From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Aug 06 2009 - 06:40:28 EDT
Clinton seeks to bolster Somalia's weak government
Wed Aug 5, 2009 6:10pm EDT
Sue Pleming
NAIROBI, Aug 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets
Somalia's president on Thursday, showing U.S. support for a fragile
government which is battling against militants including al Shabaab
insurgents.
Australian police said this week they had uncovered a plot to attack an army
base in Sydney by men with alleged links to al Shabaab which Washington
accuses of being al Qaeda's proxy in Somalia.
Clinton said she would discuss with President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed how the
world could help stabilise the Horn of Africa country, which Western
security agencies say is a haven for militants plotting attacks in the
region and beyond.
"We know we're facing a very difficult conflict, and we also know that the
presence of al Shabaab and terrorist elements within Somalia poses a
threat," said Clinton, ahead of the meeting, on the sidelines of a
U.S.-African trade conference.
"It poses a threat to Kenya, poses a threat to the stability of Africa and
beyond. So this is an area where we're going to work even more closely
together," she added.
The United States has offered military aid to Somalia's government,
including more than 40 tonnes of weapons and ammunition in recent months, as
it battles al Shabaab.
At the meeting, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Clinton is expected to
promise more financial aid, including additional shipments of weapons,
although these had been scheduled a while ago, a senior U.S. official
travelling with Clinton said.
Washington has also offered training for security forces and logistical
help.
NO U.S. TROOPS
The Obama administration has ruled out sending U.S. forces to help fight
against Islamist militants. The last U.S. involvement in Somalia -- during
Clinton's husband Bill Clinton's presidency -- ended in shambles.
In a battle that inspired the film "Black Hawk Down", 18 U.S. soldiers were
killed in Mogadishu in October 1993, marking the beginning of the eventual
withdrawal of a U.S.-U.N. peacekeeping force from Somalia.
There is still debate within the Obama administration over how to handle the
crisis and whether putting full U.S. support behind Ahmed is wise.
Ahmed was elected in January under a U.N.-brokered process that was
Somalia's 15th attempt to set up a central government since 1991.
Africa expert Jennifer Cooke of the Center for Strategic and International
Studies, a Washington thinktank, said while Ahmed's government was seen as
imperfect, he was also viewed by many as the only option available.
"I am not sure what she is going to get out of this meeting," said Cooke of
Clinton's meeting, which is also expected to tackle a rise in piracy off
Somalia's coast.
The Horn of Africa's coastal waters -- vital shipping lanes linking Asia and
Europe -- have become a focus of pirates who have made off with countless
millions of dollars in ransom from hijacking vessels, including U.S.-flagged
ships.
Pirates are expected to step up attacks on ships off Somalia's coast in the
coming months as the end of the monsoon season brings better weather.
(Reporting by Sue Pleming; editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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