Aaliyah and Paragon, well said. But, mark my words, Ethiopia will not remain long in Somalia. Its aim and that of the International community is to set up a government of national union that is not hostile to the sovereignty of our neighboring countries. The TFG recognizes the borders of Ethiopia because it sees the ripple effect of behaving otherwise. Ethiopia has the support of the most dominant and powerful countries in the world. Besides it has more population than us, more civilized and even more patriotic than the Migrating Nomads. Abdullah Yusuf is not a simple man and does not allow to be navigated to the whims of Zenawi, but he recognizes Ethiopia's borders since venturing in this dangerous endeavor will cost him disastrous consequences just as it happened to Mohamed Siyad Bare and Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke. .

Horn, my reaction is from positive side. From South , how close are they to Xamar?

edited.

[edited]

The author is trying to induce some sort of fear into the people, but it is not working.

Government troops move on Mogadishu Al Jazeera Ethiopian troops supporting the forces of Somalia's transitional government are advancing towards the capital, Mogadishu, as the United Nations Security Council calls an emergency meeting on the conflict. Fighters from the Council of Islamic Courts have retreated from the main frontline after a week of artillery and mortar fighting. The Ethiopian prime minister said that more than 1,000 people have been killed in the fighting. "We got reports of more than 3,000 wounded in a Mogadishu hospital. Those who died are well over 1,000," Meles Zenawi said, two days after Ethiopia admitted military intervention in the country. Both sides have reported killing hundreds of their opponents in the recent fighting, but the claims could not be independently confirmed. The Red Cross said that more than 800 casualties had been admitted to hospital since the fighting began and thousands of people had fled their homes. The Islamic Courts admitted that they had been forced to withdraw from many frontline positions, but have vowed to dig in for a long war with Ethiopia, which has denied intentions of taking the capital. "Liberating towns is not our agenda. Our troops have not entered any town," Meles said. "Our forces and that of the [transitional federal government] have broken the back of the international terrorist forces around Baidoa and they are in full retreat now," he added. Heading for Mogadishu Abdelkarin Farah, Somalia's ambassador to Ethiopia, told journalists in Addis Ababa that the transitional government's forces were 100km from the capital. Islamic troops withdrew more than 80km to the southeast from Daynuney, a town just south of Baidoa and advancing government and Ethiopian troops captured Bur Haqaba, one of the Courts' main bases, after it was abandoned early on Tuesday. "We woke up from our sleep this morning and the town was empty of troops, not a single Islamic fighter," Ibrahim Mohamed Aden, a resident of Bur Haqaba, said. Islamic Courts fighters were also reportedly retreating on two other fronts. On the southern front, government troops captured Dinsor and on the northern front, government and Ethiopian troops entered the town of Bulo Barde, where two weeks ago an Islamic cleric said anyone who did not pray five times a day would be executed. Government and Ethiopian troops were headed for Jowhar, 90km north of Mogadishu, after driving Islamic courts troops from Bandiradley, Adadow and Galinsor. "We have decided to change our tactics," Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the head of the Islamic Courts executive committee, told a news conference in Mogadishu. "We are ready to start long-lasting war with Ethiopia." Tactical retreat An Islamic courts commander told AFP on condition of anonymity: "There is a lot of pressure from every frontline and in order to overcome this war, Islamic fighters have emptied several posts including Burhakaba and Dinsoor. "This action is a military tactic, it is a kind of military retreat." Meanwhile, Abdirahman Dinari, a Somali transitional government spokesman, has called on foreign fighters, believed to be supporting the Council of Islamic Courts, to pull out and allow Somalis to seek ways of restoring peace in their nation, wracked by conflict since the 1991 ousting of Mohamed Siad Barre. On Tuesday, he said: "We ask all the foreign fighters to pull out of the country and allow Somalis to seek ways of reconciling and establishing peace. "We strongly appeal to the Islamic Courts to put down arms because the government has made a decision to give them complete amnesty." The offensive came after thousands of Ethiopian soldiers prevented the Islamic Courts from surrounding and capturing Baidoa, the only major city under government control.

