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June 5th,
2006 - U.S. Funding Somali Warlords - Intelligence Experts |
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U.S. Funding Somali Warlords
- Intelligence Experts By David Morgan Reuters June 5, 2006 Washington - The United
States has been funnelling more than $100,000 a month to warlords battling
Islamist militia in Somalia, according to a Somalia expert who has conferred
with the groups in the country. The U.S. operation, which
former intelligence officials say is aimed at preventing emergence of rulers
who could provide al Qaeda with a safe haven akin to Taliban-ruled
Afghanistan, appeared to be seriously set back on Monday when an Islamic
coalition claimed control of Mogadishu. U.S. government officials
refused to discuss any possible secret U.S. involvement in the strategically
placed Horn of Africa state, which has been wrecked by years of fighting. But former U.S. intelligence
officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of
the subject, said an operation to support the warlords' alliance appeared to
involve both the CIA and U.S. military. John Prendergast, who
monitors Somalia for the think-tank International Crisis Group, said he
learnt during meetings with alliance members in Somalia that the CIA was
financing the warlords with cash payments. Prendergast estimated that
CIA-operated flights into Somalia have been bringing in $100,000 to $150,000
per month for the warlords. The flights remain in Somalia for the day, he
said, so that U.S. agents can confer with their allies. The Bush administration has
maintained a silence over allegations in recent months of a U.S. proxy war against
Islamist radicalism in the country. Pentagon spokesman Navy Lt.
Commander Joe Carpenter reiterated the administration's position that the
United States stands ready to "disrupt the efforts of terrorists
wherever they may be active." Secret Support Claims of clandestine U.S.
support for secular warlords who call themselves the "Alliance for the
Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism" have been aired by Somali
President Abdullahi Yusuf and independent analysts. A United Nations team
charged with monitoring a U.N. arms embargo against Somalia has also said it
is investigating an unnamed country's clandestine support for the warlords
alliance as a possible violation of the weapons ban. The former intelligence officials
said the operation was controlled by the Pentagon through U.S. Central
Command's Combined Joint Task Force for the Horn of Africa, a
counterterrorism mission based in neighbouring Djibouti established after the
September 11, 2001 attacks. On Monday, after months of
fighting that has killed around 350 people, the Islamic militia claimed
control of Mogadishu and a warlord militiaman said his coalition's leaders
were fleeing the capital. U.S. intelligence has
produced no conclusive evidence of an active al Qaeda presence in Somalia,
experts said. But there have been reports of al Qaeda members in the country,
including suspects in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa. "The Pentagon, and now
the U.S. government as a whole, is convinced these are elements for
establishing a religious-based government like the Taliban, that could be
exploited by al Qaeda," said a former intelligence official
knowledgeable about U.S. courterterrorism activities. The CIA has given its
warlord allies surveillance equipment for tracking al Qaeda suspects and
appeared to view the warlords as a counter to the influence of
Afghanistan-trained Islamist militia leader Aden Hashi Aryo, Prendergast
said. "By circumventing the
new government and going straight to individual warlords, the U.S. is
perpetuating and even deepening Somalia's fundamental problems, and
compromising long-term efforts to combat extremism," Prendergast said. Somalia, a country of 10
million people, has had no effective central authority since 1991 when
warlords overthrew military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The central
government is based temporarily in the town of Baidoa and has been unable to
control events in Mogadishu. Americans have bad memories
of U.S. involvement in Somalia in 1993, when 18 U.S. soldiers were killed and
79 injured in a battle with guerrillas loyal to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid
after entering the country to support a relief effort. (c) Reuters 2006. All rights
reserved. External link: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=831732006 |