General Duke;786183 wrote: There are two reasons why the time is right for this effort. The first is that the African Union troops in Somalia have made some important progress, wrestling nearly all of Mogadishu from the control of insurgents, and making other security gains. Second, the mandate of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government expire in August . This gives an opening to launch a new and broader political process embracing all Somalis, with a greater emphasis on supporting regional governance as well as stronger and more representative government from the centre. This sense of a moment of opportunity was shared by the Somali leaders and citizens that I met, who welcomed Britain's engagement. The London Conference will aim to agree practical steps to support a new political process , as well as assistance to Somalia's regions , funding for the African Union Mission, more effective arrangements to tackle piracy and terrorism, and increased humanitarian coordination. It will be different from previous conferences because it will put the needs of Somalis front and centre, not just our own security, and it will attempt to address the root causes of the conflict rather than just the symptoms. Source: Huffington Post This is it. Not entirely clear as to what this "new political process" he alludes to entails nevertheless this statement answers somewhat whether this conference builds on Djibouti Peace Process, the basis of the current political roadmap. My hunch is London Conference will define the role of Somaliland in the overall strategy of aiding Somalia to stand on its own legs. It's all good except the strategy (military in nature and no room for political negotiation) toward AS is not sound.

Misplaced and mischaracterized cartoon from a great artist. There will be dozen countries in attendance many of whom have ethnic collection that are on the verge of imploding. Not to mention Turkey, Egypt, KSA, and South Africa will be sitting at the table. If that tidbit does mot suffice go read the agenda folks. We love Amin. He is a true patriot. But the man misfired this time.

I was reading Djibouti Peace Process -- between TFG of Inna Yey and ARS of Sherrif -- and it downed on me that the Kampala Accord was in fact salvaging Djibouti Peace Process as it became clear the August 2011 deadline was not going to hold. Now, one other tidbit is that Djibouti Peace Process and all other designs to shore up the fledgeling TFI was limited to the South since secessionist leadership resisted in taking part of a peace process which they have no dog in it. Even though the whole setup was concacted in a way that primary stakeholder inserts in the TFI will serve as placeholder for the absent players, in practical sense whatever TFG and PL agreed on did not apply to Somaliland. The same thing is true when it comes to AS. Powers that be are counting their eggs before they hatch for they are banking on a total defeat of AS by uniting all other political centers in Somalia, IGAD and frontline countries military offence, and then strangling AS by tightening the financial noose on their neck. London conference is a black box to me at this point. There is no telling how all the previous agreements as far as the roadmap is concerned will hold up in the event there is dramatic change of heart by the secessionists. Ol' hand Silanyo will have to get something in return in his bold compromise. What would that be? Can the host country grease the wheels in advance and secure commitments from all sides prior to opening the meeting? The dirrin in London gives us a lot of hope. The expectation is sky high. It better bear fruits or else we will... Will see!

We respect the Suldaan. Politicians should listen to what he had to say. His suggestions are good starting point. Let the politicians do what they do the best and come up a path forward.

No doubt. And we love Somaliland. We're family kidos. Xidid iyo xigaalo yeynu nahay. This civil strife will pass and folks will move on. Remember that bud.

^Deep thoughts to ponder. Awoowe BOB wan ku salaamay.

Awesome gadget.

^Ducada aamiin Carafaat is on the money in his practical approach to nomad politicking. He comes across as someone who deals with this ever-changing and unprincipled nomad politicking sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than dogmatic consideration. Granted he is not privy to inside information and like many of us he goes out on a limp and shares his two cents based on what the Internet chatters and other questionable sources say about the topic of the day. I wish I could say Oodweyne is as pragmatic as Carafaat seems to be on the screen. My boy Oodweyne is brutally honest, extremely loyal (to his clan), simple and unsophisticated in his world outlook, and dogmatic in his political believes (secession). My buddy Oodweyne is as good as they come in the WYSIWYG department . Like the camel herders in doolo outbacks, Oodweyne speaks in absolutes. He has uncanny way of suspending reality Oodweyne awoowe dee naga baandhee bahasha P.S.: Tell you what I for one (not that my opinion matters) am willing to let secession occur. Now how do we go about this. As you know there are many variables in this three dimensional equation, so I am aiming a soft landing if you get my drift No more civil wars. Pull the map out and spread it on the table and talk sense now. Remember the gaol is to handle this delicate matter in a smooth manner a la Czechoslovakia separation Change gear and look out for the next phase. I know you don't have it in you but with effort there is nothing a man cannot do when he tries hard. Swallow that oversized miyi pride and force yourself to compromise here and there in the interest of the common good. I know you can do it. Give the gallery a scenario where folks can be prepared for smooth soft landing in this dismembering exercise. Bal idinku wax ogaada maanta. Tomorrow is a superbowl day in this side of the Atlantic and Monday I am working but I will check back and see what my buddy Oodweyne has in mind. Call it the roadmap for mutually agreed separation.

