US looking into helping train Somali forces

BRUSSELS -- The U.S. is considering joining a European Union effort to train a new army for Somalia, whose government is engaged in a war against al-Qaida-linked Islamic militants, a senior military official said Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Richard J. Sherlock, head of plans for the U.S. Africa Command said there is considerable scope for cooperation with the EU training program.
Washington has so far not participated in the effort to support the nascent Somali army, which is seen as crucial to bringing stability to a country that has been without a functional government for nearly two decades.
The EU mission is part of a wider international effort to help stabilize Somalia's transitional government. Under the EU plan, about 200 European military instructors will start training in May a unit of up to 2,000 Somali troops at a military base in Uganda   ..more