Taliban Clone Rising in Somalia?

I mentioned this briefly in the quick hits, but this could be a major setback in this war on terrorism we've stumbled into. It was bad enough to back warlords in Somalia whose history includes killing innocent civilians and dragging American troops through the streets. To then have those warlords lose control to Islamists who may do to Somalia what the Taliban did to Afghanistan is even worse. There is actually a government here, albeit one without any power since the early 90s, an interim government which will now negotiate with the group knows as the "Islamic Courts." The government could have been the moderating force in the country if the White House decided to back them instead of the anti-democratic warlords that ruled Mogadishu purely by fear, with little or no popular support.

The question is whether or not there's a horse to back, and if the interim government is able to negotiate a settlement that would transform the region from a series of fiefdoms back into a nation. It's not likely, as CNN reports a surge in weapons prices in the capital of Baidoa, "amid fears that the militia could head next" there. Either way, this sorry affair shows that foreign affairs is not a game of white and black hats, and the soaring rhetoric of "spreading democracy and freedom across the world" is frequently inoperative at best and deliberately childish at worst.