US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has pledged to “expand and extend” US support for Somalia's weak interim government as it struggles against extremists believed linked to Al-Qaeda. Accusing the extremists of trying to turn Somalia into a base for global terrorism, Clinton said Thursday that the Obama administration would continue to provide military supplies and other aid to the government and support an African peacekeeping force on the ground. She did not give details of the new aid. After meeting with Somalia's president, Clinton also warned Eritrea that it would face penalties if it continued to support the Somali extremists. US officials said Clinton is not expected to announce specifics of new assistance to the government. But they said the Obama administration plans to go ahead with additional weapons supplies through African nations to double an initial provision of 40 tons of arms. The US also has begun a low-profile mission to help train Somali security forces in nearby Djibouti, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivities surrounding US involvement in the program. Earlier, Clinton honored the victims of the deadly 1998 Al-Qaeda-linked attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. A day before the 11th anniversary of the Aug. 7 bombings in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam that killed more than 200 people, Clinton paid a somber visit to a memorial at the site of the former embassy in the Kenyan capital. The site, she said, is a reminder of “the continuing threat of terrorism, which respects no boundaries, no race, ethnicity or religion, but is aimed at disrupting and denying the opportunity of people to make their own decisions and to lead their own lives.” Clinton placed a wreath at the site, signed a guestbook and met with survivors of the Nairobi bombing. She said it was a day “to renew our resolve to do all that we can to ensure that these attacks don't take more innocent lives in the future.” Earlier Thursday, Clinton suggested that the United States would become a member of the International Criminal Court, the first permanent institution authorized to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national courts are unable or unwilling to do so. The US formally rejected US participation in May 2002. A main concern was that American servicemen hunting down terrorists abroad might not be safe from politically motivated prosecutions. Clinton said it is “a great regret but it is a fact that we are not yet a signatory. But we have supported the court and continue to do so.”
