Saturday, May 03, 2008

Neutral?

Yesterday, I was puzzled listening to an NPR (National Public Radio) report that quoted a person from some non-governmental organization (NGO) in Somalia who complained bitterly about the responsibility of the Ethiopians for the increased refugee population in Somalia.

How could this guy possibly be blaming the guys who came in and kicked out the al Qaeda guys from the Islamic Courts Movement (or Islamic Courts Union), I wondered? It was just bizarrre even by NPR standards of judging good and evil.

Strategypage explains all today:

The rains are late, and another crop failure is likely. Feeding the people left starving will be difficult because of the fighting between the clans. The majority of clans are just out for themselves, and loosely aligned with the Transitional National Government (TNG). A smaller, and more disciplined group of clans, supports the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). Many NGOs favor the ICU, which is more ruthless and disciplined, and more likely to maintain the peace with their Taliban-like tactics. As it is, the NGOs supplying food and medical aid are increasingly being robbed, raided and looted by everyone but the Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers.


So the NGOs are saying that it doesn't matter how evil a group is. All that matters to the NGOs is that the evil side is ruthless enough to suppress disorder enough to allow NGO members to freely go about their business of delivering food. So the NGOs side with al Qaeda and against the people who won't threaten the lives of NGO workers.

I find that effing amazing.