All Means Necessary

The lightning fast victory of the Somali secular government forces backed by the Ethiopian army offers a glmpse at how Islamofascist forces fold under the right kind of military might. But how, might you ask, did the Somali/Ethiopian forces prevail while US forces seem bogged down wherever we fight Islamists?

Bill Roggio reports:

Several American military and intelligence sources have informed us that the Ethiopians are not taking 'foreign' prisoners on the battlefield - al-Qaeda fighters are being summarily executed. Some advantages the Ethiopians possess over the United States is a willingness to use all means necessary to eliminate the ICU and al-Qaeda, and a willingness to ignore international condemnation for its actions.

Islamofascists have recruited teenagers, some no more that 12 or 13 years old (think: the movie Blood Diamond) to fight the Somali/Ethiopian forces. Can you imagine what might happen if US Marines attacked a battalion of children, equipped with AK-47s and perfectly willing to use them, but still children?

As the dead bodies piled up, Islamofascist propagandists would strip the kids of their weapons and immediately begin screaming that they were civilian casualities (think: Hezballah). Left leaning NGOs like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch would declare potential war crimes, and the MSM would, without investigation or thought, report these “war crimes” to the American public. The UN and the EU would immediately condemn our lack of proportionality, network anchors would report that the world hates us even more, and some members of Congress would demand an investigation. New rules of engagement (e.g., “no firing at those under 16 years old") would be inacted for the Marines. The result, any success against the Islamofascists would be reversed instantaneously.

The Ethiopian/Somali forces are not burdened with these constraints. They have decided that “all means necessary” will defeat a vicious enemy, reduce the number of deaths in the long term (including the deaths of children), a free an impoverished country from Islamofascist rule.

There’s little question which approach works best – just look at the results in Somalia— AQ in retreat, the local Islamists in disarray, and a real chance for the interim, UN supported government of Somalia to succeed.

I never would have believed it, but maybe the US military and the people who lead them could learn a few things from the Ethiopians. Nah ... we have to protect our moral standing ... it'll never happen.