MOGADISHU Re-Re-Re-Conquered

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Jubilant Somalis cheered as troops of the U.N.-backed interim government rolled into Mogadishu unopposed Thursday, putting an end to six months of domination of the capital by a radical Islamic movement.

Ethiopian soldiers stopped on the outskirts of town, after providing much of the military might in the offensive that shattered what had seemed an unbeatable Islamic militia. [when has an Islamic militia been “unbeatable?” –ed] Islamic fighters fled south vowing to continue the battle.

When Somalia fell to the Islamists, I was worried that another Taliban Afghanistan would emerge in the Horn of Africa. I think the Islamists failed to take into account how many different (diverse, even) groups of people they have provoked blood-feuds with. I’m sure there are plenty of groups across the world itching to get back at the repressive 8th century death-cult “revolution” that has been spreading like a cancer from the Middle East.

I’m sure the Christians in Chad and Sudan would appreciate some payback against the Janjaweed militias that have been slaughtering them for the past few years. The pro-government forces in the Philippines and Malaysia would love to roll back the jihad in the South Pacific, and Chechnya still pokes at the Russians. What happened in MOG could happen anywhere else there is encroachment of Islamic law: people picking up weapons and fighting back.

WWII was a global conventional war. What is developing here is a global counter-insurgency. The only question remaining revolves around the nuts and bolts of “what next?” We took Baghdad, and we’re still there. Ethiopia now has to deal with a similar situation. We’ll see how they compare to the world’s only remaining superpower.