Ethiopia continues to slice through Somalia, cutting the Islamic Courts Union (Union of Islamic Courts) apart, though that was entirely expected. It was not expected, though, that would be as easy as it has been thus far.

The Los Angeles Times reports Ethiopian and Somalian soldiers have advanced to Mogadishu in an effort to rout the ICU and an expected final push in only a few hours away. The African Union has turned against the war, calling for Ethiopia to withdraw followed by the Arab League calling for an immediate cease-fire. “The fighting will not end as long as one of the terrorists remains in Somalia,” said Barre Adan Shire, defense minister for the transitional government.

Reuters reports the United Nations Security Council “failed on Wednesday for a second day to agree on a statement calling for a quick end to the war in Somalia after Qatar again insisted it also urge Ethiopian troops to leave.” The vote was 14 to 1.

A rather interesting editorial written in the Khaleej Times regarding to UNSC’s failure to act on the war:

The position of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in Somalia, comprising the hard-line Islamists, is strangely reminiscent of the Taleban before they were ousted from Afghanistan. Despite their repressive rules, they did provide Afghans with the element of security that eluded both their predecessors and successors, in addition to putting up a resistance the occupiers seem increasingly incapable of finishing off. There is an important lesson to be drawn from this.

The big powers behind the Ethiopian push need to realise that there are wiser options on the table than using muscle to subdue an extremist enemy. Rather than using armoured tanks and aircraft to ‘free Somalis of the UIC’, it is more prudent to make efforts to provide the people with the necessities that only the hardliners seem capable of assuring. What would eventual peace be worth if bolstering the government means killing, injuring and displacing hundreds of thousands of innocent people who already live far from enviable lives?

The last question is a bit dubious in my mind, but there is a follow-up question to this line of thinking. If there can be an ‘eventual peace,’ are the hardships not worth ridding the world of a government who supports Islamism and has at minimum tacitly aligned with terrorist elements? I know, I’m far from. There is a reason though Al Qaida in Iraq has released a communique calling for the support of the ICU.

It won’t matter though how fast Ethiopia and the UN-backed government of Somalia defeat the ICU, which is certainly an impending action, because the ICU has prepared itself to wage an insurgency war. The quandry the UNSC should be debating is how to better support the Somalia government it recognizes and how to prevent jihadists from entering Somalia to cause both internal and external strife. Fourteen UNSC nations at least partially agree, only one doesn’t.

UPDATE: The BBC reports a leader within the ICU claims the ICU militia has fled Mogadishu to “avert heavy bombing because Ethiopian forces are practising genocide against the Somali people.”  You know, even if the Ethiopian and Somalian government was committing genocide against the people of Somalia, you would think the ICU could have learned a lesson from Hezbollah and at least made genocide up.  Hezbollah is, after all, in Somalia working with the ICU.