I couldn't have said it better. Reconciliation, dialogue, persuasion, and what not is the way to bring the secession supporters back into the fold. TFG leadership should find a way to sell the union platform to the naysayers.

Taleex conference adjourned. Clan chieftains, local elders, politicians, and other concerned parties agreed a path forward. They called their clan construct -- Khatumo State of Somalia. The zone will be administered by a rotating governors on the basis of sub-clan sharing scheme matrix. An other fiefdom in the Somali house. According to the press releases the zone will focus on rebuilding its shattered and neglected area of influence. Its principled political orientation is pro Somali Republic. This clan construct -- the way it’s framed -- is independent from the competing admins on its borders as well as TFG. TFG? Strange but that’s how their statements is understood. After KSS is announced the region has seen a lot of actions. Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues aka ‘Make Me Wanna Holler’ comes to mind. Yes I know I am oldie fiend Let’s get to it. As Marvin would put it let’s enumerate hang ups, let downs, bad breaks, and set backs and you would see why recovery zone, bottom up, building block supporters would cry out ‘make me wanna holler and throw up both my hands’. Hang ups The KCC hit a snag when a well-know clan activist, a champion of SCC dissented. Xaglotoosiye went against the grain -- against majority vote, against elders and above all his clan chieftains. He sees enemy in Ali. He’s having difficult time to see beyond his personal grievances. As unfortunate as that is, Mr. X has yet to articulate his principal argument for having now defunct SSC leadership lead KCC as token of appreciation of their lonely struggle in championing SSC clannish cause. Let downs Garowe and Hargeisa admin’s stand on this new kid in the block as different as their stand may be, is understandable. But get this, no support is coming from TFG. TFG leaderships’ total silence is deafening. SOL pundits are scratching their scalps as what to make of TFG’s inattention toward this new development. Perhaps TFG considers that area as one that falls outside its purview. Bad breaks The political calendar of 2012 is populated with events of political importance. SOL’s incessant posts and white noises aside, scheduled conferences to be held in Garowe, and London will produce early rhythms of post conflict Somalia political beat. Folks representing KCC views will not be participating in these events. Piracy conferences in Dubai and Nairobi have political undertones with monumental consequences in terms of security. Turkey is setting up fund account to rebuild post-conflict Somalia and some nomads understand how that is going to play out in the sense that some recovery zones outside TFG purview would be eligible. Set backs Maca asif there were unfortunate loss of lives directly related to the Taleex conference. Having a peaceful gathering to deliberate the future status of the clan that somehow offends some folks. Since secessionists tendency to overpromise (getting their fiefdom recognized as state) and under deliver that promise, Taleex challenge is painfully revealing as it lifted the drapes off of the secessionists khilaawo. With no principled argument on hand against Taleex challenge some called for unprovoked attack against their brethrens in SSC region. A group of delirious secessionists -- whipped by known warmongers -- obliged and attacked Buuhoodle. If Raqia Omar were impartial she would have cried foul as she did in late eighties and would’ve labeled Hargeisa’s admin as a “government” at war with its people. Peaceful demo in Las Ano met with the same fate -- indiscriminate machine gun. SOL fan boys Our friends made a momentary lapse and excitedly hailed unprovoked attack on civilians as necessary and just war to defend Somaliland’s territorial integrity. Same can be said about Inna Barre’s heavy handed put down of NW uprising if one follows the secessionists rationale. However theirs is not a logic rational people can understand.

Libaax-Sankataabte;773428 wrote: Details Kor Hoos Bed Rooms 2 3 Toilets 2 2 Sitting Room - 1 Kitchen - 1 Veranda - 2 Balcony 1 - Back home? Where? Is qouted price for particular region? I am eying a nice and spacious real estate right beside the beach in Kismayo. The trouble is well you know how security situation is in the neck of the wood.

