By Deirdre Griswold Published Jan 7, 2007 8:57 PM Almost every description of Somalia to appear in the corporate U.S. media over the last 15 years or so has included the words “anarchy,” “lawlessness” and “failed state.” What they don’t say is that there has been no functioning national state in this period because the Somali people have refused to accept puppet regimes forced on them by the United States. Somalia is an arid, largely pastoral country whose grasslands stretch along the east coast of Africa in the area known as the Horn. Imperialist treachery, subversion and military intervention have marked its history and left it in desperate shape. When the European capitalist powers carved up Africa in the 19th century, the Somali-speaking people who led a nomadic life along the Horn of Africa were divided up. Britain took the largest area and called it British Somaliland. Italy grabbed a piece, too, calling it Italian Somaliland. After World War II, these two imperialist powers withdrew their troops and the two territories united as Somalia in 1960. Like all former colonies, however, it remained dominated by Western capital. Decolonization came with high hopes and promises. Somalia, like other former colonies, looked to the socialist bloc headed by the Soviet Union for development assistance, as well as to Western-based aid organizations. Mohamed Siad Barre, who became president after a military coup in 1969, called himself a socialist and for a number of years the Somali state played the major role in trying to develop the infrastructure and improve farming and livestock production. But a severe drought in the early 1970s created a crisis for this very poor country. While hundreds of thousands were dying of famine in nearby Ethiopia, at that time under the rule of Emperor Haile Selassie, the USSR helped Somalia save lives by airlifting 90,000 people from the drought-stricken areas of the north to the south. But the economy continued to be in deep trouble. U.S. pitted Somalia against Ethiopian Revolution By 1974, a revolution in Ethiopia had Washington very worried. The Pentagon had a very important air base there called Kagnew from which it launched spy planes to monitor the whole Middle East. It had kept the semi-feudal Selassie regime in power with large amounts of military equipment and training. But the famine exacerbated the class struggle inside Ethiopia. Peasants began taking over land and expelling the landlords; city workers and students carried out strikes and demonstrations against the monarchy. By 1974 this mass uprising had reached into the military. A council, called the Derg, was formed of mostly lower-ranking officers. It overthrew Selassie, abolished the autocratic Crown Council that had run the country and began to nationalize all land, banks and the small industrial sector. As the Derg moved to the left, top generals who had come from the aristocracy were removed; some were killed in actual gun battles that erupted in the large meetings of the council. Mengistu Haile Mariam, who came not from the aristocracy but from a national minority that had once been their slaves, became head of the Derg. The U.S. government, both openly and covertly, made overturning the Ethiopian Revolution a priority in the region. Its strategy was to break up Ethiopia by encouraging internal secessionist movements and the territorial claims of its neighbors. The U.S. made overtures to the Siad Barre regime in Somalia, whose resources had been exhausted by the drought. The editor of Newsweek, Arnaud de Borchgrave, revealed in the Sept. 26, 1977, issue of that magazine that the Somali president had received a secret message from President Jimmy Carter encouraging him to seize Ethiopian territory. The U.S. soon arranged $500 million in aid to Somalia from Saudi Arabia—a sum equal at that time to two years of Somalia’s gross national product. Arms and money began pouring into Somalia, which soon attacked Ethiopia in the ******, a province where most of the people were Somali-speaking. By 1978, revolutionary Ethiopia had been able to defeat the invaders with Cuba’s help but still faced another war in Eritrea and a landlord army backed by a consortium of reactionary regimes. These wars drained the economies of both Ethiopia and Somalia. The full-court press against the Ethiopian Revolution, while it did not restore the monarchy, did lead to the overthrow of Mengistu in 1991, at the same time that the USSR was being broken up. After that, the U.S. had little interest in aiding Somalia. Siad Barre was by this time discredited at home and was overthrown that same year by Mohammed Farah Aidid, who refused to take his orders from Washington. The U.S. posture toward Somalia became increasingly hostile. Toward the end of his administration, President George H.W. Bush announced he was sending U.S. troops to Somalia, but that he envisioned “no greater role for American troops than simply distributing aid.” (New York Times, Dec. 2, 1992) But once the troops were there, their mission became clear. These highly trained soldiers, some the notorious U.S. Rangers and elite Delta Force commandos, did not come to deliver loaves of bread on the ends of their bayonets. They were there to remove Aidid and the forces around him and replace them with U.S. puppets. The U.S. troops began coming under fire. ‘Black Hawk down!’ Finally, on Oct. 3, 1993, heavily armed U.S. Black Hawk helicopters launched a major assault on downtown Mogadishu, the capital, firing from the air on a crowded marketplace. But resistance was fierce and a helicopter was shot down, leading to the deaths of 18 U.S. soldiers at the hands of an outraged population. The intense anger of the Somali crowds showed that controlling the country militarily would be impossible. Bill Clinton, the new president, pulled U.S. troops out of Somalia in 1994. What followed were years of internal warfare among rival clan leaders, some of them supported covertly by the U.S. This dragged the country down further and alienated the population from any officials who had the blessings of the West. Finally an alliance of Islamic forces emerged with growing popular support and began organizing public services in more and more territory as they pushed back the militias of the clan leaders. It was revealed last June by several news sources, including Reuters, Newsweek and the New York Times, that the CIA had been backing the clan leaders with money and arms, giving “counterterrorism” as its excuse for this new intervention. But as they lost ground, a struggle opened up within the U.S. foreign policy establishment and its secret police agencies, leading to admissions in the media about U.S. support for the “warlords.” On June 8, 2006, when it had become clear that the Islamic forces were occupying a large part of the capital, Mogadishu, the Times reported that “the CIA effort, run from the agency’s station in Nairobi, Kenya, had channeled hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past year to secular warlords inside Somalia.” All this was in violation of a U.N.-declared international arms embargo on Somalia. John Prendergast, who had worked in the State Department and the National Security Council during the Clinton administration, was one of those who criticized the failed U.S. strategy after the fact, saying, “This has blown up in our face, frankly.” The Islamic alliance made progress this past summer and fall. When its fighters took Mogadishu and other cities, they were welcomed by huge crowds. But Washington didn’t give up trying to control Somalia. It just changed its strategy. It began giving money, arms and advisers to the Ethiopian government, now headed by a U.S. ally, to attack the Islamic forces in Somalia. A major invasion began towards the end of December. Ethiopian planes bombed Mogadishu as its troops swept down through the country. They shelled Kismayo, the Islamists’ last holdout, with heavy artillery. Within weeks, Ethiopian troops had taken Mogadishu and the Islamic forces had withdrawn in order to regroup. The imperialist news media have shed no tears over this ruthless invasion by Washington’s Ethiopian allies. This is in stark contrast to their constant drumbeat of propaganda against Ethiopia during the years when it had a revolutionary government. U.S. imperialism has once again intervened in the Horn of Africa, bringing suffering and chaos for the masses of people. Washington has switched sides several times, but always with the same objective: to keep this strategic area under its domination and cut down any national movement with popular support. This is the real reason why Somalia has not been able to build a stable government. Workers World

