sirenianshores

President Abdullahi Yusuf has criticized the US for their support of Somali warlords fighting against the Islamic courts and their militias.

Mr Yusuf was elected in 2004 by MPs sitting in Kenya, but his rule has been opposed by several of the warlords who earlier this year formed the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, to take on the Islamic Courts militia.

The US was using the warlords, most of whom are also MPs, to try to capture al-Qaeda members who are being protected by Islamic clerics in Mogadishu, President Yusuf told the AP news agency.

“But the Americans should tell the warlords they should support the government, and co-operate with the government.

The Islamic courts were established in Somalia in an effort bring about a semblance of law and order to a country gone mad. Controlled by Islamic clerics, they have the support of a coalition of warlords who act as the courts enforcers. This is similar to how the Taliban first came to power in Afghanistan and what the Americans are worried about is that another terrorist haven will be established along similar lines. Their solution has been to back the lesser of two evils - the secular warlords in their fight against the more Islamic-minded warlords.

There is no ideal solution here. Al Queda and other Islamic terrorists have been active in the region, so the threat is a real one. The obvious danger here is one of blowback, where one of the more powerful warlords gets too big for his boots and the Americans eventually have to go in there with force to depose him. But it’s a chance they may well have to take.