So long Syria, hello Somalia!

There’s enough hot air coming out of London this week to send a fleet of dirigibles to the horn of Africa, there to rain thousands of tons of “projectiles of democratic values” down on the al-Shabaab evil doers currently doing their evil on the benighted people of Somalia.

All the usual suspects are in town for the Somalia Salvation Summit, usual suspects meaning NATO and a few hangers-on.

The fact that Clinton and Cameron are making bold pronouncements about Somalia also tells you something about Syria, i.e. that NATO has washed its hands and isn’t about to get more involved than it already is.

And if they’ve had a change of heart about Syria, it also tells you something about where their thoughts are on Iran. Syria has essentially been a proxy front in the war on Iran.

So while there’s going to be continued braying for Persian blood from the usual right-wing war-mongers in Likud and the GOP, the reality is that NATO has decided on smaller fish for their next adventure.

Like Somalia. After generations of anarchy during which we occasionally sent in our proxies from Ethiopia or Kenya to flatten a few villages, the fact that Somalia suddenly merits its very own conference means bigger things are in the works.

Hillary Clinton herself has announced that Somalia stands at a crossroads.

Cameron must have thought he heard “crosshairs” instead of crossroads and immediately offered to begin bombing raids on the al-Shabaab.

Canada’s John Baird is just hoping the world has forgotten the last time Canadians were bringing democracy to Somalia. That effort resulted in the torture and murder of a number of Somali civilians.

So good luck to you, Somalia! Good things are just around the corner now that NATO’s got your back.

And carry on with that nuke program Ayatollahs; you’re good to go for now.