2nd Somali Warlord Approves Proposed U.S. Troops : Famine: Ali Mahdi Mohamed echoes foe in endorsing idea. Their cooperation could reduce risks for soldiers safeguarding food.

The warlord who controls northern Mogadishu on Saturday welcomed a proposal to send up to 30,000 American troops to Somalia to help relief workers fight the nation’s famine.

Ali Mahdi Mohamed approved the plan one day after his archenemy, the warlord who controls southern Mogadishu, gave it his blessing.

Their cooperation could reduce the risks the soldiers face if they occupy the capital’s ports to guard incoming aid and stop looters from hijacking relief trucks going to towns where hundreds starve to death each day.

But both warlords may be motivated more by a desire to take control of the nation with U.S. help than to end the famine and chaos. American troops could end up facing as much opposition as 500 U.N. soldiers do now.

Since former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted nearly two years ago, Mahdi’s rivalry with Gen. Mohammed Farrah Aidid has destroyed central authority and helped to turn a severe drought into a catastrophic famine that has killed at least 300,000 and left 2 million on the verge of starvation.

Both warlords have allowed the plunder of thousands of tons of donated food to guarantee the loyalty of troops, and U.N. attempts to deploy the first 500 of a planned 3,500 troops to guard aid have been severely hobbled.

Washington on Wednesday offered to send 30,000 American troops under a U.S. commander or as part of a larger U.N. force. In Kennebunkport, Me., National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft said Saturday the proposal was still being discussed with the United Nations and U.S. allies.

“We’re going to see what we can do to help,” Scowcroft said after briefing President Bush.

However, Mahdi and Aidid appear to be misreading Washington’s intent to end the lawlessness for which they are largely responsible and protect aid shipments. They seem to have misconstrued it as support for their factions in Somalia’s civil war.

“I was so happy to hear that the U.S. has decided to save the soul of the Somali people,” Mahdi said in an interview.

“I would be very happy to welcome the U.S. forces, because I am sure they will help us to distribute food and make Somalia a secure place to live again,” he said.

The American troops should come immediately, assist the relief agencies and help clans hold a peace conference and form a new government, he said.

If necessary, Mahdi said, the U.S. soldiers should also be willing to fight Aidid.

The United Nations is expected to consider the American proposal this week. A U.N. task force on Somalia was meeting in New York over the weekend to discuss the American offer and other plans to deliver humanitarian aid.

Mahdi criticized the United Nations’ 500 Pakistani soldiers, who took months to reach Somalia, spent several more months negotiating with clan warlords and elders and eventually took over Mogadishu’s airport, but not its port.

For more than a week, clansmen have been firing shells from the shore of northern Mogadishu to prevent ships carrying food and medicine from docking and unloading at the port, which remains under Aidid’s control.

Mahdi denied that his men had opened fire on the ships, but he has been frustrated by the fact that the airport and port are both in Aidid’s part of the city. Consequently, it is often difficult for people in northern Mogadishu to get a fair share of the donated food and medicine.