I keep writing about the neglected fronts in the fight against al-Qaeda and showing how fundamentalist Sunni Islam is rising worldwide while Bush mires us deeper and deeper into the war in Iraq, a war that had nothing to do with the people who attacked America on 9/11.

Somalia has been part of the war on al-Qaeda for many years now. And yet Republicans seem hell-bent on ignoring it. When Clinton had stabilized 90% of Somalia, with the (sometimes reluctant) cooperation of most of the Somali leaders, Republicans complained that his intervention (initiated by the elected George Bush) had no strategic purpose and no exit strategy. Odd that they said that about a nation that went on to become a focal point of al-Qaeda activity and which is now poised to become a regional disaster, yet they don't say the same thing about Bush's Iraq quagmire which also has no obvious strategic purpose, except to distract from the war against al-Qaeda, and has no exit strategy. Clinton recognized the situation in Somalia as one where religious fundamentalism and political chaos would prevail if we did not act to stabilize the are. Yet, Republicans blocked his efforts, forcing a withdrawal and subsequently political chaos resulted, leaving it to al-Qaeda linked, Taliban-like fundamentalists to provide a measure of stability. The jist of a BBC Radio show I participated in was just that: Somalis welcomed the US intervention, hoping it would bring stability, felt betrayed when the US left suddenly, then, after years of civil war, welcomed the fundamentalists as providing some safety and stability. In effect, Republican neglect of the region, along with neglect of Afghanistan, Pakistan and a whole slew of nations, was allowing what I call a nascent fundamentalist Sunni Caliphate to get going, creating fundamentalist, often al-Qaeda linked groups to form all over the world.

The fundamentalists took control of Somalia, and the average Somali was ready to give them a chance because nothing else had worked. The US had failed to even try, under Bush, to stabilize the region, so Somalis turned to anti-American, fundamentalist leaders instead. And Bush ignored it.

We left it to Ethiopia to drive out the fundamentalists. The problem is we STILL are not acting to stabilize the area or even to reassure neighboring nations, like Eritrea, that Ethiopia's intervention is not a regional threat. So, now the fundamentalists are forging new alliances, with Eritrean help, and Bush continues to be lost in the Iraq quagmire. From BBC news:

Somali Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aideed has formed an alliance opposed to Ethiopia's presence in Mogadishu.

Mr Aideed announced the move in the Eritrean capital and called for a probe into Ethiopia troops whom he accuses of genocide since arriving in December.

Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and former parliament speaker Sharif Sheikh Aden were also in Asmara at the launch.

Some 1,000 people have died during recent fighting in Mogadishu described as the worst in 16 years.

Ethiopia and America accuse Eritrea of supporting insurgents in the capital, Mogadishu, who are opposed to the transitional government.

Let's look at this a bit more. Aideed is part of the "Transitional Government" that the US has claimed to back. So this indicates a split in the more-or-less legitimate government recognized by the UN. Aideed is siding with the Islamists who the Transitional Government oppose. At one time Aideed was advocating American ground troops as the only way to fight al-Qaeda in Somalia: (from PBS NewsHour)

"The only way we are going to kill or capture the surviving al-Qaida terrorists is for U.S. special forces to go in on the ground," Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aideed said, according to the Associated Press.

It has also been reported that he advocated eliminating the border between Ethiopia and Somalia, merging the two nations, and praised Ethiopia as the only nation that stepped in to fight al-Qaeda in Somalia.

Now Aideed is siding with the Islamists...perhaps because he grew disillusioned with the inaction of the US and alleged atrocities by Ethiopia?

Another thing to remember...does the name Aideed ring a bell? I believe Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aideed is the son of anti-US warlord Mohammad Farah Aideed of black hawk down infamy.

So the son of a former enemy was our friend, now is siding with our new enemies...

And where is this new, Islamist alliance formed? In Eritrea. Those of us who have predicted that Ethiopia's intervention would force Eritrea to side with the Islamists seems to be coming true.

Way to go Bush! As you escalate the war based on lies in a nation that had nothing to do with 9/11, those allied with al-Qaeda grow in strength. Bush continues to fail in the war on al-Qaeda and once again I am forced to ask, "who's winning?"