Those Wacky Somalis
I wasn't as busy last night as I thought I was going to be. Here are a few stories from yesterday... After the Slap Chop "Rap Chop" Remix.
Wasn't that fantastic? Okay, now, the news.
For Father Time: Happiness Is... Being Old, Male, and Republican; I guess two out of three ain't bad, huh?
UPI: Electronic Warfare Alert
Fars: Iran accuses US of supporting Kurdish terrorists; yeah, I totally believe that, really I do. Keep trying, Iran.
Wired: CIA chief: Drones only game in town for stopping al Qaeda
Dolls to Avoid - A funny article about types of women that men should avoid at all costs.
From Somalia: Islamic militants seize Somali city (CNN), Somali anti-pirate coastguard bid (BBC), Ethiopia troops 'back in Somalia' (BBC)
* * *
So, a little bit of explanation on the Somalia thing. Ethiopia's not the most fantastic country in the world, but as far as the Horn of Africa region goes, there are a lot worse - Somalia, for example. A couple of years ago, Somalia got so bad, and was being nominally ruled by a coalition of Islamist warlords (thugs) called the Islamic Courts Union, who kept threatening to invade Ethiopia. Eventually, things got bad enough that an American-backed invasion force from Ethiopia stormed into Somalia and ousted the Islamic Courts Union from power. Ethiopian troops occupied portions of Somalia for a while, but they weren't popular with the Somalis to begin with, and the Ethiopian troops weren't as, shall we say, cordial, with the Somalis as Coalition troops have been with the Afghans and Iraqis.
Now, President Bush has been criticized for ousting the closest thing that Somalia has had to a functional government (as if an al Qaeda-linked coalition of Taliban-style thugs is a "functional government"), and there have been claims (with some basis in reality) that piracy (which is perpetrated by a rival group known as al Shabaab) was stifled by the Islamic Courts Union. Personally, I think a strong case can be made that the financial and security disaster of having another pre-war-Afghanistan-style Islamist theocracy rise up in the Horn of Africa would have far outweighed the current threat of piracy; however, that's full disclosure, and I'll let you make your own call.
So, where am I going with this? The Islamic Courts Union is apparently trying to retake control in Somalia, they've captured some territory already, the Ethiopians have sent troops back into the country to counter them, and the legitimate government is simultaneously calling out for help to form a pirate-fighting coast guard force. If I were Chuck Bartowski's brother-in-law, I'd have to say that things in Somalia are not awesome.
* * *
Okay, so, I have things to do, so that's it for today. I didn't wind up having time to do that yomp yesterday morning, but I will this morning due to differences in my schedule - yesterday was yomp-hostile from the get-go. Have a great day, folks!
Wasn't that fantastic? Okay, now, the news.
So, a little bit of explanation on the Somalia thing. Ethiopia's not the most fantastic country in the world, but as far as the Horn of Africa region goes, there are a lot worse - Somalia, for example. A couple of years ago, Somalia got so bad, and was being nominally ruled by a coalition of Islamist warlords (thugs) called the Islamic Courts Union, who kept threatening to invade Ethiopia. Eventually, things got bad enough that an American-backed invasion force from Ethiopia stormed into Somalia and ousted the Islamic Courts Union from power. Ethiopian troops occupied portions of Somalia for a while, but they weren't popular with the Somalis to begin with, and the Ethiopian troops weren't as, shall we say, cordial, with the Somalis as Coalition troops have been with the Afghans and Iraqis.
Now, President Bush has been criticized for ousting the closest thing that Somalia has had to a functional government (as if an al Qaeda-linked coalition of Taliban-style thugs is a "functional government"), and there have been claims (with some basis in reality) that piracy (which is perpetrated by a rival group known as al Shabaab) was stifled by the Islamic Courts Union. Personally, I think a strong case can be made that the financial and security disaster of having another pre-war-Afghanistan-style Islamist theocracy rise up in the Horn of Africa would have far outweighed the current threat of piracy; however, that's full disclosure, and I'll let you make your own call.
So, where am I going with this? The Islamic Courts Union is apparently trying to retake control in Somalia, they've captured some territory already, the Ethiopians have sent troops back into the country to counter them, and the legitimate government is simultaneously calling out for help to form a pirate-fighting coast guard force. If I were Chuck Bartowski's brother-in-law, I'd have to say that things in Somalia are not awesome.
Okay, so, I have things to do, so that's it for today. I didn't wind up having time to do that yomp yesterday morning, but I will this morning due to differences in my schedule - yesterday was yomp-hostile from the get-go. Have a great day, folks!
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