia as al-Qaida puppets, reinforcing a widespread belief that the United States tacitly supports Christian-ruled Ethiopia's intervention into the overwhelmingly Muslim country.

The outbreak of fighting has focused new attention on U.S. policy in the region, which Western diplomats and regional experts say has been riddled with inconsistencies and missteps. The experts say U.S. handling of Somalia and Ethiopia is a tale of flawed intelligence, inadequate U.S. government attention and overheated rhetoric, with a measure of domestic U.S. politics thrown in.
Posted by: .com 2006-12-23
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=175910