Islamic Courts Routed in Somalia

If President Bush needs a blueprint on how to win in Iraq maybe he should take notice of Ethiopia's success in Somalia.

Despite the urging of Ayman al-Zawahri Somalia's to remain steadfast in their battle against Ethiopian-backed government forces, the Islamic militants have been driven out of the capital Mogadishu and much of the southern part of the country.

Trying to flee into Kenya, they were met by Kenyan troops who barred the way. Now the rest of the Islamist forces who haven't gone home are thought to be hiding in the forests west of Kismayo, doing their best to avoid the attention of Ethiopian tanks.

Reuters reported: "The bloated corpses of Islamist fighters and an unbroken line of tank tracks along the Baidoa-Mogadishu highway tell the story of a swift advance for the Somali government and its Ethiopian allies."

Why did Ethiopia win so easily?

Ethiopia won in short order because it unapologetically used force against vicious killers who understand only force. They killed the people they needed to kill without worrying overmuch about collateral damage, and not at all about world opinion. And though the Ethiopian soldiers are Christians, they were hailed as liberators in this Muslim country.

American troops are forced to operate under very restrictive "rules of engagement".
Using half measures is only bringing failed results. Even if we doubled the amount of troops we have in Iraq, we cannot win until we allow our military to do the job it's trained to do. Building schools makes good PR but killing the enemy is what wins wars.

During the march on Baghdad, we unapologetically used force in Iraq, we also had rapid success with minimal casualties. But since the statue of Saddam fell in Firdous Square in April 2003, we've acted as if the war were over. Our focus shifted to peacekeeping and nation-building, though it's hard to be a peacekeeper when there is no peace to keep, and it's hard to rebuild a nation when the bad guys are still out there blowing things up.

Cruise over to Freedom Now's blog for a much more detailed history of Somalia's conflict and the Islamic Courts.