I agree with pretty much everything you said, except for the last part about me trying to read into Shabaab hearts. I'm just looking at the facts here, and I don't think it's difficult to understand why I've lost all faith in Shabaab since May 2009. The opposition was repeatedly invited to talks from January to May. Most of these invitations were refused. And they weren't invited to negotiate with Ethiopia or AMISOM, but with their fellow Muslim brothers from the government. In late April, Sheekh Aweys was WELCOMED by Shariif back to Xamar (he'd been hiding in Asmara for quite a while). Two weeks later, he and the Shabaab/Xizbul-Islam alliance launch a bloody coup which would (un)fortunately fail. Ever since, the opposition groups have been engaged in a bloody war with their fellow Muslim brethren under the pretext of chasing out the "invaders" (Christian peace-keeping troops from the African Union). How many "kuffar" AMISOM soldiers have died in this war? You can probably count them on one hand. How many Somalis? That question is best left unanswered. So is this the group that you want ruling Somalia? Is this a group truly concerned about Islamic Law and the teachings of God? A group that instead of sharing power attempts to take it by force, at the cost of hundreds of fellow Somalis' and fellow Muslims' blood. I remember May 9th like it was yesterday. The day Somalia's greatest chance for peace in 20 years was squandered because of GREED and JELOUSY.

Hey, does anyone else think the guy in the first picture kinda looks like Mavado?

Just one thing: "PKM machine guns, a version of the Russian-made Kalashnikov" is some VERY sloppy reporting. A PKM is a general purpose machine gun, the heavy *** thing you see in the picture above, the one that has a bipod. PKM: http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/PK_machine_ gun A Kalashnikov (or AK-47) is the ultra-famous assault rifle. Kalashnikov: http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/AK_47

I'm not Somali, so I can't say what's best for Somalis. But I believe the state shouldn't enforce religion, because it's a big waste of energy. You either accept God or you don't. Some people will follow his rules strictly and be admired for it, others will follow his rules more loosely. But the thing is you can't terrorize people into having faith or being religious. The "faith" you get as a result is fake, it's not valid. If it doesn't come from your heart, if you just pretend so you don't get whipped/stoned to death, then it's not real faith. What I agree with is to educate people and teach them about religion, but not to shove it down their throats. Somalis abroad, and Muslims abroad in general, would have a hard time adapting to life in a Shabaab-controlled Somalia. Many of them drink and/or smoke weed, most do it openly, some hide. I know from personal experience. In Saudi Arabia, the princes drink like there's no tomorrow and they don't hide. The men of the people are a bit more discreet, but they still have sex with other people's wives or with hookers behind closed doors, or out in the desert. The point I'm trying to make here is that people will do what they want to and no law is going to change that. It's up to them to turn to God (or not). The state can't do anything about it, except make things difficult for everyone. Maybe Sharia law is a good idea for Somalia, but it has to be applied in a just manner. For instance, I'm not very educated when it comes to Islam, but I believe you need 3 witnesses to convict someone no? So people will do what they want behind closed doors, and be discreet. People won't get stoned to death just because someone *heard* they slept around. Another thing is it has to be adapted to the current situation in Somalia. I'm very sorry, but I think God expected us to be intelligent enough to realize that some things don't apply universally. For instance how can you possibly support amputation for thieves in a country where hundreds of thousands have NOTHING TO EAT? If this was a country at peace, prosperous and rich, and everyone was looked after, then yes you can amputate thieves' arms. But when people need to steal to survive, I don't think this is a just punishment. All in all Sharia law would do Somalia some good, if applied considerately, and if not used as a mere tool (a la Shabaab) to terrorize the people into submission. Remember, faith and good will has to ultimately come from within. Education is good, but stoning/whipping/amp utating people into submission just doesn't work. Unless you keep them very well fed. But that's another discussion altogether.

He sexually exploited her? Did you even read the article? She WILLINGLY slept with the Ugandan soldier.

Originally posted by Somali Pirate: i only hope to Allah that these filthy kuffar and their munafiq allies are expelled from somalia. lol I only hope that the "filthy kuffar" haul you back to Somalia so you can enjoy life under Shabaab.

^Yes it has. Didn't you study biology and genetics? The mechanisms of evolution and mutation are provable and have been proven in labs millions of times.

Al-Shabaab lost all ideological support from the people of Somalia in May 2009, when they executed that failed coup d'etat. That's when everyone realized how much the movement had changed since 2007 and how it had turned into an uncontrolled cancer. Whatever support Shabaab may have today is strictly clan/family-based, or money-based.

finally

I don't see why people keep treating evolution and intelligent design as opposing concepts. I believe the same thing Darwin believed: There is a God which created the system (evolution) and then left the rest up to "chance", that is to say he let his system (evolution) do its thing.

