Clinton Vows Expanded Aid To Somalia
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Thursday with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and warned that the Islamist extremists who control much of the country are linked to al-Qaida and want to use Somalia as a base to attack other countries "near and far." Ahmed is appealing for more help in delivering basic services to his people.
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the president of Somalia today in Nairobi, Kenya. The two had serious matters to discuss about the Islamic insurgency in the Somali capital. But as NPR's Gwen Thompkins reports, there was also a curious question about diplomatic behavior to be answered.
Secretary HILLARY CLINTON (U.S. Department of State): President Sheikh Sharif and I have just concluded a very thorough and productive discussion.
GWEN THOMPKINS: It's a small thing in diplomatic circles. Two dignitaries stand side by side on a dais. They make statements, they answer a few questions, and then, just before leaving, they usually shake hands. But a handshake can get complicated when one dignitary is the president of Somalia, whose political enemies call him soft on religion, and the other dignitary is the secretary of State of the United States and, well, a woman.
Some conservative readings of the Quran suggest that a Muslim man should not shake a woman's hand in public, and a recent story in the Washington Post explored the prudence of a handshake today, but consider. The Obama administration has sent money, guns and ammunition to keep Somalia's president in power.
So what did Sheikh Sharif Ahmed do at the end of his joint press conference at with Secretary Clinton? He shook her hand, of course. The bigger worry for both appeared to be al-Shabab, the Somali fighting group that controls most of that country.
The U.S. has linked al-Shabab to al-Qaida, and Clinton said the group has become a threat to the world at large.
Sec. CLINTON: Our information is that al-Shabab not only uses foreign fighters and foreign money but foreign ideas in its attack on the people of Somalia. And there is also no doubt that al-Shabab wants to obtain control over Somalia, to use it as a base from which to influence and even infiltrate surrounding countries and launch attacks against countries far and near.
THOMPKINS: But for Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, getting too close to the Obama administration may not help in the long run. Al-Shabab has already called him a puppet of Washington, and that claim has some sway among Somalia's fiercely nationalistic population.
When asked about appearing too cozy with the U.S., Sheik Sharif said:
President Sheikh SHARIF AHMED (Somalia): (Through translator) (Unintelligible) the responsibility of any government (unintelligible) good relations with other governments.
THOMPKINS: But the responsibility of any government is also to feed its people, school them, offer them medical care and security. And Somali refugees are now pouring over the border into neighboring Kenya and into rickety boats en route to Yemen.
If the U.S. and other allies don't deliver services to the Somali people, then Sheikh Sharif will lose what support he has at home, and no foreign power will be able to offer him a hand, much less a handshake.
Gwen Thompkins, NPR News, Nairobi. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