LST, Xiin, and General Duke should I change my SOL handle in light of this coronation? War LST awoowe bal ka tali

Carafaat it is not easy to implement a project of this magnitude in an environment that's not conducive to development. It seems to me that folks managing this are rushing into a complicated engineering, construction, operation, and maintenance tasks. That said, you should be wishing them luck.

Hambalyo iyo Bogaadin. Waan u duceynana in Allah haleelsiyo talada. Good luck Baasha.

Just-in Beesha Dhulos maqaawiir attending the make-or-break grand gathering at Taleex have reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). After long and heated deliberations, the Khatumo attendees chose unity over joining neighboring administrations. As appealing as joining existing administrations was (to some factions), the unity of the clan trumped all other considerations. All the stakeholders were present. They made their case and in the end unanimously approved the unity motion. A textbook example of the power of traditional gar-naqsi practiced by Somalis. No surprise there as SOL punditry expected this outcome. The long and winding road the wise elders chose to embark on is the only option that can achieve the unity they so desire for their flock. Now begins the hard work of implementing the pact and owning up the reality on the ground. They also need to think long and hard as how to grease the wheels of government without source of income -- port tax revenue is now out of the window. Taxing the poor is a non-starter. Pledge money from the Diaspora is a short term fix. Aid money, however, is available if they can show that system is in place to manage it. Mogadishu has plenty of it. Just as you would expect from SOL cyber talking head in politics section, I put on my magnifying glasses on and skimmed through the clan pact A_Khadar posted. Authenticity of the declaration has yet to be verified. Just saying Having read the hastily typed document, it is not clear to me what it really means as far as the issue of the day is concerned. On the one hand the new pact makes void and null all agreements the clan had previously entered with other political administrations. That part is crystal clear. On the other hand, going forward, the MOU leaves all doors open in the not so distant future, for similar pact with the same administration, once the leadership consolidates power and attains token legitimacy. Political flexibility is great and sometimes necessary as it gives leadership a room to wiggle in the likely event unforeseen political situations arise. But it also gives hope to both admins. This vagueness is unsettling! Somalis expected to see an equivocal clause that reaffirms the clans commitment to the unity and the territorial integrity of Somalia. SSC folks should take solace in the fact that folks who will be sitting on the saddle of this horse are rivals and differ in their political views. This is good thing. In the absence of strong institutions, having team of rivals in the leadership council is politically sound for they will perform the checks and balances by default. It will be very difficult for one faction to shortchange the other in the coming two years. It is not over till the qallanjo sings waa maalin weynoo, musliminta oo idil ay wada maqsuudeen. Dhuubo will only hum the melody and reserve the song for the day when the executive posts are filled and all the contestants are satisfied with the selection process and the final outcome. The Gobaad will not sing, I am told, till SSC-elect executive branch promises not to provoke warmongers around them lest they disturb the peace. A time like this is the time when the wise takes a left turn to wimp-ville:) Reconciliation is an issue whose settlement is more important than anything else. Heshisinta beelaha is a an issue that must be tackled before anything can be settled. The two Ali’s and the good folks of G6 and G15 have outsmarted and outmaneuvered everyone in pulling off of this much needed “correction”. And they did it in a peaceful way and in manner akin to the time tested tradition of pastoral democracy.

