Posted by
on Thursday, December 28, 2006 8:40:29 AM
Reports coming out of Somalia are that the pro-government Somali troops that hooked up with Ehtiopian forces are on the verge of going into "The Mog." But the New York Times reports that the streets are empty of Islamist forces:The Islamist forces who have controlled much of Somalia in recent months suddenly vanished from the streets of the capital, Mogadishu, residents said Wednesday night, just as thousands of rival troops massed 15 miles away.
In the past few days, Ethiopian-backed forces, with tacit approval from the United States, have unleashed tanks, helicopter gunships and jet fighters on the Islamists, decimating their military and paving the way for the internationally recognized transitional government of Somalia to assert control.
Even so, the Islamists, who have been regarded as a regional menace by Ethiopia and the United States, had repeatedly vowed to fight to the death for their religion and their land, making their disappearance that much more unexpected.
Fortified checkpoints across the city — in front of the radio station, at the airport, at the main roads leading into Mogadishu and outside police stations — were abruptly abandoned Wednesday night, residents said.
Many of the teenage troops who made up the backbone of the Islamist army had blended back into the civilian population, walking around without guns or their trademark green skullcaps.
The sudden reversal left it unclear whether a war that had threatened to consume the Horn of Africa had quickly ended, or the Islamists had merely gone underground, preparing to wage a guerrilla insurgency, as some leaders had threatened.
“The whole city is just waiting,” said Sheik Ahmed Shiro, a Koranic teacher in Mogadishu.
At 10 p.m. on Wednesday, several Islamist leaders emerged to hold a news conference at their headquarters in Mogadishu. They did not explicitly concede defeat to the transitional government, but seemed to be preparing their forces for such an eventuality. “We need our soldiers to return to their positions for the sake of the people,” said Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, one of the leaders. “Even if your positions are transferred to the government, you must stay where you are and make sure Mogadishu is as safe as it was before.”
As he spoke, Mogadishu was rapidly descending back into the clan-based anarchy that had been its hallmark for most of the past 15 years, before the Islamists came to power and pacified the city.Yes, they're blending back in, and it'll be a cold day in H*ll when they do give up. They're digging in for an insurgency, much like the one in Iraq. The idea that the Islamists would simply give up and go away is a fool's notion. And I doubt either set of soldiers would be willing to make the mistake of letting their guards down going into "The Mog."
Meanwhile, I take issue with the Times assessment that the Islamists "pacified" the city. Their idea of pacification closely mirrors the Taliban's version. From The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright:
"Women you should not step outside your residence," the new government ordered. Women were a particular target, as might be expected from men who has so little experience of their company. "If women are going outside with fashionable, ornamental, tight and chrming clothes to show themselves," the decree continued, "they will be cursed by the Islamic Sharia and should never expect to go to heaven." Work and schooling for women were halted at once, which destroyed the health-care system, the civil service, and effectively eliminated elementary education. Forty percent of the doctors, half of the government workers, and seven out of ten teachers were women. Under the Taliban, many of them would become beggers.
The Taliban also turned their attention to ordinary pleasure. They forbade kite flying and dog racing. Trained pigeons were slaughtered. According to the Taliban penal code, "unclean things" were banned. an all purpose category that included: "pork, pig, pig oil, anything made from human hair, satelliete dishes, cinematography, any equipment that produces the joy of music, pool tables, chess, masks, alcohol, tapes, computers, VCRs, televisions, anything that propagates sex and is full of music, wine, lobster, nail polish, firecrackers, statues, sewing catalogs, pictures, Christmas cards." --pgs 230-231, The Looming Tower
Remember that when the Islamists rose to power in Somalia it was during the time of the World Cup soccer games. And I picked up a story where a number of TV watchers were shot because, well, they were watching TV. That is their shari'a, and that was the punishment. See, the Islamists don't care about the safety and well-being of the citizens. They care about one thing, and that's shari'a law, and whether or not you're breaking it. Somalia was slowly descending on that path, and it's yet to be seen if the Ethiopian and Somali forces can wrest power away from them.
One things for sure. If they do manage to get power back, each and every Islamist in Somalia had better either be shot, or kicked out of the counrtry because they will try to seize power again.
Publius II