I have been busy nowadays, but i am glad to be updated by you and Duke.

He spoke well esp the POW's safety and treatment.

Somali Friend, the media has had an effect on the people's thinking, esp Somalis' sound thinking, an attribute often associated with us based on our oral tradition. The BBC Somali service, which is nothing but a clannist media, hypnotized the population into believing the Islamic courts was the legitimate power after the people, but it wasn't. And news articles had it they the Islamist had used brute force to coerce any uprising against their imposed rule.

Thanks for the pics Duke. I heard the biggest bulk of Courts' army was based in Bur Hakaba , perhaps in attempt to unseat the government.

The Security Council has held now an emergency meeting on Somalia on ways to bring an end to the war and establish a popular legitimate government after the transitional government's mandate ends. I would have greatly hailed as success if the Security Council set a mandate on the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops right after the capital is secured. Another important item on this action plan is to let IGAD troops come in and boost the allied powers.

There is no doubt that the world is now paying attention to the anarchic situation of Somalia. With the help of U.S, the Transitional government should be able to engender positive outcome. Asalmu calykum

Thanks for the info, Somali-friend.

Could it be the American jet fighters that are strafing the Islamist’s strongholds? Djibouti constitutes strategic real estate asset for the America’s war on terrorism. Its Bab el Mandeb Strait is only few miles across the Red Sea to alleged Al Qaeda pockets in Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. By becoming an outlet to the Sea for Ethiopia’s export and import, Djibouti’s Camp Lemonier, an overseas outpost for the French troops and foreign legionaries, joined the many America’s overseas outposts at the turn of the twenty first century with the connivance of the government of Djibouti and France. The Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) was initially moved from U.S.S Mt. Whitney into Camp Lemonier. It houses thousands of U.S Marine Expeditionary Forces and Special forces to launch their missions throughout the Horn of Africa. It was even reported that the troops drifted into the O-gaden desert to help alleviate the condition in the area working as Army Civil Army teams. This is what Kaplan, in his book “Imperial Grunts” writes, “In the ****** desert region of Ethiopia, Army civil affairs team (CATs) were establishing relationships with local clan leaders who needed help against bandits and refugees seeping in from chaotic Somalia”. I think American Jet fighters are aiding both the government and its ally Ethiopia.

Olol, pls refrain from insults.

How can you appreciate when their main aim was to invade even peaceful places, not to mention sending out threats to the existance of the Somali government. Who attacked peaceful cities? Who invited Ethiopia into this war? Who threatened to invade Baidabo and Puntland? Who , at this time of Somalia where our people are scattered and weary of war, galvanized the population for unnecessary war just because they see themselves as superior to all other authorities in the region?

I need to add something important to this thread. Garaad Caanod has provided an important info corroborating the secessionists' position when it comes to Somali nationalism. History answers who were the fathers of Somali nationalism, so there is no need to brand or label who is lackey in this war under the false pretext of a new Somali nationalism. The government is not debilitated by lack of vision of its national policies but wants to redirect and bring its energy and resources into full fruition. Besides, it is inclusive of all Somali clans and wishes to end clan violence and then reintegrate all the territories carved up into domains of fiefdoms by strong men. But this war transcends the views of either black or white. Majority of the fighters around the Bay and Bakool battlefronts belong to the clans of Puntland and Somali region of Ethiopia, fighting for the cause of the courts’ version of Islam. Sadly they were gullible enough to believe the interest of a few profiteers who run the Islamic courts. The same case with the Transitional federal government in terms of composition. Its troops is recruited from every clan. Hence, the government is powerful enough to expand and continue defending its stronghold areas. It has over 14,000 well trained troops.

He presents his claim cogently and with enough support.