Ac of Spades, I withhold judgment and assume by barns you meant fertile farming fields in that area which encompasses Bay and Bakool. Let’s suppose, for the sake of argument, that marauding armed militia or members of former military units determined to restore Inna Barre’s presidency looted the large warehouse in Baidoba! In your judgment, would that act alone be sufficient to cause the great famine the world had witnessed in 1992? You may not be familiar with the number of warehouses a city of Baidoba’s size may have or how big the footprint of typical warehouse of the farming cities like Jammaame, Jilib, Qoryooleey, Biadoba may be. Typically it is only one and the footprint is 80 x 40 meters. Say there was two warehouses and each twice the size of the typical warehouse (an order of magnitude increase); still that wouldn’t prevent the calamity that visited Biadobo. I am -- unknowingly perhaps – sweeping it under the rug. That’s not my intention. I just don’t see looting a shed causing an epic tragedy of the scale we witnessed in 1992. It is safe to say, and evidence attest to this, that the great famine of Baidobo was a culmination of many factors biggest factor being the sustained clan fighting in the area and the cascading effect it had to the farming communities. You posed a million dollar question when you stated that in light of my definition of Somalinimo how does one get to the promise land and constitute an state that does not deny away with that which cannot be denied (centrality of clan in Somalia’s political process) and form institutions that all Somalis can have faith in its integrity. I don’t know. It is a puzzle worth pondering. Islamic governance, if adopted methodically (first teach the masses), implement gradually over time may check negative tribalism quite effectively in my opinion. As to the former ruling class and their crimes, well that there is two ways to go about it. One would be one faction to have complete and total victory over all other contestants. The victors can do what victors do and take what’s left of that class into account. Another way, and more desirable one, would be to end the conflict first, convene all the stakeholders, weak and strong alike, and reach conclusive, just, and final settlement. Truth and reconciliation commission is one model we can make use of. Now where I disagree with you is when you held up Somaliland experience as unique or better than experience of other regions during the recovery period. There are many Somalis across Somali peninsula that are both peace-loving and forward looking. They are minority in every region however. I have yet to find one instance where Somaliland experience in maintaining stability its domain and rebuilding its shattered infrastructure is different from that of Puntland. Apart of bragging bravado, you would be hard pressed to seriously examine and find differences in the larges scheme of things. All the examples you’ve listed about Somalinimo and Muslinimo and attributed to Somaliland can be found in all other regions including Puntland. That being said, the outcome of Taleex will test how deep is Somaliland’s Somalinimo. Abtigiis, Agreed. On Kampala, I can certainly understand why one of Xiin’s caliper would lean supporting it as all available resources and political capital available are thrown at it. I beg to differ though. Kampala Accord may be a victory for principal signatories but it is unjust in its core. There are major stakeholders that are not on board. Not to mention Islamists. Say what you must about them but make no mistake they do have a huge following. They made monumental mistakes in every step of the way but there is plurality of Somalis that wants to have Islamic governance. Today they are weak and if goings gets tough will melt away but they will form sleeping cells and strike back. It’s containment policy. That’s what it amounts to. West will have maritime order under control at babl Mandab straight and neighboring countries will stick to their national security interests irrespective how their policies impact on Somalia’s future. Dirrin or Gogol would have worked had foreign interest groups and other king makers funding warlords, arming factions hold their horses and let the traditional pastoral mediation take its course.

Ace Of Spadez, First off let me say I strive to address folks who don’t already agree with me. Exchanges like these give us a chance to put other side “on the stand”. Now, I am not saying negative tribalism and all its ills is “normal” or desirable for that matter. Nor am I condoning what’s being said in the vid clip. What’s been shown on the clip may very well be “valuable” information to some. One thing it is not, however, is a secret or new revelation. You seem to be taking issue with that position. You shouldn’t. Obviously what occurred in Baidoba and how that epic famine came about, as epic tragedy as that was, is a public knowledge. Crop failure, looting, civil strive, and what not are all known events -- hardly a secret. Let me pound this point till it sinks in. The famine had received wall to wall coverage here in the states. I was here and I have seen it on first hand. Media coverage (CNN, in particular) generated millions of words, not quite that many but a lot of words, and thousands of images. So much so US felt compelled to act partly because of cable news incessant coverage of skeletons walking and people dropping dead. As much as you would want to pin responsibility on particular group or personalities the fact of the matter is Somali’s breadbasket region (farming communities and their farming fields) become a frontline in the wake of Inna Barre’s ouster -- the epicenter of the civil war. Looting was the order of the day in every major city in the south including Kismayo’s Inji, Mareeray Sugar Plant, Rice fields of Mugabo. You name it and it was not spared. Needless to say, looting is wrong, inappropriate, uncivilized, xaraam, theft, and what not. As to your second point on Somalinimo, awoowe one thing you are not taking into account is culture. Good governance is not something that comes easy. Our nomadic culture is not compatible with hierarchy, order, and regulatory agencies. Nomads dominate Somali political discourse and the leaders that are now a household names were born and bred in an environment where niman shantaadu ka dhicin, sharci kaama dhacsho is not a hal qabsi but a reality practiced by inna rag. Somalis including these dominant nomads fought for a state and prevailed. But modern state required functioning institutions -- police, national defense, trade, and representation. Trust deficit among competing clans who were forced to share resources and manage institutions of the newly found state got us where we are today. The irony is that Somalinimo and Muslinimo slogans were crafted in order to elevate nomadic mindset of Tol’ayeey to much nobler and better ideal where collective good trumps clan interests. It didn’t work. Next generation have to work harder and learn from this epic tragedy. I find it saddening that you my man Ace of Spadez belief in Somalis that hail from clans like duriyada will succeed where others fail because of being from duriyada alone or perhaps being colonized by Anglo Saxon alone. That underlying theme in your write-up is a sad commentary on Somali tragedy. Not only sad statement but also untrue one. Clans in that neck of the wood have fought among themselves to a devastating effect for the same reason that Southern cousins have been at each others throat. It’s just that Southerners are more diverse in their clan composition, and have more resources to be had in that contest not to mention neighboring states in the region have "existential" interest in post conflict Somalia and want to shape it to their liking and hence are involved in fuelling the conflict. Oodweyne, awoowe ha igu dhegga adkaan dee. Recite boowe recite Dabka cadawgu keenaan lahaa, daadiyo quba e, Dalaalka iyo malaalkaan lahaa, duubta gogolaha e, Diraacdaa ku raagtaan lahaa, roobku haw da'e, Dawlad weyn ha noqotan lahaa waaye dabdoode Damashaadka faraxaan lahaa daawsho u jooge. Arrin ka dahsoon baa jirtee taa ma dayi weyday!,

