Let al Qaeda feed them, they own them already. See, we tried that approach in Afghanistan, figuring what the heck harm could Afghanistan do to the West.
Next thing you knew, 19-Afghan based terrorists flew planes into American buildings. Somalia can't continue to be a failed state.
The Ethiopians need to leave, and the US needs to support the creation of a real accountable government. Otherwise, you'll have a Taliban II and an Al Qaeda training ground.
I am all for Somalia having an accountable government, I just don't think we can manufacture one. Any US-backed government will be despised and fought by the warlords. If we kill the warlords, the people will despise us even more. It just seems like a lost cause, a place where people know only brute force, taking whatever you can and a cheap, early death. How do we interest them in a calm, civilized Western lifestyle? Their lives are based on stealing, snitching, shooting and starving. I don't know how we can change that by force or by diplomacy.
BTW the 19 hijackers, regardless of where they pitched their training tents, were based in Saudi Arabia.