Somalia Islamists Should Be Stopped By Bashir Goth December 23,2006 Somalia for Somalis! Let them run their country as they please. Easy words to say but difficult to accept when it means beheading people for not praying five times a day, chopping hands of those who steal to stay alive in a country where mere survival is a lifelong ambition; difficult to accept when women are shrouded and denied to breathe fresh air or go about their daily business to feed their children. Difficult to accept when the country's musical heritage is expunged as Satan's work, the cinema is banned and the watching of world sports is forbidden, thus depriving the youth of the only source of cultural interaction they have with the outside world. Today we live in a global world where ideas travel faster than lightening and people and weapons cross borders with utmost ease; where human rights are universal; and where political upheavals in one country reverberate in far off countries. No country stands alone. This is why the world cannot and should not ignore what the Islamist movement in Somalia does and says. Remember what happened when the world ignored Afghanistan under Taliban. When the world stood aside and watched as they destroyed the historical relics of the Buddha; when they trampled on human rights and herded women into dark rooms. We all have seen the enormous cost of such negligence. Sept. 11 was only the start. This is why the Somali Islamists' calling for Jihad against Ethiopia and the United States cannot be ignored. Ethiopia is the only country that has correctly seen the danger coming from the rise of Islamism in Somalia. Some may explain Ethiopia's position as muscle flexing aimed at controlling its small neighbor's ports, the only strategic resources that Somalia owns; but Ethiopia's fear of the Islamist movement in Somalia has a historical precedent. The call for Jihad against Christendom, rekindles Ethiopia's old memories of the 16th century when Imam Ahmed Gran launched a jihad against Christian Ethiopia with the help of the Ottoman Empire. The Imam's army marched through Ethiopia, looting and destroying churches including the Axumite Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion where Ethiopian emperors had been coronated for centuries; Axum, that old kingdom that ruled as far as Yemen and parts of today's Saudi Arabia. In another attempt to revive the legacy of the Imam, Somalia's former dictator Mohammed Siyad Barre also invaded Ethiopia in 1977. Economically drained by long droughts and civil war, the Ethiopian army crumbled before the Soviet trained Somali military while the whole Somali people sang Ololiyaay (burn, burn). It was only the Soviet's switching of sides when a socialist military junta rose to power in Addis Ababa that saved Ethiopia from a complete collapse. It is against this background that the Ethiopians quake when they hear the call for Jihad. The radicals of the Islamic Courts have also made no secret of their agenda to export their brand of Islam to Ethiopia; reviving an old dream of the Somalis and neighboring Arab countries to remove what they see as a Christian bastion from the Muslim region while forgetting that Islam owes its existence to Ethiopia. It was Ethiopia where the first Muslim exiles took refuge and found home and justice. The walled town of Harar, with its 99 mosques, thrived for generations under the Ethiopian rule as the most important seat of Islamic learning in the Horn of Africa. Some may dismiss the Somali Islamists' rhetoric of exporting their message to Africa and beyond as a political expediency or even a fantasy. But the world has seen the havoc and destruction that the fantasy of one man can cause. Hitler gave us WWII and the holocaust and Osama bin Laden has ignited a world war of unconventional nature. This is why the world should not take lightly the threats coming from another megalomaniac such as Colonel Hassan Dahir Aweys and his gun trotting jihadist brigades. The question of whether Ethiopia should intervene is irrelevant. No sovereign country in the world would allow a hostile and ideologically driven regime to threaten its existence. Crushing the Islamist militia while it is still in a nebulous stage will be less costly for the Somali people, for Ethiopia, and indeed for the whole world than to let the Islamists march into Ethiopia and wreck havoc to a nation of 70 million and more than 80 ethnic groups. Letting Ethiopia crumble will not only create another Yugoslavia in the heart of Africa but will also deal a devastating blow to the economies of Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia. No doubt an Ethiopian invasion would trigger a wave of patriotism among the poor Somali masses whose emotions are inflamed by the Islamists' call for martyrdom, but to deny the Islamists to run over the Transitional Federal Government, TFG, will be the only way to prevent the jihadist fervor spilling to neighboring countries. The world also needs to strengthen the defenses of the democratically robust breakaway republic of Somaliland and extend generous economic support to it. The UN approved African Peacekeeping force should also be rapidly deployed to the peaceful and autonomous state of Puntland whose resistance to the Islamists will not last long without an external help. The international community should impose travel and economic sanctions on the UIC until they accept to stop their military onslaught, allow the deployment of AU forces and agree to start serious negotiations with the government under the AU and UN auspices. The UN should also take action against countries supporting the Islamists with arms and cash. It will be unforgivable to allow a second Taliban to thrive in such a strategic but isolated corner of the world and let it unleash another wave of Al Qaeda martyrs to further saturate the already poisoned atmosphere between Islam and the West. It will also be a dereliction of duty on the part of the international community to watch the Somali people deprived of their basic human rights and do nothing. Yes, by saying this I cannot help but recall the horrendous pictures of the Somalis dragging the dead bodies of the American soldiers in the streets of Mogadishu. A crime that one of the Islamist leaders, Colonel Mohammed Yusuf Indha Adde, had the audacity to brag about claiming to be one of the people who did this heinous action. He admitted this publicly while speaking to hundreds of people at the Mogadishu Sports Stadium. But it is also worth remembering that sound-thinking Somalis watched with admiration as the United States Air Force delivered tons of relief supplies to more than 100,000 Somali refugees in camps cut-off by flooding in north-eastern Kenya, thus making the Islamists' call for jihad ring hollow. Bashir Goth E-Mail:bsogoth@yahoo.com