This post was locked and I had to dig it to find it. I trust it's locked for a good reason and has nothing to do with what I posted. Abtigiis posted the post below late last night. Well, it is not something I thought I will do ever - to disagree with Baashi. I always seem to agree with what he says, and saw no reason to confront him. But I disagree with him here and now. There is a lot of revealtions in this video. It cannot be downplayed as a mere meeting where a clan is plotting against another clan. It has a much more significiance than that. It shows the mindset that ruled Somalia for 21 years. These men who are speaking in this meeting are not traditional elders. They were commanders of Somalia's national army. They were political leaders in actuality because politics and military were one and the same under Siyaad. While we all have heard of the decadence of the leaders of Somalia's false Kacaan, hearing from the mouths of the men themesleves is quite revealing. Look at the amount of nonesesne Gabiyoow is spweing in this video. Look at the mindset. Shantii or lixdii or laba iyo tobankii block ayaa meesha fadhiya, I feel like God toda because the clan chose me.... Look at Morgan's useless sterotyping: Rer-hebel baa sal-fudud baa la yidhi inagaa ka sal fuduud blah blah... To say this while cheawing Qat with your friends is soemthings, to institute these false sterotypes and insert them in national policy is a different matter altogather. What is even worse is knowing that the two Generals are not speaking for themselves alone. The whole Somalia government had the same mentality and no wonder other clans who saw what is going on revolted. Of course other clans are not better too. Like the same Kaydmedia group who use this clip to fuel a backlash against another clan. War dadka Somalia ku nool,what are they? I am not worried about the masses. War ka daaya hal qof oo yidhaa (ku yidhaa reerkiisa) maxaa loo la'yahay. In this regard, I salute Buuba and the few Somalilanders who faced upto their kins and said no to what they saw as wrong. Abtigiis, Disagreements are most welcome. We certainly don’t want to preach to the choir I take it you take issue with negative tribalism. And rightly so. I don’t know about you Abtigiis but I am well versed in the goings of Somalis political scene. The very institutions that Somali political framework rested upon have always been that of clan institution -- the traditional clan mold. And yes you heard me right I believe clan is and has always been the basis of our social system. Never has social contract of national scale been drafted without getting the clan consideration right. Clan is not everything to everyone and certainly not to you - I take your word for it - but it is a humongous factor in our xeer. Let me emphasis this. I said xeer! Xeer in itself is informed by clan considerations. Do this quickly: try to take any institution of significance and extrapolate its line items to trabilism and see the upward trajectory the line traverses! You will find there are no sacred cows from qoys to highest echelons of governments that ruled Somalia in its heydays. General Morgan and general Gabyow were the top military brass and ahd held highest positions of the government. True. They were negative tribalism practitioners long before that meeting. Most of us knew that tidbit. In that sense there is no new revelations in the clip. I want you to try to answer if you would Abdi Shube’s geeraar in which he poses questions: War hadaan nahay Geeskan bari, Kuwii gaarka u lahaa, Ama uu ku galaday Allah, Baheey gobolkeenii mee? Dakeygoo garasha xume! Hadaan nahay gobolka ka mida Gayiga aadmiga ku nool, Goor hore iyo waayo tagay, Halkii laga geedi galay, Asageen saban gudbeen, Maxaa galabta ina dhigay? Maxan isu gowracnaa, Innagu isu goominaa, Guhaada inoo ku wacan? Aduunyadu waa giraan, Waayuhu waa galinba ceyn, Xilligu wuu is gurahayaa, Baheey galabta iyo xasuus, Gadaal ugu noqo xisaab, Diiwanka galkiisa fura, Tariikhdan guurinine, Gadmadihii dhumay ka daya, Intan goob joogna iyo, Soo gaareen waxuu ina yirri, Markad isu geysataan Horta godobteena ya qaba, Abaal ya ina gashaday, Watan qarran gaamuroo, Guyaal jira heysanaye, Xornimadii yaa ganbiyey, War yaa calankeenii gubay, Gobaad yaa ibaha jaray Intuu gaxdeedii dhamay, Gabaankii naga dhaqdhaqay, Gabaad baa lagu jiray e, Gawaan maray yey na tubay, Caawana an gaabsanine, Godkii doonaaya weli, Inay nagu sii guraan???????????? Tip: there is only one answer. Are we square Abtigiis? I went to the trouble of finding this post awoowe. I do enjoy your posts (politics section ones) especially when you beat up my man Xiin It lightens up the board. I am waiting another memorable shellacking of Kampala Accord ( or may be you are rooting for it dunno but I wanna see a takedown of the munomental meeting where a sinster understanding has been reached). Later after work.