By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — The United States has quietly poured weapons and military advisers into Ethiopia, whose recent invasion of Somalia opened a new front in the Bush administration's war on terrorism. A Christian-led nation in sub-Saharan Africa, surrounded almost entirely by Muslim states, Ethiopia has received nearly $20 million in U.S. military aid since late 2002. That's more than any country in the region except Djibouti. Last month, thousands of Ethiopian troops invaded neighboring Somalia and helped overturn a fundamentalist Islamic government that the Bush administration said was supported by al-Qaeda. The U.S. and Ethiopian militaries have "a close working relationship," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said. The ties include intelligence sharing, arms aid and training that gives the Ethiopians "the capacity to defend their borders and intercept terrorists and weapons of mass destruction," he said. Advisers from the Guam national guard have been training Ethiopians in basic infantry skills at two camps in Ethiopia, said Maj. Kelley Thibodeau, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces in Djibouti. There are about 100 U.S. military personnel currently working in Ethiopia, Carpenter said. Somalia has been the region's primary concern for the U.S. government since the early 1990s. U.S. troops, sent to Somalia as part of a peacekeeping and humanitarian mission, withdrew in 1994 after a failed attempt to capture a clan leader led to the deaths of 18 U.S. soldiers in 1993. The incident was later dramatized in the book and movie Black Hawk Down. The country has had no central government since 1991. The capital, Mogadishu, has been controlled by a series of warlords. A fundamentalist movement called the Islamic Courts consolidated power by defeating the warlords six months ago. Ethiopia responded in December, invading to oust the Islamic Courts and prop up a government backed by the United Nations and Western countries. At least 8,000 Ethiopian troops remain in Somalia, according to United Nations observers. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said he would like to be able to withdraw his troops in a few weeks. But there has been little progress in creating an African peacekeeping force to replace the Ethiopians. Meanwhile, the ousted Islamic movement has begun attacking the Ethiopian troops. And, in an audiotape aired Friday on a website used frequently by Islamic militants, al-Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri urged Somalis to defeat "the crusader Ethiopian invasion forces." Ethiopia's population is split almost equally between Muslims and Christians, but there are concerns that the Ethiopian intervention "will be framed as another Christian vs. Muslim war," said retired Marine general Joseph Hoar, who headed the U.S. Central Command from 1991-94. The Bush administration understands that Ethiopia's intervention "is against international terrorism, not against Islam," said Samuel Assefa, Ethiopia's ambassador to the United States. The close U.S. embrace of Ethiopia is risky, in the view of several Africa experts and human rights advocates. Even though Ethiopia had good reasons of its own for intervening to blunt a Somali threat to its security, it is perceived as acting on behalf of the United States, said William Zartman, an Africa expert at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. The intervention is controversial in Ethiopia, where the Meles government has become increasingly repressive, said Chris Albin-Lackey, an African researcher at Human Rights Watch. The Meles government has limited the power of the opposition in parliament and arrested thousands. A government inquiry concluded that security forces fatally shot, beat or strangled 193 people who protested election fraud in 2005. At least 96 prisoners, including several opposition leaders, journalists and the former mayor of Addis Ababa, face charges of treason, plotting to commit genocide and inciting violence, Albin-Lackey said. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., plans to re-introduce legislation in Congress that would tie U.S. aid to Ethiopia to an improved record on human rights, but the prospects of passage are uncertain. "We have to be careful that that old maxim — the enemy of my enemy is my friend — does not make us unwitting enablers of abuse," Smith said. USA Today

K22, perhaps one day soon you'll realize, as I did, that neither the statehood of Buntland nor the recognition of Somaliland is of any immediate urgency during a foreign occupation.

Reuters January 07, 2007 Guled Mohamed Reuters MOGADISHU – Gunmen attacked Ethiopian troops in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Sunday, residents said, as Somali and U.S. officials vowed to work together to stabilise the chaotic state. In the second day of violence in Mogadishu directed at Ethiopian troops, Somali gunmen opened fire on Ethiopian forces backing the interim government. "Fierce fighting went on for 15 minutes. I could hear sounds of heavy machine guns rattling," a resident, who lives nearby and declined to be named, said, adding that the fighting was so fierce it lit up the whole area. A witness said a young girl was killed in the shootout at the site where just days ago a hand grenade was thrown at Ethiopian soldiers. "The insurgents came with two vehicles and opened fire at government forces holding defences outside a compound where the Ethiopian soldiers are staying," a government source said. "The Ethiopians were inside. Fighting ensued. Heavy fire was exchanged, one anti-tank rocket was launched by the insurgents." A taxi driver in the area said three trucks carrying Ethiopian soldiers were attacked first: "It was a very heavy exchange. I was forced to lie down to avoid being hit," he said. He added that the gunmen fled. The violence came after Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and Washington's top diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, met in Nairobi. Frazer has been shuttling around the region as Western and African diplomats discuss an African peacekeeping force for Somalia after two weeks of war that saw Ethiopian and government troops force out Islamists who had captured much of the south. Frazer has said Washington was donating $16 million (U.S.) to help fund the proposed force and she has called for dialogue between Somali groups, including "remnants" of the Islamist movement. After meeting Frazer, Gedi said: "We are going to work together for the stabilisation of Somalia." In scenes reminiscent of the lawlessness associated with Mogadishu, which largely stopped during six months of strict Islamist rule, crowds hurled stones and burnt tyres on Saturday to demonstrate against the forces that ousted the Islamists. Witnesses said three people, including a young boy were killed when Ethiopian troops and protesters exchanged shots. A government source said only one person was killed in gunfire between protesters and police. On Sunday, hundreds of Somali government soldiers patrolled the streets where the protests had taken place. DEMONSTRATIONS In the southcentral town of Baladwayne, hundreds took to the streets demanding Ethiopian troops free a military commander detained for refusing to hand over an ousted Islamist because of a government amnesty offer to the defeated movement. The government, which was confined to the provincial town Baidoa, now wants to install itself in the capital, one of the world's most dangerous cities. It had given Mogadishu residents until last Thursday to hand in their weapons or be disarmed by force. A government spokesman told local radio on Saturday the programme was postponed. Few weapons have been handed in so far, as residents fear Mogadishu could slide back into the anarchy and clan violence that had gripped the city since the 1991 ouster of a dictator. Hours after the Islamists fled, militiamen loyal to warlords reappeared in the city where they used to terrorise civilians. President Abdullahi Yusuf asked Addis Ababa to train Somali forces, Ethiopian state television said on Saturday, after the Somali leader met Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Meles has said his troops will leave Somalia within weeks. Any prolonged Ethiopian deployment would likely anger many Somalis who resent the presence of soldiers from their militarily superior neighbour, which has invaded Somalia several times in what Addis Ababa calls defensive missions. Yemen's Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi, meanwhile, was quoted as saying some Islamist leaders had arrived in Yemen, creating an opportunity for talks with Somalia's government. Some Islamists have vowed to fight on. Residents say they have melted into the hills in Somalia's remote southern tip where Ethiopian and government forces are hunting them. Kenya has sent troops to seal its frontier.

