Amidst general statements about the response to piracy off the Somalian coast, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s four-point plan announced earlier this week, Teri Schultz of Global Post assesses the possibility of the fight being taken into Somalia:
Leaders to discuss taking pirate fight to land
BRUSSELS — The dramatic tale of the Capt. Richard Phillips’ rescue in the Gulf of Aden earlier this week captured the attention of the world and trained unprecedented attention on the increasing problem of Somali piracy.
Now U.S. and European officials are increasingly discussing the possibility of bringing the fight on land to address the roots of the problem in Somalia. Read the rest of this entry »
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has declared that he will accept an insurgent demand for sharia law in Somalia. At the same time, he said that he will not accept a “strict” interpretation of the law, such as a prohibition on the attendance of women at schools.
The move is an attempt to abate the fighting around the country and establish some base of political support for the Government. Despite the violence, 40,000 Somalis have returned to Mogadishu in recent weeks, following the departure of Ethiopian troops and the installation of Ahmed as President.
Demonstrations followed the decision, with Sharif supporters blaming President Asif Ali Zardari for the verdict. It is likely that they will join a Long March on 12 March, led by lawyers demanded the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, removed by Zardari’s predecessor Pervez Musharraf.
(It would be impolite of me, since the media didn’t mention it, to note the disparity in the handling of the Sharifs’ case with that of Zardari. The current President was long in exile because of charges of corruption, but these were waived by the Pakistani courts last year so he could assume office.)
Somalia in Upheaval
Violence and turmoil is far from new in the African country, but the lack of an effective central government is even more apparent in recent days. Just after new President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed took up office in Mogadishu, the Islamist faction al-Shabab took control of a border town, overpowering pro-Government forces.
More than 65 people died in yesterday’s fighting.
Canada Speaks on Guantanamo Bay: We’re Tougher than the Brits
Ottawa won’t seek the return of Omar Khadr, the only Canadian and last remaining westerner left in Guantanamo, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said yesterday after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton….
“As a matter of fact, I reiterated Canada’s position on this,” said Mr. Cannon. “What I have said on numerous occasions is that this individual is allegedly a murderer and [stands] accused of terrorism.”
I’m not sure Scheffer appreciates that European leaders thinking the military-first initiative in Afghanistan, as a dubious if not losing cause, will drain the alliance rather than bolster it. German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid lip service to the military effort but did not commit to additional deployment, especially in southern and central Afghanistan, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy, for all his warm talk of security “from Vancouver to Vladivostok”, did not mention Afghanistan at all.
3 p.m. Hope in Somalia? The new President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, has arrived in Mogadishu for the first time since his election. He will be holding talks with politicians, tribal elders, and Islamic resistance groups to try to establishing a functioning government.
1:40 p.m. Reason Number 452 why the Obama Plan for Iraq Withdrawal Should be Set Aside: Collapsing Oil Prices.
The latest effort from the US military to rationalise a long-term stay comes from Lieutenant General Frank Helmick, the commander of the training of Iraqi forces. Because of diminished revenues, Helmick says, “They are not going to be able to grow as fast as they want to grow.”
12:15 p.m. Biden’s speech is over. He finally got to the one to watch in next weeks, calling on NATO to support US efforts in Afghanistan.
12:05 p.m. Biden offers two important confirmations: “American will not torture” and “American will act aggressively against climate change”.
There are also signs of an emerging and important relationship: after Nicolas Sarkozy’s call this morning for a new security arrangement “from Vancouver to Vladivostok”, Biden has pointedly praised France’s new cooperative relationship with NATO.
And there’s a jab at Russia: “”We will not recognize any nation having a sphere of influence”. Specifically, US will not join Moscow in recognising the independence of South Ossetia.
Stuart Levey, U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, stated that PEJAK is a branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is battling Turkey has been struggling. (Ali Yenidunya)
8:20 a.m. And there’s a separate entry on the continuing battle between President Obama and the military over the build-up of US troops in Afghanistan.
8:10 a.m. We’ve just posted a separate entry on a possible State Department initiative, using Twitter, to support engagement with Iran.
Morning Update (7:45 a.m. GMT; 2:45 a.m. Washington): The Kyrgyzstan Government is not backing down on its decision to close the US Manas airbase. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said that “all due procedures” were being pursued for a speedy conclusion.
The Government is claiming that it receives too little payment for the base. In support of its case, and to ensure public support, it is also citing ecological concerns and highlighting the case of a Kyrgyz citizen killed by a US serviceman.
North Korea, offering a contrast to its hard-line rhetoric in recent days about relations with South Korea and its missile programme, has signalled to a former senior US diplomat that it is willing to discuss nuclear disarmament if its requests for aid are met.
Amidst general statements about the response to piracy off the Somalian coast, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s four-point plan announced earlier this week, Teri Schultz of Global Post assesses the possibility of the fight being taken into Somalia:
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President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has declared that he will 
Politics and the Law: Sharif Barred from Office in Pakistan
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