A-Khadar you did a wonderful job here. Hambalyo to SSC comrades. Now begins the difficult task of implementing Taleex declarations. Very difficult road ahead. Wisemen up in Taleex should make sure the clan boundry redrawing is handled with utmost care. If you flip the coin and put the declarations on the shaker table you would see that little has changed (politically). The SSC can and may well decide to become part of the existing admins. If and when that happens the decision would be final. A-Khadar please post the document when it comes out so we can put our magnifying glasses on dissect its provisions. Let me go out on a limp and say if it does not contain a clause that reassures the territorial integrity of Somalia that once existed then the ball has not been moved to mid field.

There are no new revelations in this clip awoowe. What was the secret revealed in this clip again? All the clip showed is a meeting held by one faction of the conflict that which we are all familiar with. The time is late 1991 probably December. The meeting was about a coup to eliminate Col. Jess and deny him the crucial Awlyahan support he needed to stay in the game. Col. Jess was considered to be a certified fool with below 90 IQ. He believed in General Aided and wanted Kismayo to surrender. Allah yarxama. Waa ninka yirri is dhiiba or else:). Awoowe cid kale ha weydiin. That’s that. I know it will be difficult for some of you to understand the cruelty and the madness of the early years of the clan wars. The war was real and brutal. It was cruel, nasty, and unforgiving bloodbath campaign against haraadiga – a name reserved for anyone who happen to be from a particular Somali lineage. Old, young, men, women, relative or neighbor irrespective of one’s position or title, USC led the charge to “cleanse” south Somalia of haraadiga. Same was true with USC folks who happen to live localities SPM folks were in charge of. It was savage internecine clan warfare. Nothing more, nothing less! Oodweyne and his hardcore secessionists ilk get a particular satisfaction watching the internecine bloodletting, rape, looting, and what have you that transpired in the south. Ask him what he calls children and women who were at the receiving end of the revenge killing I tried to tell him that killing innocent bystanders, neighbors, women, and children, is always wrong to no avail. One should watch this vid clip through that prism. Call it the fog of war if you will. Was it wrong? You bet ya. Was it necessary to defend yourself or your maato by any means necessary including clannish means? Damn right. Did the folks run to places they thought they could get clan protection? Absolutely. It appears that Keydmedia had a “misfire”. They wanted to say the Kenya mission to rout AS is bound to fail if they are not careful (read between the lines to understand where they are going with this).