Sunday January 7, 2007 8:16 PM By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY Associated Press Writer MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Gunmen attacked Ethiopian troops supporting the Somali government Sunday, witnesses said, in the second straight day of violence in a city struggling to emerge from more than a decade of chaos. Farah Abdi Hussein, who witnessed the attack, said gunmen launched grenades at Ethiopians about 2 miles from the airport. One Somali soldier was wounded, according to a Somali military official asked not to be named for fear of reprisals. The unrest comes at a precarious time for Somalia's transitional administration, which is trying to assert some control for the first time in a capital that has seen little more than chaos in the 15 years since clan warlords toppled a dictatorship and then turned on each other. The government, backed by Ethiopia's military, drove out a radical Islamic militia last week. But many in predominantly Muslim Somalia resent the presence of troops from neighboring Ethiopia, which has a large Christian population and has fought two wars with Somalia. On Saturday, hundreds of furious protesters took to the streets, burning tires and smashing car windows while denouncing the presence of Ethiopian forces and shouting defiance at the Somali government's call for disarming Mogadishu. Two people died in Saturday's violence, including a 13-year-old boy. On Sunday, a similar protest took place about 215 miles away in Belet Weyne, after Ethiopian troops there detained a Somali military commander who refused to hand over an Islamic militiaman, witnesses said. That protest also turned violent, killing a 20-year-old civilian, Abdi Nor Salah Gedi told The Associated Press by telephone. It was not clear who shot the man or the teenager killed Saturday. Clan elders held emergency meetings Sunday and hundreds of Somali troops patrolled Mogadishu, setting up six extra checkpoints in areas where residents burned tires and broke car windows during Saturday's protests. Dahir Abdi Kulima, a chieftain of the ******, the dominant clan of southern Somalia, said the government's reliance on Ethiopia is backfiring. ``Since the Ethiopians arrived people are sleeping and waking with worry about what will happen next,'' Kulima told AP during a break in a meeting with about a dozen other ****** elders. ``This is a sign of upcoming problems in Somalia.'' Ethiopian soldiers, tanks and warplanes intervened in Somalia on Dec. 24 to defeat the Islamic movement, which had threatened to overthrow the internationally recognized government. At the time, the government controlled only the western town of Baidoa. The most senior U.S. diplomat for Africa said Sunday that the United States would use its diplomatic and financial resources to support the Somali government. ``I think we are pushing uphill as an international community, as well as the Somali people themselves, to try to overcome their history,'' Jendayi Frazer, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Africa, told AP in Nairobi, Kenya. Frazer was planning a surprise visit to Mogadishu on Sunday but called it off because the details of the trip were made public, prompting concerns for her safety. The African Union has begun planning for peacekeepers and Uganda has promised at least 1,000 troops. Frazer has said she hopes the first troops would arrive in Mogadishu before the end of the month. Previous peacekeeping forces, including U.S. troops, met with hostility and violence when they tried to help in the early 1990s, and leaders of the routed Islamic militia are vowing from their hideouts to launch an Iraq-style guerrilla war. After meeting with Frazer in Nairobi, a top Somali politician with ties to leaders of the militant Muslim movement urged its fighters to surrender and join the peace process. Sheik Sharif Hassan Aden, speaker of the transitional parliament but a strong critic of the interim government, also dropped his opposition to having foreign peacekeepers in Somalia, calling on people ``to welcome, to hail, to respect, to accommodate them in a peaceful manner.'' Aden is closely linked to leaders of the militant Council of Islamic Courts, whose fighters scattered into the countryside after being defeated on the battlefield last week. Frazer reiterated Somalia's importance to the United States because of its location in the Horn of Africa, where the Red Sea opens into the Indian Ocean. The U.S. wants to make sure Islamic extremists do not take advantage of the chaos to establish a safe haven. Frazer has said al-Qaida's East Africa cell, blamed for the bombings of two U.S. embassies and a Kenyan resort hotel, infiltrated the Islamist movement in Somalia. But Frazer stressed that the U.S. will provide only a support role. ``Some people would like the United States to lead on this issue,'' she said. ``I would prefer that we lead from behind, and what I mean by that is pushing the Somali people first, pushing the sub-region next and then mobilizing the resources of the international community.'' The Guardian

