Palaver 17/02/12

Nice to hear the International Crisis Group advising Kenya to end its intervention in Somalia and instead focus on an exit strategy to avoid sparking local resistance and retaliation. Reasonable stuff considering the military that Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni thought was largely ceremonial has gone where regional power Ethiopia failed and succeeded where US Marines hightailed it. Let President Kibaki end Operation Linda Nchi now while we are still ahead, but keep a strong presence of soldiers near the common border for "hot pursuit" whenever some misguided Al Shabaab insurgents feel like crossing over to take potshots at Kenyans.

And staying with Somalia, what a sight it must have been yesterday when President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, addressed thousands of flag-waving Mogadishu residents who were chanting slogans against Al Qaeda. We welcome his vow to clear his country of Al Qaeda, if only the international community were to lift the arms embargo imposed on Somalia. Although, wouldn’t the cash to buy arms be better utilised rebuilding the country? Hard choices confront his administration and after a 20-year-long wait by a battle wearied people.