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| That didn't take long |
Itsdb |
01/10/07 |
As I suspected yesterday, the critics are out over US air strikes in Somalia...
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said, "The secretary-general is concerned about the new dimension this kind of action could introduce to the conflict and the possible escalation of hostilities that may result." (Though I digress, I heard another great Dennis Miller, "I took the UN tour recently...even the guidebook is spinless.")
Italy's Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said Rome opposed "unilateral initiatives that could spark new tensions in an area that is already very destabilised".
Ken Menkhaus, a 'US Horn of Africa specialist' said, "Before this, it was just tacit support for Ethiopia. Now the US has fingerprints on the intervention and is going to be held more accountable...This has the potential for a backlash both in Somalia and the region."
Amadeu Altafaj, spokesman for EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel said, "Any incident of this kind is not helpful in the long term."
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said the US attacks "complicate the situation in Somalia and could increase the tensions that are already strong in the country."
The African Union’s chief executive, Alpha Oumar Konare stressed "the need for all concerned actors to refrain from any action likely to complicate the current situation."
Richard Cornwell, analyst with South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies, said the strikes "certainly complicates matters" for an African peacekeeping mission:
"Any sort of peacekeeping mission is fraught with difficulties if there is no political situation it can be hooked on to...Certainly it would be a matter of some surprise were the AU to be able to mount a sizeable or effective operation in Somalia within the next few months."
Norway said Washington's explanation was "not sufficient" and that "We support the fight against terrorism but we think that the best way to pursue the fight is in a court of law," according to Norwegian foreign ministry undersecretary Raymond Johansen.
al-AP's Tom Raum apparently thinks Bush is just playing politics:
"Send in more troops, set goals for the Iraqi government and assure Americans it's better to wage war there than here. And now the U.S. military is back in Somalia, too, once again attacking suspected terrorist targets...
As Bush outlines his new Iraq strategy, he may well mention the new U.S. airstrikes in Somalia that targeted Islamic extremists.
He can cite the war on terrorism's multiple fronts. It fits in with his fight-them-abroad-not-at-home thesis. Administration allies suggest the U.S. withdrawal from Somalia in 1993 helped strengthen the al-Qaida terror network."
There you have it, Bush has screwed everything up again. He attacked a country that was not a threat without provocation, he didn't ask the UN (or Europe) and he's mucked up the effort to get a coalition together to clean things up. No word on any criticism of Ethiopa's involvement. |
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