Sophia Tesfamariam January 5, 2007 The Tigrayan minority regime in Ethiopia, which waged an unprecedented propaganda campaign exalting its prowess and might as it conducted its illegal war of aggression and invasion against the Union of Islamic Courts militia using various pretexts, including “defending Ethiopia’s sovereignty”, “routing terrorists”, “crushing extremists”, etc. etc. in violation of international law, UN Security Council Resolution 1725, the African Union Charter and boasting of “victory against Islamists”, now wants the “international community” to bail it out of its self made quagmire and finance its illegal occupation of sovereign Somali territories. Judging from the various the writings of the various “analysts”, “Africa experts” etc. and even the retired US Acting Ambassador to Ethiopia Vicki Huddleston, who have come out of the wood works to vouch for Meles Zenawi, the leader of the genocidal vote rigging regime in Ethiopia and Washington’s “staunch ally in the global war on terror”, looks like he may once again be rewarded for his belligerent actions. US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Jendayi Frazier has flown to be at Meles Zenawi’s side at Menelik Palace as the international Somalia Contact Group huddle in Brussels, scurrying to find an exit strategy for Washington’ quintessential house negro Meles Zenawi. For those of us who are accustomed to Meles Zenawi’s propensity for lies, as well as his trademark boisterous rhetoric and empty bravado, this latest beg for help comes as no surprise. The Tigrayan minority regime in Ethiopia, which suffers from delusions of grandeur, has never accepted responsibility for its actions and has always relied on its handlers to clean up its mess, provide it diplomatic, financial and political support as it evades its legal obligations, invades sovereign neighboring states, violates international law, reneges on Agreements it has signed, harasses and intimidates its political opponents, commits genocides and ethnic cleansing in Ethiopia etc. etc. . Today, it finds itself in yet another self created crisis and is begging its handlers to bail it out. Well, looks like his skirted friends are rushing to his aid. Jendayi E. Frazier is squeezing African leaders to send their sons and daughters into the hell fire in Somalia to allow for Meles Zenawi’s safe exit. Vicki Huddleston, former Ambassador to Ethiopia, is writing Op-Eds to convince the American people and lawmakers to ignore Meles Zenawi’s violation of international law and US Security Council resolution 1725 on Somalia, by exaggerating the threat posed by the Union of Islamic Courts. I wonder if former US Ambassador to Ethiopia Eureal Brazeal will join Meles Zenawi’s skirted friends and provide her support now as she did when Meles Zenawi rigged the May 2005 elections in Ethiopia, detained thousands across Ethiopia for not voting for his regime, committed genocides in Gambela etc. etc. I don’t mean to ignore the other prominent American gals that came to his defense in the past. It should be recalled that it was Madeline Albright, the former Secretary of State, and Susan Rice, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under the Clinton Administration and Gayle Smyth, Former Clinton advisor for Africa who provided Meles Zenawi the diplomatic, financial, and political support as he launched his minority regime’s aggressive war of invasion and expansion against Eritrea in 1998-2000. Now who is hiding behind who’s skirt? After its ill advised mercenary end of year adventure into Somalia, the minority regime has launched another propaganda campaign designed to cover up its illegal invasion of Somalia, hoodwink the Ethiopian people, and force the international community to come to its aid. This week of lies and doublespeak (the regime’s trademarks) began with an address by the erratic Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s to the rubber stamp Ethiopian parliament on Tuesday 2 January 2007, followed by the shameless Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin’s staged “Briefing” of Addis based African Ambassadors, and now, after months in hibernation, the minority regime’s propaganda Minister Bereket Simon has taken to the airwaves. In an interview with Voice of America on 3 January 2006, insulting the Ethiopian people and the international community’s intelligence, Bereket Simon in a futile attempt to justify the minority regime’s war of aggression and invasion of Somalia said: “…We can say there are two objectives for all of us here. The first one is as Ethiopians we have the objective of defending ourselves from the attacks that were unleashed by the extreme forces in Somalia...Second objective is that of the Somali people and which concerns all peace-loving people around the world and every sensible country, that is the objective of bringing back Somalia into a statehood and to the world community in a very positive way, and the international community, the African Union, the UN and every other country who has interest in seeing Somalia being reconstituted should come and assist in this respect…” Now that is laughable. There were no attacks on Ethiopia and Bereket Simon is lying. The Union of Islamic Courts never attacked Ethiopia. The UIC was consistent and correct in its call for removal of Meles Zenawi’s forces from sovereign Somali territory. As to the issue of Somalia’s reconstitution, that too is a lie. The minority regime in Ethiopia is instrumental in the “balkanization” of Somalia and the chaos and anarchy that has prevailed in Somalia for the last 15 years. Neither the minority regime in Ethiopia nor the puppet regime in Mogadishu have the moral authority to talk about Somalia’s statehood or Somalia’s reconstitution, a process that has been violently obstructed by Meles Zenawi’s US backed aggressive invasion of Somalia. Addressing African Ambassadors in his office in the Ethiopian capital, the blundering Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin also attempting to justify his minority regime’s illegal invasion and occupation of Somalia called on Africans to share in his regime’s “burden”. Presenting itself as a peace loving regime concerned with regional peace, security and stability, after going against the will of the international community and the Somali people and waging an unwarranted war to terrorize the people of Somalia into submission, the deceptive Foreign Minister used the opportunity to take pot shots at the Ethiopian opposition groups who are standing up and fighting against its apartheid rule in Ethiopia. Trying to explain how his regime would extricate itself from Somalia, when asked by the Ugandan Ambassador (who shamefully likened Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia to Tanzania’s invasion of Uganda to remove the brutal dictator