Al-Shabaab fighters (Image from Somali-Swiss Community)What Does Ethiopia's Withdrawal Mean for Somalia's Future? -- Middle East Times
Ethiopian efforts in Somalia began with an unexpected intervention in December 2006 that rapidly reversed many territorial gains made by the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an Islamist group that was then on the brink of destroying Somalia's U.N.-recognized transitional federal government (TFG). However, neither the Ethiopians nor the United States (which supported the invasion) were able to provide the country with badly needed stability. The beginning of the end came in early January, when trucks filled with Ethiopian soldiers began to roll out of Mogadishu. They almost immediately hit a roadside bomb.
Read more ....
My Comment: It appears that Somalia is not only going to maintain its status as a failed state, but that it will now start to interfere in neighboring countries, with naval piracy being the most blatant act of interference.
The West's attention will be focused back on Somalia when (1) Al Qaeda is back, and (2) another humanitarian catastrophe with famine as a result rears its ugly head.