TOP STORY

Forest For The Trees

By Thomas Jeffrey

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Article Posted: Tuesday June 13, 2006

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A covert CIA program aimed at capturing or killing a handful of al-Qaeda operatives within Somalia by financing local warlords has, in the words of one observer, “blow up in our face,” with the very Islamic militias that the US was attempting to marginalize now claiming control of Mogadishu after having routed the US-backed Somalis.

And who says that the Central Intelligence Agency isn’t what it used to be?

The unintentional consequences of secretly funding some of the same Somali warlords who ran the United States out of the East African nation some 12 years ago, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, have left some inside the beltway scratching their heads and wondering just who in the hell would have signed off on such an ill-conceived effort.

By all accounts, the operation, which was run by CIA agents based in Nairobi, Kenya, had the blessing of senior US government officials in Washington, but no one, either at the Defense or State Department, claims that were involved in the endeavor. However, during a March 2006 meeting of the National Security Council, anonymous sources claim that ”[the] decision was made to make counterterrorism the top policy priority for Somalia.”

Criticizing the effort as out of touch and out of step with the broader strategic needs of the region, US embassy officials in Kenya and as well as Foreign Service officers stationed in neighboring countries attempted to articulate their growing concerns to Washington. Even Somalia’s interim president, Abdullahi Yusuf, took umbrage with the covert plan back in May when he stated that “we really oppose American aid that goes outside the government,” and argued that straightening governments was the only real way to combat the spread of al-Qaeda in East Africa.

However, US officials have not been receptive to any criticism of their program. In one case, Michael Zorick, the US State Department’s political officer for Somalia, was reassigned to the African nation of Chad after he sent his own cable to Washington, voicing his disapproval of the program.

And as far as what this Leftwing Nutjob believes, this whole affair only serves to illustrate the catastrophic results of the continued adherence to the Bush Administration’s failed and dysfunctional foreign policy. By continuing to put such a high premium on the capture or killing of a relatively few al-Qaeda operatives—at an incredible expense when the rewards are truly negligible—it only serves to perpetuate political instability in countries like Somalia and Iraq. Such monies and efforts would be best served assisting teetering governments so that they won’t fall under the influence of groups like al-Qaeda or the Taliban.

The celebration of the death of al-Zarqawi last week, as well as the Smirking POTUS’ subsequent visit to Iraq yesterday, I believe, only serves to further make this very point.

President Bush truly believes that the death of one man is enough to overcome the months of sectarian violence and civil war that has gripped Iraq. Even when backed into a corner like they now are in Somalia, forced to deal with the Islamic factions that now appear to be in control of the country, the Bush Administration will continue to fail when its chronic myopia prevents them from recognizing that a only a broader view of geopolitics and international relations will be the only true solution to the scourge of Islamic Fundamentalism.

In other words, they can’t see the forest for the trees.

Source:
U.S. to Hold International Meeting on Somalia – Washington Post
Efforts by C.I.A. Fail in Somalia, Officials Charge – NYTimes.com
Bush Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq – Washington Post

- posted by: Thomas Jeffrey and Jun 13, 09:22 PM in Terrorism Bush-Administration

 

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