Idi Amin) on the process which his regime would undertake to pull out of Somalia, he went off on a long winded incoherent tangent. Instead of taking responsibility for its actions in Somalia, and providing evidence to prove that it was in fact acting in self defense, the minority regime lashed out at the international community. I have painstakingly transcribed his babble to illustrate his obvious ignominy. Here is what he said: “…we were motivated in self defense but at the same time we had a commitment…collective commitment on the basis of decisions of IGAD, the African Union, including the United Nations of supporting…supporting the TFG…and those decisions were unanimous in all cases…the immediate neighbors of Somalia we were… we pledged…or our role was to assist in the training of police, national security and defense for the Transitional National Government…but those other members of IGAD pledged to send the protection force…IGAD and the African Union have been calling for the Security Council of the United Nations to support this…it was the failure…reticence of the international community that led us into the present tragic reality…the story could have been entirely be different…as if diplomacy needs blood…it is after heavy sacrifices of lives and blood…that now we see, we see again some optimism and some light that Somalia would stabilize and would have national government after 16 years of statelessness…” The Tigrayan Foreign Minister of Ethiopia is attempting to fudge the facts. Neither the IGAD proposals nor Security Council resolution 1725 gave his regime any mandate. The regime invaded Somalia to prop up its own hand picked puppet regime and Prime Minister. As for the international community’s reticence, I agree, it’s inability to rein in the mercenary Tigrayan regime in Addis will continue to be a source of instability and insecurity for all the people of the region, especially the Ethiopian people who are the primary victims of the belligerent, genocidal lawless minority regime led by Meles Zenawi’s Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Seyoum Mesfin knows full well that the international community was actively engaged in finding a solution for Somalia and so were most African countries. It was the regime in Ethiopia, and its puppet the TNG, that scuttled all possible dialogue between the TNG and the Union of Islamic Courts by invading sovereign Somali territories. Seyoum Mesfin knows full well that under his personal tutelage, the TNG engaged in a virulent vilification campaign of the UIC and its supporters, intimidated and harassed the Somali people for supporting the UIC. Today, having bitten more than it can chew, is now calling for peacekeepers for Somalia, and he wants peace loving Africans to indulge in his regime’s adventures in Somalia. The question is-What peace? Seems to me, it is calling on Africans to support its illegitimate war of aggression and invasion, and occupation (by proxy) of Somalia. The African Ambassadors know that the Union of Islamic Courts confined their activities to sovereign Somali territory and never ever encroached on Ethiopian territories. The minority regime, on the other hand, aggressively placed thousands of troops on sovereign Somali territories against the wishes of the Somali people in order to “prop up” the Transitional National Government in Somalia, led by Meles Zenawi’s stooge Ali Mohammed Ghedi. Its diversionary war against Somalia will not absolve the regime of its international legal obligations and should face international condemnation for its continued violations of international law and UN Security Council resolutions. The minority regime in Ethiopia has committed one too many acts of aggression to warrant the sympathy and support of Africans or any other peace loving population. No young African men or women need to be used as cannon fodder and minesweepers to prop up Meles Zenawi’s handpicked puppet regime for Somalia. It should be noted that since its formation in Nairobi Kenya in 2004, the TNG has never been able to assert itself in Somalia and blaming the Union of Islamic Courts for its ineptitude is a farce. It was the American and Ethiopian support for various warlords in Mogadishu that prevented the TNG from establishing itself in the Somali capital. The TNG does not have the support of the Somali people and that is why Meles Zenawi’s minority regime has been hired as its keeper. For his part the deceptive, flip flopping street smart Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told the Ethiopian parliament: “…We will now leave as soon as possible, it could be weeks, it could be months. We don’t have the money to take this burden individually...” What audacity! After boasting for weeks of not needing approval to carry out his invasion of Somalia, now he is back, begging bowl in hand, asking the “international community” to bail him out of his self made quagmire. In any case, this public request is yet another transparent and deceptive ploy; he knows his check is on the way [all the way from Washington]. This shameless mercenary regime cannot fool the Ethiopian people with its propaganda and hype. Feigning concern for the Somali people Meles also said: “…We call upon the government of Somalia to work hard to prevent warlordism and create an environment so that Somalis can participate in government…” How can a government led by Abdullahi Yusuf and Ali Mohammed Ghedi, two notorious warlords in their own right work to “prevent warlordism”? The people of Somalia were participants in a process of self determination which was unfortunately, deliberately and maliciously obstructed by the US backed invasion of Somalia by Meles Zenawi’s forces. The people of Somalia have proven their resiliency and will not allow this blatant interference in the internal affairs of their nation by self serving external forces to thwart their just struggle for a unified Somalia. Suffering from intense inferiority complex, and being unable to gain the respect and support of the Ethiopia people it has ruled by the barrel of the gun for 17 long years, the mercenary minority regime in Ethiopia, relying on Jenday E. Frazier to provide it with diplomatic, financial and political cover, after a short lived self promoting celebration of its pyrrhic victory in Somalia, has chosen to once again resort to its customary foul mouthed insults and froth. By calling its famous “Press Conferences” and releasing its infamous “Statements” while wining and dining Addis based cocktail diplomats, the minority regime in Addis believes it can win over the hearts and minds of the Ethiopians, Somalis and other Africans with its barrage of tall tales and lies. It may fool some for now, but not for long. Its day of reckoning is near… The rule of law will prevail over the law of the jungle! American Chronicle

