Bush’s Somalia Blunder
I’m going to quote this whole post from Robert Farley:
Osama Bin Laden has released an audio tape denouncing Somali President Shariff Sheikh Ahmed, and calling for Somalis to resist the new government’s rule. Shariff Sheikh Ahmed is formerly the head of the Islamic Courts Union, which Ethiopia overthrew in 2006 with American assistance. The United States was concerned that the ICU was closely associated with Al Qaeda, and that it might harbor terrorists. Bin Laden’s tape is either an elaborate ruse to make the Bush administration look incomparably stupid, or further evidence that the Bush administration was incomparably stupid.
Note that the consequences of this policy have included a massive humanitarian disaster and the growth of the Somali piracy problem. More Somalia-blogging here.
10 Responses to “Bush’s Somalia Blunder”
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March 19th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
hey matthew, aren’t you supposed to link to farley’s post when you quote him?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Guess Bin Laden blew his whole allowance on 9/1l and can’t afford the video equipment that an American child might have.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
I don’t usually agree with Al, but he’s right that Farley’s point makes no sense. If Bin Laden and Shariff Sheikh Ahmad have had a falling out is GOOD from the point-of-view of American foreign policy.
And attributing Somalia’s problems to the 2006 invasion, let alone US backing for it, is typical American narcissism. Not everything is about you.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Really, you think an American red light would have been ignored by the Ethiopian government?
March 19th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
If Bin Laden and Shariff Sheikh Ahmad have had a falling out
They never had a falling in.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Bin Laden’s tape is either an elaborate ruse to make the Bush administration look incomparably stupid, or further evidence that the Bush administration was incomparably stupid.
Why is it an either/or choice?
March 19th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Ah, yes, just like that “falling out” we provoked between bin Laden and Saddam.
You’re gonna pull a hammy reaching like that, Al.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:17 am
In other news, anarchy has bred the cheapest, and most wide spread cell phone coverage in Africa.
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