Somali Rebels Vow to Send Fighters to Yemen

"Senior leaders of the Shabab rebels promised Friday to send their fighters beyond Somalia to Yemen and wherever jihad beckoned.

In a military ceremony here, where the rebels publicly showed off hundreds of new recruits, Sheik Muktar Robow, a senior rebel official, said the group would 'send fighters to Yemen to assist our brothers.'

He said that the fighters had been trained to fight the African Union peacekeeping force and the transitional federal government in Somalia but that Yemen was just across the Gulf of Aden and that 'our brothers must be ready for our welcome.'

While it was not clear when or whether the rebels could carry out their threat, the avowed goals signaled a shift in strategy from an Islamist insurgency that has drawn foreign fighters here to one that aims to provide them to insurgencies abroad.

The Shabab have increased their ties with Al Qaeda, which has recently been fighting the American-backed military in Yemen."

Okay, SERIOUSLY, last post tonight. This stuff really just intrigues me. This post is supplementary to the one I just posted. For those of you who are against sending troops to Yemen, which is understandable, read this and ask yourself if you still hold that position. I know we can't be everywhere, but as soon as we completely pull out of Iraq, we should strongly consider Yemen. Somalia has already been mentioned actually, and it was somewhat of a mixed victory. That's a different story for a different time. READ and WATCH Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden for the whole story. Somalia is just another North Korea if you ask me, without the nukes of course.

On a more serious note, we need to pay more attention to this. They're just offering an opportunity to us, so ... I think we should take GREAT advantage of it. I know that patience is a virtue, but looking towards the future is my MO.

It's 10:02 here and I'm going to chillax now...

-Andrew Oxendine 3°