Protests hit Somali border town Demonstrators in a Somali town close to the Ethiopian border have demanded the release from detention of a local official, burning tyres in protest. He was arrested by Ethiopian troops in the town of Beledweyne after refusing to hand over a leading member of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts. There are reports of gunfire and casualties from the town. Ethiopian forces backing the Somali interim government have driven Islamist forces out of large areas of Somalia. A nurse in Beledweyne, some 300km (188 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu, said three people had been brought to the town's hospital with bullet wounds. "I think there will be more casualties because the demonstration is continuing and there is heavy fire in the town," Hassan Ali Der was quoted as saying by AFP news agency. Clashes in capital In Mogadishu, militiamen loyal to the Somali transitional government have been patrolling the streets. Thousands of Ethiopian troops - who clashed with local residents on Saturday - are camped just outside the city. The interim President of Somalia, Abdullahi Yusuf, has returned to the government headquarters town of Baidoa after talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa with Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi. Mr Meles said Ethiopian troops should leave Somalia within two weeks. BBC

By Jamal Madar Jan 6, 2006 — Meles Zenawi may be celbrating in his palace in Addis Ababa for his lightning victory over the poorly armed and ill-trained forces of Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) but his victory may soon prove to be hollow. Zenawi’s US backed war aim was essentially two folds: First, to disrupt or destroy the ruling apparatus of the UIC and, depending on the success of combat operations, decapitate the whole UIC regime. Second, to replace the UIC with the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) headed by Abdillahi Yusuf, which is more receptively attuned to the Ethio-US interests and provide protection to it until such time when it has reasonably attained the capability to defend itself from Islamists. Undoubtedly, Zenawi, under instructions from his US benefactor, has succeeded to remove the UIC from power, for the time being at least, but he has not been able to decapitate the UIC. The UIC forces hastily abandoned Mogadishu to spare civilian population from death and destruction and dispersed their militia and heavy weaponry around the country to fight another day. Conversely, the so-called extremist elements within the UIC, which Ethiopia and the US longed to capture or kill, are still out there in the wilderness, thumping their noses at Melez Zenawi. As part of its on-going war against what George Bush described as “Islamo fascists”, Washington gave Addis Ababa the green light to invade Somalia and topple the UIC, which it [Washington] views “a new Taliban and al-Qa’ida sympathisers who were turning Somalia into a haven for terrorists including those responsible for the US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998,” according to The Australian. "Washington encouraged Addis Ababa to go ahead. They provided the same sort of diplomatic cover they did for Israel going into Lebanon last summer, and for similar reasons — to keep a foothold in the region," said analyst Michael Weinstein according to The Daily Nation. The TFG, which Zenawi staked so much of Ethiopia’s credibility, is not only ineffectual and unpopular, but it is also powerless militarily and cannot protect itself from the Islamists without prolonged Ethiopian military presence in Somalia- something, which Zenawi cannot afford at the moment because of the growing ONLF insurgency in the Somali region of Zone 5, his current hostilities with Eritrea coupled with the ever-increasing domestic opposition to his authoritarian rule and the international pressure on Addis Ababa to pull back its troops. Moreover, the perception in the Somali street is that ‘the TFG is nothing more than ‘a motley collection of traitors and mercenaries who are at the beck and call of Meles Zenawi’ and has little or no popular support in the country. Surely, if the TFG had any support among the Somali people, it wouldn’t have needed Ethiopia to fight for it. The only credible support that the TFG has until now comes largely from the heartlands of Abdillahi Yusuf’s hometown- the self-autonomous region of Puntland. The TFG may be recognised by some 88 countries but, in the eyes of the Somali people, it is a discredited and reviled government associated with warlords. Most, if not all, of the blood–thirsty warlords who wreaked death and destruction across Mogadishu and its environs for the past one-and-a-half-decades were cabinet ministers that belonged to the TFG. These warlords include: former ministers such as Security minister, Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, Trade minister, Muuse Sudi Yalahow, Religious affairs minister, Omar Mohamoud Mohamed and minister for Militia and Rehabilitation, Botan Isse Alin Other warlords, without portfolio, inlcude Mohamed Dheere whose reign of terror in Jowhar- the seat of the TFG- put him in collision course with Abdillahi Yusuf and Ali Mohamed Gedi over government’s meagre resources. Eventually, Mohamed Dheere had to kick out the Ethiopian backed TFG from Jowhar forcing the government to flee to Baidao. Ironically, when the Islamists expelled him from Jowhar, Zenawi took Mohamed Dheere to his bosom and trained him and his followers in Feerfeer, Ethiopia. Needless to say, these TFG warlord-ministers caused untold misery and mayhem right across the country. It was only in June 2006 when the Islamists fully seized control of Mogadishu and defeated the TFG warlord-ministers that Prime Minister Gedi had actually sacked the four ministers in question for their involvement in the Somali bloodshed. With the backing of Ethiopia, it is now business as usual for these same warlords. Mohamed Dheere is now back to Jowhar to restore and re-establish his warlord ship. Another warlord, Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, returned to his old hunting ground, Dayniile, Mogadishu, to re-exert his authority in there. There is no doubt that the TFG lost its mantle of legitimacy when it allied itself with Ethiopia. It would be hard for the TFG to shrug off its image of subservience to Meles Zenawi as well as its past era of jungle mentality and warlordism. On the contrary, the UIC forces brought about peace and stability throughout much of central and southern Somalia. They re-opened Mogadishu airport and seaport for business, both of which closed for more than one-and-a-half decades. They cleaned and collected mountains of garbage from the streets of Mogadishu, restored law and order, expelled all blood-thirsty warlords who killed, maimed and destroyed the lives of thousands upon thousands of Somali people and sold innocent muslim clerics by the dozen to the US as part of the CIA extra-ordinary rendition. The UIC authorities removed all barricades erected by TFG warlord-ministers in the main roads between townships and cities. More importantly, they evicted all squatters who occupied properties owned by other people and returned them back to their rightful owners. If there were any blunders and mistakes to which the UIC authorities fell victim, it was that they have over reacted with their approach to certain sensitive and contentious issues, such as the banning of Khat where thousands of people’s livelihoods depended on, their empty rhetorical threats against Ethiopia [though Ethiopia occupied Somali territories] and the break-away republic of Somaliland where they could have won friends rather than enemies. Such is the stark difference between the TFG and the UIC. It simply defies the conventional wisdom as to how the people who suffered so much for so many years under the warlord-ministers of the TFG would suddenly welcome back and offer support to their tormentors. Given its past record of warlordism and its unholy alliance with Ethiopia, it is hard to imagine how the TFG would ever govern the country without popular support, which is the key to its success. If the past is any guide, the prospect of a protracted guerrilla war tactics against Ethiopia’s occupying forces and its puppet TFG is now a more realistic scenario than ever before. Surely, Zenawi is betting on a losing horse. * The author is a Somali-Briton based in London, UK. He can be reached at adammadar@yahoo.com Sudan Tribune

Originally posted by Naxar Nugaaleed: quote: ^ Which door knob are you related to? The Sayyid would turn over in his grave if he knew the likes of you had his image in their signatures. Castro, ciyaalnemada waa laga fiican yahay. And your really getting offinsive. If you think name calling is debate, perhaps there are a lot more better forums were you could do that. Who my relatives are is none of your business, as for door knobs, call it a day already, we got you, you have new vocab. As for the Siyad , I think the mere fact that you mention his name would make turn in grave, may God rest his soul. Is this a door knobish moment you're having or a Freudian one?

^ Which door knob are you related to? The Sayyid would turn over in his grave if he knew the likes of you had his image in their signatures.

Originally posted by Captain Xalane: Duke,don't u think the 360 degrees turn of the hating secessionists in to fervent loving patriots is a miracle ? Oh my! Are you having a door knobish moment son? Do you even know what going 360 degrees means? I guess not. Grab a pen and paper and sit up straight for your lesson. Going 360 degrees is a reference to going around in a full circle around the circumference. If you start at point A on a circle and go 360 degrees, you would arrive at point A again. So, your use of that shows you've no idea what 360 degrees means. Did you mean 90 degrees? 180 degrees? LOL. Put your thinking cap on and answer this: how many sides does a triangle have? Take your time, I'll check your answer tomorrow. This is too much. LOL.

