WikiLeaks: U.K. Somalia view troubled U.S.

LONDON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. officials were stymied by Britain's failure to grasp the threat Somalia posed because it is a training ground for terrorists, a leaked cable indicated.

Documents released by WikiLeaks show U.S. officials became increasingly concerned in 2008 about the apparent inability of British leaders to understand the scale of the problem concerning Somalia, called an "incubator" for terrorism, The Daily Telegraph reported.

At the time, U.S. Ambassador to Britain Robert Tuttle told the State Department Britain's Foreign Office opposed sending peacekeeping troops to Somalia because "there is not enough peace to keep" in the country," The Daily Telegraph reported.

Details about the concerns were in diplomatic cables that are part of a cache of more than 250,000 U.S. State Department documents obtained and released by WikiLeaks and distributed to certain media outlets, including The Daily Telegraph.

The U.N. special envoy to Somalia was so worried about rebels tied to al-Qaida, he urged the United States to undertake targeted strikes against extremists in the region, the leaked documents indicated.

Now, British intelligence officials state publicly they believe the al-Shabaab fundamentalist movement in Somalia poses a significant threat to Britain, the newspaper said.

When the cables were written, American diplomats expressed frustration at what they perceived was Britain's lack of understanding of the scope of the problems surrounding Somalia, even as British leaders voiced their worries about the African country, the Telegraph indicated.

British authorities saw "a growing likelihood" of attacks from radicalized British Somalis who went to Somalia or Pakistan for "indoctrination and training" and returned to commit acts of terrorism, one cable said.

"There is also believed to be a certain amount of so-called 'jihadi tourism' to southern Somalia by U.K. citizens of Somali ethnicity," the communique read.