THE SHEIKH KNEW WE WERE HIS ALLIES LONG BEFORE WE DID:

Slain Somali president's son to become PM (Reuters, 2/13/09)

Somalia's president has chosen Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, the U.S.-based son of a murdered former leader, to be prime minister in a unity government intended to end civil conflict, official sources said on Friday.

Showing the task awaiting Sharmarke and newly-elected President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, an al Qaeda leader urged jihad against the Western-backed, moderate Islamic government.

"Aim your arrows towards them ... direct your battles against them and intensify your campaign," Abu Yahya al-Libi said in a video released on Islamist web sites on Friday.

Sharmarke's nomination -- designed to shore up both diaspora and national support for the administration that is the 15th attempt to set up government in Somalia since 1991 -- drew wide approval among many Somalis but condemnation by local rebels.