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U.S. turns to Islamic Courts leader
The deep-seated Somali animosity towards Ethiopia and the unpopularity of the interim government are pushing the US to seek the help of Islamic Courts leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed to stabilize the strategic Horn of Africa country, experts believe. "Washington does not want Ethiopia to have the upper hand and believes its role ended with routing the Supreme Islamic Courts of Somalia (SICS)," Abdullah Nour, a Somali writer and researcher, told IslamOnline.net in an interview.

US Ambassador in Nairobi Michael Ranneberger plans to meet Sharif, the head of the SICS Executive Council, as early as Tuesday. "The ambassador will urge Sheikh Sharif to counsel his supporters not to carry out violence and to support the development of an inclusive government," said US Embassy spokesman Jennifer Barnes.
Using Sharif to split the IC? Not sure that will work but perhaps worth a try.
"The US knows pretty well that the presence of loathed Ethiopian troops in Somalia would not secure the much-sought political stability and drive away those Washington sees as extremists and Al-Qaeda loyalists," Nour said.

Abu Bakr el-Badri, a Somali journalist, said the US considers Sharif as a moderate leader who can play a pivotal role in stabilizing Somalia. "The Americans seem him as someone they can work with and the US ambassador in Nairobi had praised him," he noted. The journalist said the US wants Sharif to influence his followers. "They want him to urge his followers to engage the political process and eschew military confrontation with the government."

Badri said the embassy's confirmation that Ranneberger would be meeting Sharif is an enough proof that the Americans are willing to work with him.

The US, which backed Ethiopia's offensive and then launched unprecedented air strikes allegedly targeting Al-Qaeda operatives, had already said it believed Sharif could be a worthy interlocutor. During recent talks with Somali Premier Ali Mohamed Gedi, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer pressed for talks with "moderate" SICS leaders. She said Washington had already opened dialogue with Sheikh Sharif.

Ranneberger, whose mandate includes Somalia, met with Sharif in Nairobi last year after the SICS seized Mogadishu.

But Nour doubts Sharif's ability to stem resistance attacks. "It is a grassroots resistance that emerged after the collapse of the courts fighters," he explained. "Resistance fighters don't receive their orders from SICS leaders, but rather operate independently in small groups, mainly in the south."
Sorta like everyone else in the country.

Posted by: Steve White 2007-01-25
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=178677