MOGADISHU — Somalia's foreign minister on Saturday said the embattled government was in direct contact with extremist insurgents to try to end a deadly spiral of violence. "The government maintains its plans for reconciliation and we have started talking to the rebel groups of Hezb al-Islam and the Shebab," Ali Ahmed Jama told reporters in Mogadishu. "Some of them have already joined the government and we hope our mission for broader reconciliation will be fruitful soon," the minister, who was appointed last month, added without elaborating. His comments came after a relative lull in the fighting that has devastated the capital since the Shebab, an Al-Qaeda-inspired group, and the more political Hezb al-Islam movement launched a military offensive on May 7. "We are working closely with community groups and the country will be under government control soon," Jama said. Both insurgent groups have vowed to continue their struggle against the internationally-back ed transitional federal government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed until the departure of African Union (AU) peacekeepers. Since he was elected president in January, the young Islamist cleric has failed to assert his authority on the troubled Horn of Africa nation and owes his survival chiefly to the AU contingent's protection. Neither insurgent group immediately reacted to the government's renewed offer for reconciliation but a Shebab commander said his group was continuing to beef up defences to prevent a counter-offensive. Shebab fighters on Saturday started digging trenches to block the streets in some neighbourhoods of the capital. "This is a military tactic, we are pre-empting any attacks from the enemies of Allah and have dug new trenches near the streets leading to their (the government's) positions," one commander told AFP on condition of anonymity. Hundreds of people, including many civilians, have died in four months of intense fighting in Mogadishu and tens of thousands have been forced to flee the coastal city. The droves of displaced people arriving in already congested camps have aggravated a dire humanitarian situation which the United Nations has described as the worst since civil conflict erupted in Somalia in 1991. Source: AFP, Sept 05, 2009

loooool eat your heart out lalalanders

lol

Dude what are you talking about? Fighting, squabbling, going back and forth on a forum, that kind of thing. Maybe I should have phrased it "no need to ARGUE about who ruled where 500 years ago".

This was how many centuries ago? Are we gonna start fighting over who ruled where 500 years ago? Nobody is contesting the contribution of Muslim Spain to the world of science and arts. But it's kinda ****** to feel sorry for some territory lost ages ago.

Originally posted by Mr. Somalia: Rather than using the same rhetoric and slogans of “Al-Qaacida, terrorism, extremism, Jihad” the TFG should reach out to those opposition groups in order to engage them in a political dialogue. Genuine reconciliation and dialogue is the only way out of the civil war. Huh? Reaching out is exactly what Shariif did from January to May 2009. He even let Aweys return to Somalia and Aweys then started a war against him. I'm sorry but the new Shabaab has been invited to talk on numerous occasions almost all of which they've refused.

Originally posted by Juje: Sherban are you deliberately trying to irk the new OPEC members? [/QB] LMFAO @ the new OPEC members

It's ok to be proud of Puntland and it's even ok to pretend it's all roses and that Puntlanders have it so much better than everyone else. General Duke has been doing it with class for ages. What's not ok is to constantly denigrate everyone who is NOT from Puntland and to attack everyone who disagrees with you. Miskiin is like 50 levels above you guys and is a fountain if patience for dealing with you reasonably, when what you deserve is to get smacked on the forehead.

If someone's lack of iman confuses you, then maybe your iman isn't strong enough. RAMADAAN KARIIM!

Here's hoping Somalia will simmer down as well, although there are many people who have a lot to gain from the constant war.

--The six-year war between forces loyal to Sudan's government and rebels in Darfur has effectively ended, the UN's military commander in the region says.-- General Martin Agwai, who is leaving his post this week, said the vicious fighting of earlier years had subsided as rebel groups split into factions. He says the region now suffers more from low-level disputes and banditry. The UN says 300,000 people have died in Darfur, but the Sudanese government puts the figure at 10,000. Almost three million people are said to have been displaced by the fighting. Oppression claims Gen Agwai, who led a joint UN and African Union peacekeeping force known as Unamid, said the region now suffered more from "security issues" than full-blown conflict. "Banditry, localised issues, people trying to resolve issues over water and land at a local level. But real war as such, I think we are over that," he said. Gen Agwai said only one rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), posed a real threat but even it no longer had the ability to conquer and hold territory. Sudan analyst Gill Lusk said his comments were "unhelpful" because they could lead people to believe that Darfur's problems had been solved. "There has been a large decline in fighting in Darfur, and that is undoubtedly a good thing for the people," she told the BBC. "But it is the government that turns the tap on and off - they can restart the violence whenever they want." An aid worker in Sudan also questioned Gen Agwai's statement. "If that is true, why do some parts of Darfur remain out of bounds, even for Unamid?" she asked. 'Strong foundation' Gen Agwai insists the real problem now is political. BBC Sudan correspondent James Copnall says that view is shared by many within Sudan. Although the intensity of the violence has reduced, there is still little prospect of a peace deal. Last week, US envoy to Sudan Scott Gration said the existence of 26 different rebel factions was a major obstacle to reaching a peace agreement with the government. He brokered talks which led to four groups agreeing to work together, calling the deal a "very strong foundation for rebel unification". The war broke out in the arid and impoverished region early in 2003 when rebel groups including Jem attacked government targets, accusing Khartoum of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs. Pro-government militiamen hit back with brutal force, which the US and some rights groups have labelled genocide. Khartoum denies supporting the militias, but the international court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant earlier this year for President Omar al-Bashir accusing him of war crimes. SOURCE: BBC

Cool! Maybe I can better my Somali reading some of these articles.

The difference is Yeey called the Ethiopians in. Shariif on the other hand didn't ONCE call for Ethiopian troops to come help him. I challenge anyone on this forum to bring me a quote or clip where Shariif asks for Ethiopian soldiers. If the Ethiopians are back it's all Shabaab's fault. Maybe the government would be policing the borders if it wasn't busy fighting the power-hungry opposition.

Shariif is still the PRESIDENT of the glorious republic of Somalia, and Shabaab is still the illegitimate child hungry for some breastmilk.

Congratulations to Hamas on showing who's boss in Gaza, and here's hoping Shariif will show everyone who's boss in Xamar.