Why use unsuspecting teenagers and school kids as bullet broofs against a much bigger army with all its logistical support and abundant supplies of munitions and fuel. It is totally unnecessary war for the Islamist and their main leaders, a war they will regret in the future for its consequences. As United Nations officials have confirmed, the Islamist suffered now a heavy casualty as bodies have piled up at areas near Baidabo but will such a great liability worth the cause?. "Unnecessary Jihaad is not going to defeat the infidels." We have to use our brain and refrain from further conflicts. As Baashi said, we are divided and weak as of now. Stop trying to unseat the transitional government by just waiting three years of its term, a bid advice.

He is a man of principle and strong faith. He does not flip flop or run like chickens do without head but specifically without purpose and an insight to look into the future and what it holds to us Somalis. I hate to think of some people in this forum and they very much resemble those who became bullet proof for the Islamist in Diinsoor that were terribly massacred at the hands of the government. Guess what, they were mainly from Puntland and Somali region in Ethiopia. I feel sorry for them for dying for a dishonest entity that hides itself under the banner of Islam.

I was reading at a reliable news like CNN reporting that the Islamist were completely mowed down with many prisoners at the government's hands. AlJazeera and other prestigious news outlets have shown the faces of these prisoners.

Duke, thanks for the info but I just need to dispel the notion that the TFG will cease to exist if Baidabo is captured, God forbid. Asalamu Caleykum.

Asalamu Calaykum, The possible Capture of Baidabo will not be the legal dissolution of the TFG There is an illusionary political trend circulating around the press and the TFG’s determined adversary that the transitional government will cease to exist right after Baidabo falls into the Islamist’s hands. In case the UIC secures by force, the TFG will still function in another areas as it did in Jowhar prior to coming to Baidabo. So since Baidabo was preceded as a temporary base by Jowhar and the governmentwas once exiled in Nairobi due to the insecurity of the Somalia's fratricidal warfare, It still has a UN mandate for five years term and the mandate will continue till the term is over. The TNG of AbdiQasim has never had a nationwide support and its control over Mogadisho was limited to few miles, but it outlived its imprisonment and hold on to the next reconciliation conference in Mbagath. I propose the TFG to move to Puntland where it can have a lasting peace to rebuild its national institutions. It is a fact that the Islamist would not give a chance for the TFG to grow out of its fragile situation while threatening countries that are trying to protect the government from harm.

