A strong piece by the New York Times‘ Jeffrey Gettleman analyzes the recent flare-up of violence in Somalia, making the point that the central battle between the fragile transitional government and the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab looks increasingly like a protracted fight. While both sides seem to be gearing up for a final fight — with jihadists from around the world arriving to bolster Shabaab and the transitional government pleading with the international community for the guns and funding to put down the threat from radical groups — Gettleman reports that the conditions make decisive victory far-fetched at this point. "Somalia has become the war that nobody can win, at least not right now." Well worth a read.