Clinton Pledges US Military Support for Floundering Somali Govt

State Dept Official Says Obama Plans to Double Supply of Arms

Following a meeting with the president of Somalia’s floundering “transitional government” Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged US military support to keep the government in power and fighting against the al-Shabaab insurgency. She also threatened unspecified action against nearby Eritrea for what she described as “interference with the rights of the Somali people.”

Clinton claimed the al-Shabaab insurgency wanted to take over Somali in hopes of luring al-Qaeda to the nation and to spread its influence. President Ahmed added that al-Shabaab wanted to “destabilize the whole world” with unspecified attacks.

The Secretary of State also said she was particularly concerned that the insurgency uses not only foreign money, but “foreign ideas” in the battle. Other officials in the State Department said that President Obama plans to double its funneling of weapons ot the Somali government, from 40 tons to 80 tons.

The State Department went public with the extent to which it has supplied the self-proclaimed government of Somalia with weapons in June. Despite the heavy US support, the government continues to lose ground to the insurgency, and has control over a relatively limited portion of the nation.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.