Nine people thought to be Americans have visited a town in western Somalia to meet with local faction leaders and Ethiopian military officers, a regional security official said Tuesday. There have been persistent reports recently that Somalia, an impoverished Horn of Africa nation, is one of the countries President George W. Bush and his advisers are looking at as they consider expanding the war against terrorism beyond Afghanistan.
At a Pentagon news conference , Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz said the administration was trying to "observe, surrvey possible escape routes, possible sanctuaries" for members of the al-Qaida terrorist network who may attempt to flee Afghanistan.

"And, I mean, people mention Somalia for obvious reasons. It's a country virtually without a government; a country that has a certain al-Qaida presence already," he said.
The nine foreigners arrived Sunday and reportedly met with leaders of the Rahanwein Resistance Army, a clan-based faction opposed to Somalia's fledgling transitional government and with Mohamed Saeed Hirsi, known as General Morgan, the leader of an Ethiopian-backed faction based around the southern port of Kismayo that is also opposed the government. Bureau Report