ROOBDOON FORUM Since 1991, Somali neighbours (particularly, Ethiopia and Kenya) have launched a series of political maneuvers to realize their determination of convincing the general Somali populace to swallow the unassailable Somali Weyn identity and unification. Taking advantage of the current Somali debacle, our neighbours have regularly intimidated Somali clan-elders, faction leaders/warlords, and regional leaders to first and foremost abandon any attempts that unify the Somalis and thus regenerate challenges against the existence artificial boundaries inherited from the European colonial administrations in the region. Thus, whenever a Somali peace reconciliation conference is held in Ethiopia or Kenya, the host takes a more drastic, but obvious covert actions to indicate to the Somalis that its toleration of any tendencies of Somali Weyn is wearing thin. However, failure of such political maneuvers to generate the desired intimidating effect will surely force the neighbouring countries to resort to either more reckless military attacks on Somalia or galvanize the West to “contain” Somalia for them. To measure Kenya and Ethiopia’s success or failure in resolving the territorial disputes, one has to look back the 1960s conflicts in the region. The 1960s Scenario At the inception of the Somali Republic in July 1st 1960, Somali leaders openly put forth their ambitions to rehabilitate the sovereignty of all Somalis in the Horn of Africa, including the ****** region of Ethiopia and the Northern Frontier District/Province of Kenya. This political line has immediately strained the relations between the new born Somali Republic and Ethiopia. For some time, the two sides accused each other for territorial violation and armed aggression on its borders. These border clashes led Somalia to seek military aid from the former U.S.S.R. On an interview conducted in English at his office in November 30, 1963, the Prime Minister of Somalia, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, declared that “military aid promised by the Soviet Union is being accepted only because Somalia must defend itself from the Ethiopian attacks and pillaging of the Somali peoples.” Premier Shermarke also explained Somalia’s critical dilemma from an economic stand point in which he underlined that “ Somalia’s treasury could not much longer cope with the problem of feeding and sheltering thousands of Somali refugees”, escaping from the mayhem caused by the Ethiopian soldiers in the ****** region [2]. Extensive Political and media provocations between the two sides have instigated a sudden but sporadic bloody border clashes, as early as January of 1964. The Somali Foreign Minister, Abdullahi Isse Mohamud had submitted an official protest letter to the Ethiopian Ambassador in Mogadishu, Ahadu Sabura. By March of that year, the conflict widened into a full-scale war, both arms confronting at border between Somalia and Ethiopia. In these border clashes, Ethiopian military planes destroyed numerous police posts and civilian houses inside Somalia. Ethiopian military campaigns caused indiscriminate killings of civilians and wounding many others. Ethiopian border soldiers raided livestock belonging to Somali nomads and opened fire when the nomads resisted. Moreover, Ethiopia and Kenya agreed to form a mutual defense pact that they referred as “a joint measures of dealing with the Somali disturbances” – a move which Somalis considered “as contrary to the spirit of the OAU” [3]. The few reconciliation efforts, in regional level, that have been arranged also failed to produce any peace settlements. At the Organization for African Union (OAU) Summit Conference in Cairo (July 23, 1964), African leaders have attempted to reach a ‘Resolution’ that satisfies on both sides; however, it failed to do so. Somali News in Mogadishu published that “Somalia will not be bound by the OAU ruling [which states] that its member-States’ present frontier are to be maintained”, in which the Somali National Assembly had passed a motion against OAU ruling, in October of 1964. That is, the Somali government officially rejected the outcome of the Cairo Conference, regarding on frontier issues. In a net assessment of the outcome of the Somali-Ethiopian border skirmishes is that Super Power interventions in the region have officially began. Somali sought the military and technical aid of the Soviets; while the