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It was their fourth victory in 21 Tests in England over 40 years and their first since a 1-0 victory in a two-Test series 10 years ago
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Somalia’s fortunes
JUST as feared, the extension of the West’s war against terrorism to the borders of Somalia has resulted in an Afghanistan-like situation. The ousted Islamist militia refuses to take part in government offerings of amnesty and dialogue, settling for nothing less than a withdrawal of Ethiopian troops and return to their own reading of Shariah law.
Meantime they’ll continue to shuffle across porous borders and melt into mountainsides till their ends are achieved.
Also, just as the Taleban ended two decades of near continuous fighting in Afghanistan, Somalia’s Islamists presented the first halt in infighting in almost the same period of time. In both cases, warring tribal lords were tamed into timidity by a strong capital. And also, the West’s quest for democracy and confronting extremism has reverted the respected countries to violence and killings that have typified them for a very long time.
It is important to note that the one crucial area where a different path can be adopted is the road to be taken from here. If Somalia is to be kept from becoming an insurgent paradise on the lines of Afghanistan, than the unfairness of the terror-war must not be repeated in Mogadishu.
It should not be lost on Washington that the ability and resolve of the hardliners to continue with the guerilla campaign is endless. And just like in Afghanistan and Iraq, in Somalia too they will keep ambushing, bombing and firing till eventually the imposed puppet government in the centre collapses and they again advance to fill the vacuum.
And the international community ought to be well aware also that all this time innocent civilians will keep getting killed and deprived of anything resembling a normal life. If protecting the interests of the people prompted the intervention in the first place, then the perpetrators of the terror-war have reason for significant embarrassment and indeed, soul searching. Somalia has not seen stable government in 16 years. From the looks of things, it is not likely to be in the foreseeable future either.
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