|
By Alykhan Velshi
12 June 2006
After assuring the world that they had no intention of introducing Sharia law, the new Islamist junta in Mogadishu banned Somalis from watching the World Cup.
Comparisons are already being made between the Islamists in Mogadishu and the Taliban in Afghanistan. At some point, the United States government will have to make an unsavory decision about how to handle the jihadists in Mogadishu. It will almost certainly be necessary to have allies on the ground willing to offer the United States assistance, local information, access to territory, and so on.
Fortunately, such a solution presents itself in Somaliland, a breakaway statelet in Northern Somalia. Somaliland has a democratically-elected government and, in spite of the many obstacles it faces, has come to represent the best hopes for the country. And it is safe to assume that Somalilanders will generously reward whichever country makes the decision to recognize Somaliland's statehood.
If the United States is to confront the threat facing it from Mogadishu, the obvious solution is to ally itself with Somaliland. FDD Academic Fellow Peter Pham has written about the opportunity presented by Somaliland here.
Source: Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
11/06/2006
|