WELL, THAT WAS A WASTED TWO WEEKS:

U.S. Stages 2nd Airstrike in Somalia; Ethiopians Leaving Capital (Karen DeYoung and Stephanie McCrummen, 1/24/07, Washington Post)

[A] long line of Ethiopian artillery, armored vehicles and trucks loaded with soldiers rolled toward the edges of Mogadishu, beginning a withdrawal from a fragile capital that many residents fear will now slip further into chaos.

A spokesman for Somalia's transitional government, Abdirahman Dinari, said that the Ethiopians may take several weeks to complete a full withdrawal from the country and that a large force would remain on the Ethiopian side of the Somalia-Ethiopia border.

The Ethiopians have remained in the capital to protect the nascent transitional government, which hardly has enough forces to secure the oceanside city.

Without the Ethiopian muscle, Somali officials have a "deep concern" about Islamic fighters who remain hidden in the city and have asserted responsibility for a recent string of attacks against Ethiopian and Somali government troops, Dinari said.

Somali airport comes under fire (BBC, 1/24/07)

In Kenya, the US envoy held talks with a top Islamist leader in custody.

US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger met Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed at an undisclosed location in Nairobi, a US official told the BBC.

No details were given about what was discussed at the meeting.

The chairman of the Union of Islamic Courts, who is the first Islamist leader to be captured since they fled an Ethiopian advance in December, is seen by the US as a moderate. [...]

Ambassador Rannenbergaer said that if Mr Ahmed renounces violence and extremism he could play a part in a future administration in Somalia.

The US and the UN have both urged the Somali government to seek reconciliation with moderate Islamists, but the interim government is opposed to talks with them.

Surely the Somalis will thank us for that brief bit of mayhem.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 24, 2007 12:00 AM