Ethiopian regime involved actively in convincing, as it seems, the American Administration to tackle Somali Weyn cause. In September 1974, a conference held in Washington, sponsored by the Center for the National Security Studies was presented proceedings and papers on the subject of “The CIA and Covert Action”. Roger Morris and Richard Mauzy presented a comprehensive piece of research which is, as they state, based on both written sources and many oral conversations that they had with US decision-makers and foreign policy officials who supplied them many of their research discourse [4]. The title of their research paper is: Following the Scenario: Reflection on Five Case Histories in the Mode and Aftermath of CIA Intervention. Morris and Mauzy unveil that the U. S. Central Intelligence Agency had been clandestinely funneling mainly a financial support to the political actors in Somalia since mid 1960s, in an effort to ward off Somali Weyn tendencies inside top brass leadership. In 1967 election campaigns, for example, the CIA provided thousands of dollars to assist in the election of the Prime late Prime Minister Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal and some of his fellow Somali Youth League (SYL) members. Here is a selection from Morris and Mauzy’s case history of CIA ‘campaign of financing’ in the 1967 Somali elections: An impoverished land of less than three million along the northeastern coast of Africa where the Indian Ocean meets the Gulf of Aden, Somalia was of concern to Washington for a number of reasons. Irredentist claims threatened border warfare with both Kenya and Ethiopia, the latter a long-time U.S. client state under Haile Selassie and the site of a major intelligence base. Somalia was also an early recipient of Soviet aid in Africa, and its coastline held potentially strategic ports for any future rivalry in the Persian Gulf or Indian Ocean, an interest shared by France and Britain. At that, however, the country was apparently not an urgent concern in U.S. diplomacy. When Somalia predictably rejected a 1963 American offer of "defensive" arms, conditioned on the exclusion of all other supplies, the State Department leaked its "displeasure" but seemingly did no more. Over the next four years, 1963-1967, official U.S.-Somali relations were distant and U.S. aid next to nothing while Somali leaders visited the Soviet bloc, Somali newspapers published anti-American forgeries planted by Soviet intelligence, and the country fought a brief but bloody border war with Ethiopia. Then suddenly, early in 1967, history took a turn for the better. President Abd-i-Rashid Shermarke was elected for a six-year term as President in June and in July appointed as Premier Muhammad Egal, American-educated and avowedly pro-Western. By fall, U.S. aid was resumed in amounts twice the previous total since independence, and Somalia had concluded a border agreement with Ethiopia [see the footnote to read the 1967-68 Somali Border Agreements with Ethiopia and Kenya] [5]. In 1968 Egal visited the United States, following a visit to Somalia by Vice President Humphrey, and was hailed by President Johnson as "enormously constructive in a troubled area of Africa." What the two leaders did not discuss, say official sources, was how "constructive" the CIA had been for Mr. Egal, whose rise, to power was reportedly facilitated by thousands of dollars in covert support to Egal and other pro-Western elements in the ruling Somali Youth League party prior to the 1967 Presidential election. In retrospect, this clandestine bankrolling in Somalia seems very modest by CIA standards, only a tiny fraction of what the Agency has spent in a month in Southeast Asia or even what it spent in the Congo in the early sixties. And its immediate benefits-in rising U.S. influence, in the detente with a grateful Ethiopia-no doubt seemed real enough at the time. In any event, several sources say the subsidies were discontinued in 1968. But the withdrawal was to be perhaps too late. On October 15, 1969, while Egal was again visiting the United States, President Shermarke was assassinated. A week later the Army seized power, dissolving the National Assembly and Constitution and arresting the entire Cabinet, including Egal. Among the charges against Egal would be corruption of the electoral process and complicity with foreign intelligence services. Ironically, the bizarre CIA political