MEANWHILE, IN SOMALIA - AT 5:06 P.M. ET:  Related to the pirate saga taking place off Somalia, is the problem of terrorist groups, linked to Al Qaeda, within Somalia itself.  This will prove a major, and probably frustrating challenge to the new administration.  The Washington Post, in an excellent and balanced piece of reporting, explains:

Senior Obama administration officials are debating how to address a potential terrorist threat to U.S. interests from a Somali extremist group, with some in the military advocating strikes against its training camps. But many officials maintain that uncertainty about the intentions of the al-Shabab organization dictates a more patient, nonmilitary approach.

Al-Shabab, whose fighters have battled Ethiopian occupiers and the tenuous Somali government, poses a dilemma for the administration, according to several senior national security officials who outlined the debate only on the condition of anonymity.

COMMENT:  I recommend this piece for the background it provides on a growing problem.  We give credit where it's due here, and the liberal Washington Post has done a fine journalistic job in this article.

April 11, 2009