At the moment after thousands dead, there is a temporary lull in the fighting and the Courts and the Shabaab regroup. It cannot be ruled out that war weariness may temporarily triumph among the broader population for a period, despite their animosity to the invaders and the puppet TFG government. However, as one clan member remarked, just one shooting can spark an inferno between the clans and warlords, and the jihadists are certainly determined to wage an Iraqi/Afghan style assault on the present rulers. There is, in effect, a power vacuum which cannot last. History abhors a vacuum, as they say. And while the initial insurgent rush is over, there is certainly likely to be a new storming through the gates of hell, now that they have been opened. This will weave its way throughout the region. As Aweys, the leader of the Courts pronounced "we will leave no stone unturned to integrate our Somali brothers in Kenya and Ethiopia and restore their freedom to live with their ancestors in Somalia."

Lying between the tip of the Middle East and the edge of Africa, the Horn of Africa is of crucial strategic importance. It has been said that whoever controls the Horn controls the Persian Gulf and the oil routes. In justifying his invasion President Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia stated that the Courts' links to Al Qaeda "represent a direct threat first to Somalia and the Somali people, second to the region and Ethiopia and lastly to the international community."

For this reason, despite having burned its fingers in "Black Hawk" debacle, the US has been steadily building up a presence on the tip of Somalia. It has built a base in Djibouti with nearly 2,000 troops primarily involved in counter-al Qaeda activities. Most recently during the invasion, it attempted unsuccessfully to destroy the Shabaab leadership by a failed bombing mission. It cannot be ruled out that when the Ethiopians and African Union peacekeepers prove incapable of controlling the situation, the US could become involved in a far more substantial intervention in the country and neighbouring states.

Until now, with the exception of the super-exploitation of raw materials in a few countries, Africa been largely written off the profit and loss account of global capitalism. Millions have been and continue to be left to die of disease and hunger or ignored as they cannibalise themselves in orgies of self-destruction from Sierra Leone to Rwanda and now Darfur. Intentions are changing, however, because of oil reserves and to counter the growing influence of China in the continent. This will not benefit the masses of the people, as Nigeria bears witness, but is viewed as essential to protecting the economic and strategic interests of the superpowers. By 2015, it is estimated that the US will import up to 25% of its oil from Africa. Coupled with this is the fear of social unrest and the spread of jihadism and al-Qaeda.

For these reason Africa has been put on par with the Pentagon's Pacific, Middle Eastern European Military Commands. Brainchild of Donald Rumsfeld, a unified command has been set up for US intervention in Africa in February 2007. "Africom" as it's called will help fight terrorism, defend US economic interests, compete diplomatically with China and help secure sea routes.

It is called a "unified combatant command" by the Pentagon and is headed by a four-star military general, unlike other regional commands. Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, is being considered as one likely candidate for its headquarters in East Africa. This will beef up the Combined Joint Task Force- Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, and another programme called the Trans-Sahara Counter Terrorism Initiative (TSCTI) is carrying out the same activities in North Africa, providing anti-terrorism weapons and training to countries there.

Clearly, the US is making a qualitatively new turn towards Africa. While it remains ambivalent to the sub-human suffering there, it is highly concerned about it translating into jihadism and support for al-Qaeda across the continent, disrupting oil and other precious raw material supplies, as well as sea routes. At the moment with its hands full in Iraq and Afghanistan and the lessons of debacle there, its operations are largely surgical Special Forces intervention and weapons supplies and training of friendly regimes. But with the conflagrations breaking out there now, more major military adventures in future cannot be ruled out and are clearly being prepared for.