I understand why Hillary Clinton thinks that siding with the current Sharia government of Somalia, is the right move. As they are fighting against the US listed terrorist organization al-Shabaab. But when you are a leader of a country which is supposed to represent freedom for the world, siding with Sharia law does not cut it. As sharia is based on a discrimination against women and non-Muslims. Freedom loving nations should be fighting Sharia law, not embracing it.
For a related article about the US supporting Sharia law in Swat Pakistan click HERE.
America.gov (Washington, DC)
Somalia: Clinton Pledges Support to Transitional Federal Government
Charles W. Corey 6 August 2009
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged continued U.S. support for the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and called on Eritrea to halt interference in Somalia.
Clinton appeared at a joint press conference at the U.S. Embassy August 6 following talks with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. She said the talks with the TFG leader were "a thorough and productive discussion about the challenges facing his country and the efforts of the international community to support the Transitional Federal Government as it stands up for the people of Somalia and against the threat of violent extremism."
Clinton pledged continued support for the TFG and said the United States has joined the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the African Union (AU) in endorsing the Somali-led Djibouti peace process, which aims to end conflict and restore peace.
"We believe that his [Sharif's] government is the best hope we have had in quite some time for a return to stability and the possibility of progress in Somalia," Clinton added.
Earlier in the day, Clinton, with the help of survivors, laid a wreath at Memorial Park in Nairobi, commemorating victims of the August 7, 1998, U.S. Embassy bombing, which killed 213 people and injured more than 4,000 others.
STRONGER TFG
A stronger TFG would have "positive consequences, not just for Somalia but for the region and the wider global community. It would contribute to greater regional stability and start to alleviate the greater refugee crisis afflicting Somalia's neighbors, especially Kenya," which is currently hosting some 300,000 refugees, Clinton said.
She commended Sharif's government for "taking up the fight on behalf of the Somali people against al-Shabaab -- a terrorist group with links to al-Qaida and other foreign militant networks."
Al-Shabaab "and its allies," she said, "lack regard for human rights, women's rights, for education, health care and the progress of the Somali people. They see Somalia as a future haven for global terrorism."
Millions of Somalis, or roughly 40 percent of the country's population, are in need of humanitarian assistance as they confront persistent conflict, prolonged drought and periodic disease outbreaks, she added.
Clinton acknowledged that the TFG institutions are in need of reform and support so they can make progress in delivering services to the Somali people.
Secretary Clinton lays a wreath at Memorial Park in Nairobi August 6 with survivors of the 1998 terrorist bombing of the U.S. Embassy.
"The United States and the international community must serve as an active partner in helping the TFG in helping the people of Somalia confront and ultimately move beyond the conflict and poverty that has gripped their country," she said.
She praised the AU mission in Somalia for playing an "instrumental role" in providing security and the space in which the TFG can operate.
The United States has provided more than $150 million over the past two years to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops, and more will be provided in the next few months, she said.
Clinton also pledged to continue providing equipment and training for the TFG and supplying humanitarian assistance to the Somali people and is asking other states in the region to support the Djibouti process.
"It is long past time for Eritrea to cease and desist its support for al-Shabaab and to start being a productive rather than a destabilizing neighbor," she said.
At the press conference, Sharif said through an interpreter that he was grateful for the meeting and that it was a good opportunity for his government and the people of Somalia.
He said he presented his views in "very frank" terms and hoped such meetings would help his country "move out of this current crisis."
Sharif told reporters that what is going on in Somalia is not a civil war but a situation fueled by "people with strategic interests to make Somalia a base from which to destabilize the world."
Islam is a peaceful religion, he explained, and what terrorists want to do by killing innocent people is not operating in accordance with Islam.
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