Ethiopian Forces Near Somali Capital

Ethiopia pressed on with its offensive against Somali Islamists and threatened to seize the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

At least two Ethiopian jets fired missiles on retreating Islamist forces, prompting the interim Somali government to claim a partial victory.

Hundreds of troops have been killed during a week of heavy artillery and mortar fighting amid fears that it could spark a wider regional conflict in the Horn of Africa.

"Ethiopian forces are on their way to Mogadishu. They are about 40 miles away and it is possible they could capture it in the next 24 to 48 hours," Somalia's ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikarin Farah, told reporters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The State Department signaled support Tuesday for Ethiopian military operations against Somalia, noting that Ethiopia has had “genuine security concerns” stemming from the rise of Islamist forces in its eastern neighbor.

Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos also said that the Ethiopian military acted at the request of Somalia’s internationally backed secular government, which has been resisting with little success the spreading influence of the more powerful Islamist forces.

Gallegos noted that Ethiopia has said that its action is intended to prevent further aggression by the Islamic Courts militias.

More Here & Here and if you must Al Jezzera

Ethiopians will not be playing by European Pansy rules, and as a result, in the end, the lives of tens of thousands of Somali women and hildren will be spared. Our current effort in Iraq is more bloody, for Iraqis, than it needs to be because we make war by "we want to feel good about ourselves" rules (WWTFGAO rules), which give the throat slitters and backpack bombers carte blanche.

Ethiopian airforce (imagine what they could do if they just had 4% of our air power capability?):

Combat aircraft
4 Canberra B57
20 MiG-17
28 MiG-21
19 MiG-23
26 F-5
2 Su-25
8 Su-27
Trainers
20 Aero L-39
4 Cessna T-41
16 T-33
30 T-28
36 F-86
47 Saab 91

Transport aicraft
13 An-12
2 An-26
1 An-32
3 DHC-6
13 C-47 Skytrain
2 C-54
10 C-119
2 Harbin Y-12
1 Il-14
4 C-130
1 Tu-154
1 Yak-40

Attack helicopters
5 Alouette III
2 Ka-50
16 Mi-24

Transport helicopters
1 Eurocopter Puma
6 Bell 204
16 Bell 205
2 Mi-2
22 Mi-8
2 Mi-14