Shabab - The Somali Fashion Police

Welcome to the 21st century. These are the folks whom the US Navy believes is quietly making money off the piracy, oh and who also happen to be ripping the western supported government apart.

The Islamist insurgent group Shabab is forcibly removing gold and silver teeth from residents in southern Somalia because it says they contravene strict religious law, residents from a coastal town, Marka, said Monday. The residents say anyone seen with a silver or gold tooth is taken to a masked man who then rips them out with pincers or his hands. The Shabab says gold and silver teeth are used for fashion and beauty, which is against strict interpretations of Islam, residents said. “I never thought the Shabab would see my denture as a sin,” said one victim. “I am afraid they want to make money from taking all this precious metal.”

The Times ran an article asking the question, Is Somalia the new Afghanistan? I dunno, but I can make a few predictions. The people who still believe Somali pirates act as a Coast Guard for Somalia are wrong, and folks who thought the violent CIA approach to Somalia was wrong will be proven wrong themselves. Just as the Bush administration had no desire to get involved in a military operation in Somalia, the Obama administration has no desire either. That leaves few options, and the options that present themselves will be opportunistic just like the invasion by Ethiopia was.

I do wonder if allowing Somalia to break up into smaller states, allowing the country to collapse into smaller, more manageable pieces like Puntland and Somaliland for example, would be worth it. I honestly don't know if it would, but the idea of a reconstituted Somalian nation looks very unlikely.