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ANALYSIS-Somali Islamists fought wrong kind of war vs Ethiopia
 Of course, that depends on whose side you are on...MOGADISHU, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Somalia's Islamists suffered rapid defeat against Ethiopian troops and their Somali government allies because they fought the wrong kind of war -- a conventional one, experts said on Tuesday. But their slaughter on Somalia's low bushlands and arid wastes, followed by a hasty retreat from the capital Mogadishu and later the key southern port of Kismayu, may portend the start of a guerrilla war of bombings and assassinations. That would be innovative of them. After systematically defeating warlords in more than four months of fighting for Mogadishu, the Islamists won credit for producing one of the most disciplined military forces in Somalia since the Cold War heyday of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. That's not just putting the bar on the ground, that's putting it in a shallow trough and paving over the darn thing. "Taking on the Ethiopians in a conventional war, fighting these set-piece battles, was a tactical mistake for the courts," said independent Somalia analyst Matt Bryden. Wonder how much he gets paid to come up with insights like this? The gunmen of the Somali Islamic Courts Council (SICC) chose to fight the joint Somali-Ethiopian forces, packing the support of tanks, helicopter gunships and jets, on front lines spread across flat terrain with only rudimentary cover. "I think the Islamists were on a roll and overconfident ... No!! You don't say! against a competent, professional military force like the Ethiopians," said a military expert and combat veteran who follows Somalia and is not authorised to speak to the press. Then why are you babbling, Top Job? Ethiopia has demonstrated its military power in the Horn of Africa before, sending troops to attack the militant Somali group al-Itihaad al-Islaami several times from 1992 to 1998, and defeating Eritrea in a 1998-2000 border war. No independent casualty figures are available, but the government has estimated its fighters and the Ethiopians killed several thousand Islamists. That's what we call 'a good start.' (BTW- more at the link.) Posted by: Free Radical 2007-01-02 |
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