"There was a serious question about how explicit we could be about the need to begin a phased withdrawal of our troops, " Perry says.

NPR: Compromise Required With the Iraq Study Group

After talks in Cairo last month, some Islamists, including former hardliners, broke with the Shabaab and indicated a willingness to accept the Somali government if there were a mechanism for the phased withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops who have been stationed in Mogadishu since the fall of the Islamic Courts government.

ECONOMIST: Somalia's fighting