 The Islamist leader whose Islamic Courts Union militia seized control of this lawless east African capital last week after fierce fighting with U.S.-backed warlords said Monday that he seeks "an understanding" with the United States and denied that his group is sheltering al-Qaida terrorists.
| Hmmm... Smarter than Mullah Omar — and most Pak pols... |
But in his first face-to-face interview with an American journalist since his forces' triumph, Sheikh Sherif Sheikh Ahmed told Knight Ridder that he doesn't plan full ties with the United States, and he dodged questions about his views on al-Qaida.
| "We think it's a good thing, but we don't want to be clobbered..." |
"The Americans were getting wrong information from the warlords, and since that strategy failed, the Americans have a good opportunity," Ahmed said. "They can help us with offers of humanitarian assistance.
| "They can give us money, nothing else." |
"We cannot say there will be full cooperation, but we can foresee an understanding between the United States and Somalia."
| I can maybe see a temporary "understanding," but I can't see us tolerating another Islamic state. But since he seems to be a smart boy, it's entirely likely we'll see a Turabi-style government eventually forming, keeping just this side of intolerable. |
He also said he would never agree to a call for international peacekeepers by Somalia's nearly powerless transitional government, based 150 miles away in the city of Baidoa. "They only brought destruction and killing when they were here," he said. "There is no reason for the request for foreign troops. The cruel warlords were totally eliminated by the uprising."
| To be replaced by cruel Islamists. |
Ahmed has been the focus of international speculation about whether he plans to create a Taliban-style state that would shelter al-Qaida in this strategic Horn of Africa country. But Ahmed offered no clear political agenda during the interview, which was conducted in his heavily fortified office on a leafy residential street in the capital. Ahmed said he believes "the world is truly governed by God," but that his religious courts will reach out to intellectuals, secular politicians and clan elders as the Islamists craft a plan for the city. "Our people have been freed from the warlords. Now, we want all Somali people to decide their future," he said.
| Too smart by half. He's going to be a problem. |
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