Carafat, Buba opines that SL is isolating itself. He mentions new challenges stemming from within defunct British Protectorate. He has not cited the source but he made a claim that other stakeholders in Somalia are willing to stand down and offer the presidency to duriyad. Where there is smoke there is fire. There is something brewing... Look at Jaceylbaro tackling the man instead of the points he raised. Very telling ain't it. But then again when have you seen Jaceylbaro making a coherent argument for or against position, policy, or principle. Waa secessionist guul wade

Oodweyne, La stesa canta Quit being a winbag One thing is for sure I will take a dip in Jazeera beach. Liido has small real estate compared to Jazeera (Mogadishu), Ceel Jaale (Marka), Barawe, and Calanleey beach. But I fancy Red Sea beaches nowadays. Bal tab dheh Awoowe an heshiino oo waxii hore u dhacat=y an xalay dhalay ka noqone. What say you?

Read it through local politics awoowe. Habraha have their internal political issues.

Spot on. Secession project is in crisis. Our resident scholar on secession Mr Oodweyne is trying to find ways and means to save this ship made of paper by entertaining SOL gallery with kumbaya song Buubaa is on a Somaliweyn column.

Somalia and Ethiopia Might things get better for once? Ethiopian troops are hurting extremists in Somalia but stability is still far away Jan 7th 2012 | ADDIS ABABA AND NAIROBI | from the print edition HOW many countries does it take to chase away a ragtag band of al-Qaeda fighters? In Somalia, the answer is a hatful. The country has a “transitional” government that has for years failed to put up a serious challenge to the al-Qaeda-linked Shabab militia. Backing the government are soldiers from Burundi, Djibouti and Uganda who are fighting the Shabab under an African Union mandate. In October Kenya invaded Somalia from the south with the aim of pushing the Shabab into the sea. France and the United States have intelligence agents and special forces on the ground; the Americans have drones in the sky. And neighbouring Ethiopia has re-entered Somalia to clear the Shabab out of the town of Beledweyne. Many independent Somalia-watchers think this could once again end in tears. Somalis and Ethiopians have been fighting each other on and off for centuries, with Somali zealots, inspired by Islam, periodically launching raids on predominantly Christian Ethiopia—or so the Ethiopians have long complained. Many Somalis resent Ethiopia’s sovereignty over the ethnic-Somali region of ******. An attack on it in 1977 by Somalia ended disastrously; an Ethiopian counter-offensive backed by Cuban troops wrecked Somalia’s army and led to the collapse in 1991 of the last Somali regime to control the whole country. It was 15 years later that Ethiopia invaded Somalia with American support to unseat an Islamist government in Mogadishu, the seaside capital that has long been a wreck. Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s prime minister, withdrew his troops in 2009, saying the jihadist threat had receded. But the Shabab consolidated its hold on southern and much of central Somalia, forming a Taliban-style administration. It thrived until last year’s famine exposed its incompetence and cruelty. Suicide-bombings that have killed young Somali students have cost the movement much support, as was shown by the unusually warm welcome the Ethiopians got in Beledweyne, similar to the one the Kenyans got in some towns in the south. For the first time in years the Shabab is on the defensive outside Mogadishu, most of which it has lost in the past six months. Kenyan and Ethiopian forces, with some fumbling, are slowly but methodically going after them. Thousands of Shabab fighters, many of them boys, are marching long distances through the bush to get away. Their artillery pieces are useless and they feel insecure even in their old strongholds. The Somali people, less afraid of reprisals, are turning hostile. In Beledweyne locals mingle with Ethiopians in cafés, suggesting they believe the Shabab will not be back. Somalia may now have its best chance of peace and security since 1991. If the government can consolidate its hold on Mogadishu, it will be a big step forward. The capital’s port is busy, its markets bustling. More suicide-bombings and assassinations will occur; a respected local journalist was killed last month. But this year most residents will, with luck, seek to remake their livelihoods rather than worry about fending off jihad. Yet as anarchy recedes, old territorial questions will re-emerge. Somaliland, in the north, wants independence. Puntland, in the north-east, wants a lot of autonomy. Ethiopia is all for such goals. Mr Meles has good relations with these autonomous parts, hoping to divide and rule. He would like a corridor through Somaliland to export gas and likes using the port of Berbera. But Ethiopia itself is a brittle political construct. A local court last month sentenced two Swedish journalists to 11 years in jail for crossing without permission from Somalia into the ******. Mr Meles has had to subdue separatists from the ****** National Liberation Front. The Oromo people in southern Ethiopia occasionally display separatist tendencies. The Shabab is far from the only threat to stability in the Horn of Africa. from the print edition | Middle East and Africa Source: http://www.economist.com/node/21542457/print