contributions before 1967 may have been a decisive factor in the eventual fall of the Agency's candidate [6]. Reflecting the unwise decisions made by the CIA about its covert political interventions and subsidies, Premier Egal’s government lasted less than three years. In October 21st 1969, a military led coup d'état replaced the civilian government, detaining and charging (as mentioned above) the civilian Prime Minister of ‘complicity with foreign intelligence’. The military men have actually spoiled the CIA agenda – whether this was also instance of complicity of another foreign factor/s or genuine local revolutionary respond that vehemently opposed to the unfolding scenarios of border agreements, is debatable. However, one thing was sure: the military takeover was a bloodless transition that succeeded to frustrate the pro-American elements in the country and ended the American subsidiary civilian government. Italian writer, Luigi Pestalozza, who observed and recorded the early unfolding events of the Somali military Revolution states that “No tears were shed for the men who thus left the stage forever, disappearing from the [political] history of Somalia [7].” The military regime soon declared to the commitments of “Greater Somali” doctrine, stressing that colonialism comes in all shades: White and Black – i.e. there are both White (European) and Black (referring to Ethiopians) colonizers. Despite the ousted government’s ‘marathon’ Border Agreements, the revolutionary regime simply regarded all border treaties as null and void; and thus an atmosphere of “no war and no peace” was created in the region. The Somali military leadership also declared without hesitation that they will employ the use of force, as an ultimate answer, to unite Somalis in the region and resolve the territorial dispute between Ethiopia and Somalia. The leader of the Somali Revolution, Mohamad Siyad Barre, expressed his dissatisfaction with the OAU and the UN efforts to solve the prolonged Somali dilemma; and subsequently, he prepared the Somali nation to go to war. Therefore, the lessons to be learned from the 1960s’ foreign intervention in the politics of the Somali State have been disastrous. So far, all the previous means utilized by foreign forces/agencies to intervene in Somali politics – including misinformation, manipulation, and conspiracy against the Somali nation-State – produced bad harvests or may I say remained in the memories of few Somali individuals. Premier Ghedi’s Remarks: Flippant or Optimistic Outreach Unless we overturn Premier Ghedi’s remarks (on Somali Weyn issue) and read it in the context of ‘optimistic outreach’, mainly catered to the ‘spirit’ of IGAD propositions and efforts of regional stability and cooperation, the 1960s futile strategies of “I jiid aan ku jiidee” scenario inside the Somali parliament seems unfolding again. For example, in mid 1964, an uproar and misunderstanding created a heated debate in the parliament, splitting the Somali National Assembly when the then Prime Minister, Abdirizak Haji Hussein put forth a sensitive program on the table, regarding the issue of Somali Weyn. Regrettably, the program was named: “The Destiny of the Somalis Living in Ethiopian Territory and NFD.” The importance and the sensitivity of the Somali Weyn feelings, inside the walls of the Somali Parliament, have been recorded expressively by Jeanne Contini in this manner: All opposition speakers chose to interpret the reference to “in Ethiopian territory, etc.” as government acknowledgment of Ethiopian and Kenyan Sovereignty over Somali in-habited areas, thus concluding that the government had no intention of liberating the territories under foreign rule. The Prime Minister explained that there had been a misprint in the first published version of the program, and that the reference was later corrected to read “The Destiny of Somali Territories under Ethiopian and Kenyan Domination.” In countering the attack, he also called the attention to the fact that a Minister (without portfolio) for Somali Affairs had been included in the Cabinet for the first time, and that his function was expressly to deal with the problems of “Greater Somalia.” (One deputy thereupon criticized the title of the new Minister as having been inspired by foreigners, because it should have been “Minister for the Somali Affairs under Foreign Rule”) [8]. Bearing in mind the history