The Bush administration balked at deploying U.S. forces to Somalia where Al Qaida-aligned forces were gaining the upper hand last year. But the administration found a willing subcontractor: Ethiopia.
Western diplomatic sources said the U.S. intelligence community has been working with Ethiopia in its drive against the Council of Islamic Courts militia which effectively took control of Somalia in late 2006. The United States has promised to replenish equipment, munitions and other supplies for the current offensive against Somalia.
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Ethiopian troops stand guard as Somalis listen to the Transitional Federal Government Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi in Mogadishu, on Jan 5.
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"The U.S. does not have the troops to threaten Al Qaida in Somalia," a diplomat said. "But Ethiopia has the numbers and the interests to stop an Al Qaida regime. Washington has been quietly helping Ethiopia, although the big payback will come later on after the dust settles."
Washington has kept its support under wraps for fear of angering Saudi Arabia. The Saudis, despite their fight against Al Qaida at home, have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the so-called Council of Islamic Courts militia, led by an Al Qaida fugitive.
The source said the administration has used Israel to help coordinate Ethiopia's military needs in the current offensive against Somalia. Israel has long been a quiet but reliable military ally of Ethiopia and has supplied unmanned aerial vehicles and other systems to the African state.
The Ethiopian offensive has been effective in dislodging Al Qaida from Mogadishu, Kismayo and other strongholds. Ethiopian troops backed by fighter-jets have pounded Al Qaida positions, reversing what had been expected to be an Islamic takeover.
The Ethiopian offensive has allowed the return of the transitional government — recognized by the United Nations and United States — to Mogadishu. But Al Qaida is expected to revert to an insurgency war similar to that in Iraq. Al Qaida is believed to have left behind around 2,000 fighters — many of them trained in Afghanistan and Iraq — with lots of weapons in the Somali capital.
