Somalia, Not Iraq, New Frontline in War on Jihadism

Our preocupation with Iraq has seen the spread of the Jihadism to Africa. And given the lack of enough U.S. resources and prestige, we could end up losing there as well:

On Sunday, Ethiopia officially joined the hostilities, with the tacit blessing of the United States, bombing Islamist positions in several frontline areas and pushing ground troops deep into Somali territory. Ethiopian officials said they sided with the transitional government because the Islamists, whom American officials have accused of harboring Qaeda terrorists, posed a threat to the region.

As with Iraq and Afghanistan, a defeat in Somalia to Islamic insurgents could have catastrophic results. We already see the monstrous consequences in Darfur.

But we trace this dangerous state of affairs to Bush's failure at stopping that which he claims he's fighting against. In fact, the neocon world order, to which this President enthusiastically subscribes, has had the opposite effect. International al Qaeda-style extremism is thriving, even if al Qaeda has seen setbacks.

And, as always, the greatest victims are the poorest:

Already, thousands of people, with barely enough to eat before conflict struck, are fleeing their homes and their farms, creating a worrisome situation for the few aid organizations still operating in Somalia.