The Fall of the African Taliban: U.S. Navy now involved

One of the worst things about being gone from Jawa headquarters is that I missed the fall of the African Taliban. These people fell quicker than their Afghani brothers, and at the hands of our Ethiopian allies.

I hope you think twice about that next Ethiopian joke, because folks, the Ethiopians are the best friends we have in the Horn of Africa. I'm sorry that the leader of Ethiopia is a two-bit tyrant, but as an American I am out for America's interests. It's also good to see that the "at least the Islamic Courts Union will bring stability to Somalia" voices at the U.S. State Department have been utterly squelched. These were the same cup-half-full people who said that the Taliban would, you know, at least bring stability to Afghanistan. The stability that only murderous terrorist supporting regimes can bring.

I do not overstate the case against The Islamic Courts Union either. Sure, there were moderates within their group, but so too did the Taliban have their so-called moderates. Moderate in that oh-so Islamic fundamentalist sense: instead of stoning you to death, we'll just fine you and give you 100 lashes for blasphemy.

While the ICU denies ties to al Qaeda, I have personally watched three videos from Somalia (okay, one was from Eritrea), all of which clearly show Arabs fighting alongside Somalis. And both the main al Qaeda and the al Qaeda in Iraq groups have openly supported the ICU in several press releases and propaganda videos.

It's also good to see that U.S. troops are involved in the hunt. Globe and Mail via Allahpundit:

Sea routes from southern Somalia were also being patrolled by the U.S. Navy, hunting for three al-Qaeda suspects believed to be among the Islamic group and wanted for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa.

Allah also finds this from DEBKA:

Special US forces from Djibouti join the pursuit on the Somali-Kenyan border for three most wanted al Qaeda leaders in the Horn of Africa

They fled south with the defeated Somali Islamist fighters. DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources identify them as: Abdullah Fazul, from the Comoro Islands, Ali Saleh Nabhan, from Kenya, and Abu Taha al-Sudani, from Sudan. Fazul, the most senior, is wanted for lead roles in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, the 1996 Ethiopian Airline 961 hijack in which four Israeli air industry directors and 3 Israeli civilians were murdered; the ramming of the USS Cole in Aden Harbor which cost the lives of 19 US seamen, and the 2002 coordinated air-missiles attacks on the Mombasa Paradise hotel and the Israeli Arkia airliner bringing Israelis to the hotel.

While I can't confirm the specifics of U.S. forces being involved in this particular operation, my own sources have confirmed to me that U.S. forces have previously worked within Somalian territory in support of related operations. Lest we forget, the U.S. has a major force in the Horn of Africa. You don't think all of those soldiers, seamen, and Marines are only there to build schools, hospitals, and to deliver flood relief, do you? And Djibouti is mostly ethnically Somali.

And to our hundreds of Somali expats in Canada, Australia, and Europe who apparently supported the ICU and left nasty messages about "Ethiopian slaves" and "killing you infidels", let me be the first to offer my condolences on the humiliating defeat of your comrades. If you happen to come across ICU foreign minister and American citizen Professor Ibrahim Hassan Addou, let me know. There are a few FBI agents I know who'd like to have a nice cozy chat with him.

As a very parenthetical footnote, let me throw this into the bag. There is a slight possibility that U.S forces are hunting for one more al Qaeda suspect believed to be in the Horn of Africa by some. Here's a hint: his name is somewhat similar to a Democratic hopeful for the 2008 election---at least, that's how Ted Kennedy sees it.

Posted by: Rusty at 06:18 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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