Ethiopia's intervention may destabilize region Unless it is followed by diplomacy and aid, the battle against Somalia's Islamists may radicalize moderate Muslims. By Edmund Sanders, Times Staff Writer January 7, 2007 MOGADISHU, SOMALIA — By launching a war against Somalia's Islamists, Ethiopia says it was drawing a line in the sand against religious extremism in East Africa. But without quick diplomacy and international aid, analysts caution that the war could radicalize the region's traditionally moderate Muslims. "This could bode ill for both Somalia and eastern Ethiopia, but perhaps even northern Kenya," said John Prendergast, Africa analyst at International Crisis Group, a conflict-resolution think tank based in Washington. Signs of a budding insurgency already are emerging in Mogadishu. Gunshots and riots rocked Somalia's capital on Saturday as Ethiopian troops clashed with Somalian protesters. A 13-year-old Somalian boy was killed. Anonymous pamphlets distributed in some neighborhoods warned locals to steer clear of Ethiopian and allied soldiers from Somalia's transitional government. The pamphlets pledged guerrilla tactics and suicide attacks. At least one Ethiopian soldier was killed by Somalian gunmen last week near the town of Kismayo. On Thursday, a group of Ethiopian soldiers in Mogadishu was attacked with a hand grenade tossed from a truck; no one was injured. "They will never take our country!" anti-Ethiopian demonstrators chanted Saturday as they marched through Mogadishu. "We will fight for our religion." The protests came as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi E. Frazer prepared to make a brief visit to Mogadishu to support efforts to deploy Africa Union peacekeepers in Somalia. The visit would be the first in years to Somalia by a senior U.S. official. American officials supported Ethiopia's intervention, accusing Somalia's Islamic Courts Union of having links to terrorism. The U.S. has earmarked $40 million for Somalia's recovery. Although Ethiopia is about half Muslim and half Christian, extremists in Somalia and elsewhere are characterizing Ethiopia's presence here as a Christian occupation. On Friday, a deputy leader of the Al Qaeda terrorist network posted a website message calling for attacks on Ethiopian troops in Somalia. Many believe the U.S. encouraged Ethiopia to lead the assault last month to put an African face on the war, though Ethiopian officials say the U.S. opposed a direct military attack in Somalia. For better or worse, analysts say, America is now linked to Somalia's recovery. "The U.S. is tethered to this intervention," said Ken Menkhaus, a Somalia expert and political science professor at Davidson College in North Carolina. "Because of the impression that we subcontracted the war out to Ethiopia, we're going to be held responsible." Winning support from the ****** subclans that previously opposed the transitional government is crucial, experts said. In the beginning, these clans praised the Islamic Courts Union for restoring security to the capital. But when the tough talk of courts leaders brought Ethiopian soldiers to Mogadishu's doorstep, clan leaders withdrew their support. "The courts overreached," Prendergast said. "As soon as it appeared that the stability that the courts once offered would be replaced by open warfare with Ethiopia, the clan leaders took back their weapons." Sought-after foothold In the past, efforts by radicals to establish a beachhead in the Horn of Africa met with limited success in Somalia. Intelligence officials said Al Qaeda's efforts to penetrate Somalia after the 1991 collapse of the dictatorship encountered stiff resistance from clan leaders. But the sight of Ethiopian jets bombing targets in Mogadishu and driving out Islamists may unite the region's Muslims. Prendergast warned against declaring victory too soon. "To believe that the Islamists are defeated now would be the same as believing that the Sunnis were defeated when the U.S. marched into Baghdad," Prendergast said. For now, the war appears to have cemented Ethiopia's standing as a dominant force in the Horn. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi secured a friendly Somalian government that isn't likely to push hot-button issues such as control of the contested ****** region in eastern Ethiopia. He also strengthened ties with the United States by establishing Ethiopia as America's leading regional partner in the U.S.-declared war on terrorism. Ethiopians say the U.S. and rest of the world should thank them for holding the line against the spread of Islamic fundamentalism. "We have to make sure that religious extremism doesn't take hold in Africa," said Bereket Simon, a minister of state in Ethiopia. He said his nation, home to sub-Saharan Africa's second-largest Muslim population after Nigeria, acted in self-defense. But Menkhaus said that success could be measured only in the coming months. "A lot depends on what kind of insurgency emerges," he said. If Somalia's problems bleed across its borders, the ripple effects could include a destabilization of Ethiopia's Muslim community and reduced tourism for Kenya, Menkhaus said. Ethiopia's victory also draws Somalia a step closer to its African neighbors. Historically, Somalis have been divided over whether to consider themselves part of Africa or orient themselves toward the Arab world. Former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, who was ousted in 1991, straddled the fence. Islamic courts leaders were working to forge closer ties with Arab-led countries, such as Yemen and Sudan. Mohammed Abduallahi Afra, director of parliament in the transitional government that collapsed in 2003, worries that the regional balance of power could be upset. Recent events could stir up animosity between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which never settled a border dispute that led to war in 1998. Kenya and Djibouti have been improving ties in recent years, but they were divided over how to handle Somalia, Afra said. A history of conflict This isn't the first time Somalia has found itself caught in an international tug of war. In the 1970s, Somalia and Ethiopia were Cold War pawns, heavily armed by the Soviet Union and United States, respectively. Then communists seized control of Ethiopia, and the superpowers simply swapped allies. A 1977 war between Ethiopia and Somalia was fueled largely by the U.S. and Soviet Union. Analysts say U.S. policymakers now have a short window of time to bring change. Ethiopian troops plan to leave Somalia in a matter of weeks and the transitional government needs substantial assistance to survive on its own. Since withdrawing U.S. troops in 1994 after 18 American servicemen were killed in Mogadishu in October 1993, U.S. engagement in Somalia has been limited. About 1,500 U.S. troops are based in Djibouti to fight terrorism, train African security forces and improve infrastructure in the region. But the base has no representation or activity in Somalia, a representative said. Last year, Mogadishu warlords, with support and funding from the CIA, formed an anti-terrorism alliance that began pursuing and kidnapping Islamists sought by the U.S., including three suspects in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The move not only undermined Somalia's transitional government but also built public support for the Islamic fighters. Ted Dagne, Africa specialist for the Congressional Research Service, said U.S. policymakers must pressure the transitional government to reach out to moderate Islamic leaders and the Mogadishu clans who feel excluded. Somalia's underlying problems remain unresolved, he warned. They include a weak transitional government, clan rivalries and warlords seeking to reassert their power. "Unless there is sustained and careful support for the process, Somalia will go back to where it was before," Dagne said. LA Times

Originally posted by General Duke: ^^^The TFG will never lift a finger on SL, so long as there is no agression from that entity. I have deep respect for SL Did I hear you say you have "deep" respect for Somaliland? How deep? LOL

^ Actually, Jendayi Frazer was supposed to fly Yeey into Muqdisho as no one else could. Alas, she realized that her safety wasn't worth the man who has sold everything including his soul for one night in Villa Somalia.

