Condi wins the argument on Somalia

After a month of reports of US personnel backing and funding Somali warlords in an effort to defeat the Islamic militia, the ICU, presumably DoD and/or CIA, the US has suddenly turned 180 degrees and is attempting to establish a diplomatic contact group with the ICU. Perhaps that's because they won the war, and there's no other choice.

I don't know how much influence the US will have after funding the other side for so long, but once again it appears that Condi Rice has won an argument backed largely by the failure of the Cheney/Rumsfeld aggressive tactics and the facts on the ground. (See Iran.)

Does this shift in policy represent Condi's star rising or the hawks' star falling? Or is the diplomatic route still plan C after everything else has failed? Remember that since 2005, Condi Rice is now in charge of Iraq reconstruction. And that's going so well, isn't it?