of Somali Weyn controversy, conventional wisdom also informs us that due to the current tragic situation the TFG would not dare now to risk losing the support of Ethiopia and Kenya for the sake of Somali Weyn Principle. In addition, the clan-infested Somalis of today might also be reluctant to deal now any border disputes with their neighbours. Although we could not be certain about how Ethiopia and Kenya may respond to the re-emergence of Somali Weyn tendencies in Somalia, a military option will be their least option. Our neighbours are aware of the fact that Somali clannism presented them a valuable gift – i.e. an opportunity for covert operation. An open conflict between Clan-loyalty and State-loyalty is now fighting on the common grounds of Somali once again. It is therefore very difficult to tell a Somali from a Kenyan or Ethiopian; in fact, all sides are represented by Somali clans. A token subsidy can provide opportunities for recruiting clan-oriented Somalis as foreign agents. Publicly, Prime Minister Ghedi should not however risk appearing to be too soft on “One Somalia” Principle because, as he is aware of it, recruiting Somali nomads by foreigners will not last that long. After all, nomad-loyalty is like a moving cloud which often betrays, and often shows us the nakedness of the true blue-sky. Thus, he should rather be remembered for achieving a “truce’ and understanding that concerns on our neighbours, without creating a political blunder. Yet, he has also to make sense to attract Somalis in order to look credible and trustworthy. In doing so, the Prime Minister freezes his local enemies without a battle; he alienates them without insulting them and crushes their Isbaaro fiefdoms without military operations. To succeed in this strategy, the Premier has to convince all sides of the equation that he is prepared to act as a goodwill politician who is willing to avoid flippant remarks, irrespective of the consequences. In this way, the Prime Minister can reason his intent to tone down his declamatory speeches on the issue of Somali Weyn, unlike the forthright declamation speeches delivered by his predecessors. Finally, he should remind the Somali populace to espouse and commit their efforts to rebuild their shattered Somali Republic; and only then, when the Republic earns the rightful international recognition for the status of “recuperated” Somalia, can the issue of border talks resume on an equal footing. A. S. Faamo Roobdoon Forum Toronto, Canada roobdoon2000@yahoo.ca ______________________ References: [1] A telephone- interview with the BBC World Service, Somali Section, on November 11, 2005. [2] An interview conducted at the Premier’s Office in November 30th 1963. Sources from The New York Times and Hindustan Times, New Delhi. [3] Africa Confidential, No. 1, (January 10, 1964), p. 7. [4] Rogers Morris and Richard Mauzy, “Following the Scenarios: Reflections on Five Case Histories in the Mode and Aftermath of CIA Intervention”, in The CIA File (New York: Grossman Publishers, 1976), edited by Robert L. Borosage and John Marks, p. 28. [5] On the first week of September, 1968, the Ethiopian Herald covered Premier Egal’s four-day official visit to Addis Ababa. Mr. Egal signed a joint communiqué with Ethiopia that aimed to create a good neighbourly relation between the two countries. Immediately after he signed the communiqué with his counterpart, Mr. Akilu Habtewold, Ethiopian Herald published Egal’s comments about the talks between the two sides, stating that he has said, “It is going to be the beginning of a new era in the Ethiopian-Somali relation.” Also, Roobdoon Forum has posted the Somali Border Agreements on the following websites: http://www.biyokulule.com/somali%20border.htm http://www.dhahar.com/articles/roobdoon101105.html http://www.laasqoray.net/article.php?articleid=565 http://www.radiosanaag.com/roob.htm [6] Rogers Morris and Richard Mauzy, “Following the Scenarios: Reflections on Five Case Histories in the Mode and Aftermath of CIA Intervention”, in The CIA File (New York: Grossman Publishers, 1976), edited by Robert L. Borosage and John Marks, p. 3-38. [7] Luigi Pestalozza, The Somalian Revolution, translated from Italian by Peter Glendening (Paris: Editions Afrique Asie Amerique Latine, 1974), p. 40. [8] Jeanne Contini, “The Somali Republic: Politics with a Difference,” Africa Report, Vol. 9. No. 10 (November, 1964), p. 6.