Way Past the Brink

Sorry, but the San Jose Mercury News misses the mark by claiming that Somalia is on the brink of a civil war. The third paragraph gives lie to the whole idea that this is a civil war in the making. It's already been going on since the summer:

Clashes between Islamist fighters and Ethiopian-backed government soldiers heightened fears Wednesday that Somalia is inching toward a civil war that could drag in the entire Horn of Africa.

As international negotiators worked furiously to resolve the dispute, armed battles around Somalia's transitional capital of Baidoa killed at least one government soldier, according Somali officials.

Islamist leaders, who seized control of Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia from warlords this summer, are calling for a ``holy war'' against Christian-dominated Ethiopia unless the neighboring nation withdraws its troops, which were sent across the border to prop up Somalia's weak transitional government.

Both sides have been massing weapons and troops in strategic points around southern Somalia in recent weeks.

The Islamists are ready to make a final push to eliminate their rivals who have the support of the West and Ethiopia. The Islamists have been warning Ethiopia of getting involved in the conflict in Somalia that jihad will come their way if they don't stop.