WELCOME BACK, AND WE'RE SORRY ABOUT THAT BOUT OF IDIOCY:

Somalia's new moderate Islamist president sworn in (AP, 1/31/09)

A moderate Islamist leader was sworn in as the country's new president Saturday after parliament elected him to stabilize a country wracked by violence and anarchy for nearly 20 years. [...]

[Sheik Sharif Sheik] Ahmed was chairman of the Islamic Courts Union that ran Mogadishu for six months in 2006 before Ethiopian soldiers drove them from power. His election raises hopes that he will bring many of Somalia's Islamic factions into a more inclusive government.

Islamist Leader Sworn In As Somali President: Analysts say Ahmed has a real chance of reuniting Somalis, given his Islamist roots and the backing of parliament. (Javno, 1/31/09)

Analysts say Ahmed has a real chance of reuniting Somalis, given his Islamist roots, the backing of parliament and his acceptability to the West. But reconciling 10 million people and stopping 18 years of bloodshed remain a daunting task.

Ahmed headed the sharia courts movement that brought some stability to Mogadishu and most of south Somalia in 2006, despite being accused in the West of Islamist extremism, before Ethiopian troops invaded and drove it out.

"The conflict in Somalia will be resolved. We are urging our brothers in armed conflict to join us in peace-building," he told parliament. "We will govern the Somali people with honesty and justice, and give them back their rights."

This was a much bigger waste than Israel's wars on Hezbollah and Hamas

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 31, 2009 7:22 AM