The Obama administration wants to restore formal diplomatic ties and provide more direct assistance to the African nation in its fight against an insurgency of Islamic extremists.

By Edmund Sanders

Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya -- Bolstered by a meeting today between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Somalia's transitional president, the Obama administration is embarking on the most direct U.S. engagement in the Horn of Africa nation since 18 American peacekeepers were killed there in 1993, diplomats from both countries say.

Wrapping up her first stop of a seven-nation Africa tour, Clinton met Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya to discuss ways the U.S. can provide additional financial and military support to help the fragile government defeat an insurgency of Islamic extremists.

Clinton is the highest ranking U.S. official ever to hold a one-on-one meeting with the head of Somalia's 5-year-old government. The meeting was part of a new approach by the Obama administration to restore formal diplomatic ties with Somalia and take a more active role in assisting the U.N.-recognized government.

Though American humanitarian aid to Somalia has been substantial in recent years and it funds most of an African peacekeeper force there, Washington until recently funneled most of its assistance through the U.N. or African Union.

In addition to the high-profile meeting with Clinton, which Somali officials said would give Ahmed's beleaguered government a much-needed political boost, the Obama administration sent 40 tons of weapons and munitions to Somalia's government earlier this year when insurgents threatened to overthrow it. The U.S. is also providing military training to government soldiers and has donated more than $1 million in direct assistance, officials said.

"We believe this government is the best hope we've had in quite some time for a return to stability and the possibility of progress in Somalia," Clinton said today during a joint news conference with Ahmed.

"It's fair to say that President Obama and I want to expand and extend our support for the [transitional government,]" Clinton said.

During the Bush administration, the U.S. largely bypassed the Somali government and limited its engagement to counter-terrorism efforts.

In 2006, the CIA was accused of secretly funding warlords to nab terror suspects believed to be hiding in Somalia, drawing complaints from Somali government leaders who said the program undercut their authority. After that, the U.S. launched about half a dozen airstrikes against suspected terrorists, including one that killed a top leader of Somalia's main insurgency group, Al-Shabaab.

Neither Clinton nor Ahmed would comment on any specific U.S. commitments made today, but Somali officials said discussions centered around providing additional weapons, boosting humanitarian assistance and formalizing bilateral ties, such as exchanging ambassadors.

"The U.S. is the first country to give us direct bilateral assistance," said Somalia's Foreign Minister Mohamed Omaar.

The U.S. broke most diplomatic ties with Somalia in the 1990s following the collapse of the Siyad Barre dictatorship.

Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, withdrew U.S. peacekeepers from the country in 1993 after the American servicemen were killed after an attack on their Black Hawk helicopter in Mogadishu.

A U.N. peacekeeping mission withdrew soon after, leaving Somalia in a state of near-constant civil war and anarchy. Citizens have been largely at the mercy of warlords, clan elders and, most recently, Islamic militants who seized control of large swaths of southern Somalia.

Somali officials see closer U.S. ties as critical to the defeat of insurgents, whom the U.S. alleges are being backed by Eritrea's government and other outside forces.

"U.S. support is very important to us," Ahmed said today. "The U.S., because it is a superpower, has the responsibility to move us out of the current crisis. But closer U.S. ties bring risk for both sides."

Some fear U.S. weapons could fall into insurgency hands, noting that many government soldiers defected to militias last year when the government stopped paying their salaries. Somali soldiers have also been accused of human rights violations.

"An increase in weapons means an increase in violence," said retired Mogadishu teacher Abdi Nur Ahmed Isamil, 56. "It encourages fighting. "

He added that he was skeptical about U.S. motives. "Do Americans want peace in Somalia [or do they] only want to prevent terrorists from getting strength?"

Shabaab leaders and other opposition groups are already using the increased U.S. involvement to stir up nationalist sentiment and paint Ahmed's government as a puppet of the United States.

"There is no difference between Bush and Obama," said Shabaab commander Sheik Muse Hassan Ali. "Both are against Islam and are trying to eradicate Islamic governments around the world."

He said he welcomed the U.S. arms shipments because "we are ready to confiscate all these weapons."

Ahmed has insisted his government is making progress in rebuilding the army, eliminating corruption and combating insurgents. But fighting in recent months suggests neither side has gained a clear advantage. Thanks to support from about 5,000 African Union troops, the government controls the Mogadishu airport, seaport and a small zone that includes the presidential palace.

Shabaab, meanwhile, is struggling with internal power struggles, fueled by an influx of foreign fighters with conflicting agendas, diplomats said. To fund its operations, Shabaab is believed to be holding two French security consultants who were kidnapped last month in Mogadishu and three international aid workers seized during a cross-border raid into northern Kenya.

Though Shabaab leaders have repeatedly avowed allegiance to Al Qaeda, it remains unclear how close their cooperation is with the international terror network, U.S. officials say.

But there is no question that Shabaab's tactics have become more aggressive and far-reaching over the past year. Earlier this month, the Australian government arrested four people, including some who were apparently trained in Somalia and were plotting a terrorist strike in Australia.

At least two Shabaab fighters killed this year in Somalia, including one suicide bomber, were recruited last year in Minnesota, home to a large community of Somali refugees, U.S. officials said.

Yet Shabaab's popular support is believed to be waning. In areas under its control, it has frustrated locals by harassing U.N. and aid groups that provide food and other relief. They've also imposed a harsh form of Islamic law, at times beheading enemies or cutting off the hands of thieves.

edmund.sanders@latimes.com

Source: Los Angeles Times (USA)

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