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> Blowback, Somali Style > by Charles V. Peña <http://original.antiwar.com/author/pena/>, August 13, > 2010 > > clip - > > But what isn’t being talked about much is America’s role in the rise of > al-Shabaab. In 2006, al-Shabaab was a fundamentalist Islamic movement with > very little support among Somalis. But then the United States decided to > back secular warlords (not the Somali government) against Islamic groups for > control of Mogadishu – despite being warned by the transitional government > that such a decision was shortsighted and dangerous. They were right. U.S. > interference (ostensibly to prevent Somalia from becoming an al-Qaeda safe > haven) made al-Shabaab more popular as a symbol of resistance against a > foreign power (kind of how bin Laden and al-Qaeda gained traction amongst > Muslims in the first place). Because that was such a good idea, the United > States then decided to support the invasion of Somalia by neighboring > Ethiopia in December 2006 – which made al-Shabaab even more popular (hey, if > you don’t get it right the first time, just try again!) > > But it doesn’t end there. What was originally a relatively small local > threat in Somalia is now formally allied with al-Qaeda (in a case of déjà vu > all over again, this is exactly what happened in Iraq when Abu Musab > al-Zarqawi decided that his al Tawhid group should join forces with > al-Qaeda). Operationally, the al-Shabaab group probably isn’t a direct > terrorist threat to America (just as al-Tawhid in Iraq wasn’t). But, once > again, U.S. policy (and it’s worth noting that the Obama administration’s > policy towards Somalia isn’t significantly different than the Bush > administration’s – so much for change we can believe in), has allowed > al-Qaeda to use the suffering of seven million Somalis to advance the > politics and language of radical Islam and global *jihad*. We continue to > help write the narrative that the United States is a foreign infidel > invading and occupying Muslim countries. Blowback in spades. > full - http://original.antiwar.com/pena/2010/08/12/blowback-somali-style/ > > > ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
