The United States on Thursday recognized the government of Somalia for the first time since 1991. Somalia has not had an effective central government for two decades. But a new Somali administration took office last year, ending eight years of transitional rule by a corruption-riddled government. And in recent months, an African Union force, fighting alongside government troops and Ethiopian soldiers, wrested several key towns from the control of Islamist insurgents. "Today is a milestone," said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clintonafter talks with Somalia's president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. "It is not the end of the journey, but it is an important milestone toward that end."