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U.S. Debating Shift of Support in Somali Conflict
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Dec 05, 2007 01:18pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Tuesday, December 4, 2007 07:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 4, 2007; Page A17
CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, Dec. 3 -- The escalating conflict in Somalia is generating debate inside the Bush administration over whether the United States should continue to back the shaky transitional government in Mogadishu or shift support to the less volatile region of Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991, U.S. defense and military officials said.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates discussed regional issues during a visit to Djibouti on Monday, including Somalia and the presence there of about 8,000 Ethiopian troops, the officials said. Ethiopian forces intervened a year ago to install the fledgling government in Mogadishu and they continue to fight Islamic radicals in Somalia.
"My biggest concern about Somalia is the potential for al-Qaeda to be active there," Gates said on his first visit to the Horn of Africa as defense secretary. Asked about allegations of human rights abuses by Ethiopian troops in Somalia, Gates said: "We're obviously very interested in helping the African Union and Ugandans to try and exercise some constructive influence on the Ethiopians."
U.S. military officials say Somalia is the greatest source of instability in the Horn of Africa, leading them to seek new ways to contain the violence there. |
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