By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Sunday, September 20, 2009
After nearly two decades of civil war, there is very little pollution, because just about all of Somalia's industry has been razed. Few cars, and relatively few people, remain in the city, because hundreds of thousands have recently fled. It is surreally quiet, except for the occasional crack of a high-powered rifle.
President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed sits behind his desk in a pinstriped suit, prayer hat, designer glasses and a chunky, expensive-looking watch. He is ringed by enemies and guarded around the clock by Ugandan soldiers who literally camp outside his door and, for the rare occasions he leaves the palace, drive him to the airport in an armored personnel carrier. The few glimpses he gets of Mogadishu's deserted streets are through 2-inch-thick bulletproof glass.
"This government faced obstacles that were unparalleled," said Sharif, a former high school teacher, who became president in February. "We had to deal with international terrorist groups creating havoc elsewhere. Their plan was to topple the government soon after it arrived. The government proved it could last."
The odds against Sharif are still long, but his moderate Islamist government is widely considered to be Somalia's best chance for stability in years.
For the first time in decades — including 21 years of dictatorship and the 18 years of chaos that followed — Somalia's leader has both widespread grass-roots support inside the country and extensive help from outside nations, analysts and many Somalis say.
"This government is qualitatively different from the governments that came before it," said Rashid Abdi, an analyst at the International Crisis Group. "But we shouldn't fool ourselves; they need to act quickly."
Much of the world is counting on Sharif to tackle piracy and beat back the spread of militant Islam, two Somali problems that have flared into major geopolitical ones. Al-Qaida appears to be drawing closer to Somali insurgents in an effort to turn this country into a launching pad for global jihad. Just last week, American commandos killed an al-Qaida agent in southern Somalia in a daylight helicopter raid. After years of ambivalence about Somalia, the United States is playing an increasingly active role here, and recently shipped 40 tons of weapons to Somalia to keep Sharif's government alive.
But his armed forces are like sieves. Many of his commanders still have ties to the Shabab, the Islamist insurgents working with al-Qaida to overthrow Sharif's government, and several government officers here conceded that a large share of the American weapons quickly slipped into Shabab hands.
If not for the 5,000 African Union troops guarding the port, airport and Villa Somalia, many Somalis believe Sharif's government would quickly fall.
Sharif is a novel politician for Somalia because, to start with, he is a politician. Over decades, this once languid coastal country has been reduced to rubble by generals, warlords and warrior types.
Sharif, 43, is used to carrying a compass, not a gun. Studious and reserved, he has triangulated his country's clannish politics and found something that resembles Somalia's political center, a blend of moderate and more strident Islamic beliefs, with the emphasis on religion, not clan.
The Shabab are as much of a political anomaly as the president. The president's advisers contend that they have never seen a force as cohesive, well-trained and ideologically driven. The Shabab and their insurgent brethren now control most of Mogadishu and much of the country. They are often referred to as the Somali Taliban, sawing off thieves' hands and recently yanking out people's teeth, saying gold fillings are somehow un-Islamic.
But Somalis are not as religiously extreme as the Shabab's presence might imply, and many say they are getting sick of the Shabab. That could spell a huge opportunity for Sharif, though critics say he must get out of Villa Somalia more and connect with the people.
"This is really about hearts and minds," said Ahmed Abdisalam, a deputy prime minister in the last Somali government. "This government needs to get to the public. If they have the public with them, the Shabab won't be able to survive."
Source: NY Times, Sept 20, 2009