Duke will now urge his collaborators (if there are any) in Canada to come out and carry pictures of Meles and Yeey. Sorry to disappoint you atheer but even Puntlanders in this part of the world reject your uncle and his puppet government.

Having spent (too) many years in Ottawa, I salute my fellow Ottawans for spending more than a minute in the valley temperatures this time of year. Bravo!

Revealed: Israel plans nuclear strike on Iran Uzi Mahnaimi, New York and Sarah Baxter, Washington ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons. Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources. The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb. Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout. “As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished,” said one of the sources. The plans, disclosed to The Sunday Times last week, have been prompted in part by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad’s assessment that Iran is on the verge of producing enough enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons within two years. Israeli military commanders believe conventional strikes may no longer be enough to annihilate increasingly well-defended enrichment facilities. Several have been built beneath at least 70ft of concrete and rock. However, the nuclear-tipped bunker-busters would be used only if a conventional attack was ruled out and if the United States declined to intervene, senior sources said. Israeli and American officials have met several times to consider military action. Military analysts said the disclosure of the plans could be intended to put pressure on Tehran to halt enrichment, cajole America into action or soften up world opinion in advance of an Israeli attack. Some analysts warned that Iranian retaliation for such a strike could range from disruption of oil supplies to the West to terrorist attacks against Jewish targets around the world. Israel has identified three prime targets south of Tehran which are believed to be involved in Iran’s nuclear programme: # Natanz, where thousands of centrifuges are being installed for uranium enrichment # A uranium conversion facility near Isfahan where, according to a statement by an Iranian vice-president last week, 250 tons of gas for the enrichment process have been stored in tunnels # A heavy water reactor at Arak, which may in future produce enough plutonium for a bomb Israeli officials believe that destroying all three sites would delay Iran’s nuclear programme indefinitely and prevent them from having to live in fear of a “second Holocaust”. The Israeli government has warned repeatedly that it will never allow nuclear weapons to be made in Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has declared that “Israel must be wiped off the map”. Robert Gates, the new US defence secretary, has described military action against Iran as a “last resort”, leading Israeli officials to conclude that it will be left to them to strike. Israeli pilots have flown to Gibraltar in recent weeks to train for the 2,000-mile round trip to the Iranian targets. Three possible routes have been mapped out, including one over Turkey. Air force squadrons based at Hatzerim in the Negev desert and Tel Nof, south of Tel Aviv, have trained to use Israel’s tactical nuclear weapons on the mission. The preparations have been overseen by Major General Eliezer Shkedi, commander of the Israeli air force. Sources close to the Pentagon said the United States was highly unlikely to give approval for tactical nuclear weapons to be used. One source said Israel would have to seek approval “after the event”, as it did when it crippled Iraq’s nuclear reactor at Osirak with airstrikes in 1981. Scientists have calculated that although contamination from the bunker-busters could be limited, tons of radioactive uranium compounds would be released. The Israelis believe that Iran’s retaliation would be constrained by fear of a second strike if it were to launch its Shehab-3 ballistic missiles at Israel. However, American experts warned of repercussions, including widespread protests that could destabilise parts of the Islamic world friendly to the West. Colonel Sam Gardiner, a Pentagon adviser, said Iran could try to close the Strait of Hormuz, the route for 20% of the world’s oil. Some sources in Washington said they doubted if Israel would have the nerve to attack Iran. However, Dr Ephraim Sneh, the deputy Israeli defence minister, said last month: “The time is approaching when Israel and the international community will have to decide whether to take military action against Iran.” Sunday Times

It's both humorous and disturbing but, really, how many people on any street in any city of the world would know all of the answers to these questions (apart from a triangle having 1 side )? There's a deliberate effort (using mass media, the school system, etc..) by the elites in this country to dis-inform the American public. It's quite remarkable indeed that the same country who gave birth to the likes of Noam Chomsky and Amy Goodman also houses the people being interviewed (and mocked) in this clip. Americans are overwhelmingly kind and generous but the ruling class in this country is probably the greatest threat facing humanity today.

^ I think the Americans had no faith in either the puppet regime or the Ethiopians to ensure the safety of the US delegation. Short of bringing their own troops to provide security, they probably had no choice but to cancel.

Did today's riots have anything to do with this?

NAIROBI (CNN) -- Plans by the top U.S. diplomat to Africa for an unannounced visit to Mogadishu were canceled after word of the trip was reported by the news media, according to U.S. officials. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer was set to visit Mogadishu Sunday, accompanied by CNN and the Associated Press. The deteriorating security situation in Mogadishu also raised concerns over safety, the officials said. Frazer would have been the first high-ranking U.S. diplomat to visit Somalia in over a decade. The military transport would have been the first time U.S. military personnel were in Mogadishu since the U.S. military withdrew in 1994 in the wake of the Black Hawk down incident. --CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr contributed to this report. CNN

^ I wouldn't say it's the only reason yaa Alisomali. It could be that General Duke is a paid (or a volunteer) member of the puppet regime and he feels obliged to toe the government line. He could also be, though unlikely, genuinely concerned about the wellbeing of the people and the state and sees "radical" Islam as a threat to the republic. Finally, he could be in favor of a greater Horn of Africa that is federally ruled from Adis Ababa by Meles with regional powers kept by Yeey in Southern Somalia, Cadde Muse in Buntland and Riyaale in Somaliland. No one knows what is in a man's heart.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Albert Einstein

Iraqi PM reveals US crackdown President set for showdown with Democrats as he pours in more soldiers Peter Beaumont and Paul Harris in New York Sunday January 7, 2007 President Bush is to announce this week that up to 30,000 extra troops will be thrown into the battle for Baghdad. They will be part of a crackdown against insurgents and the largely Shia death squads who have brought Iraq to the brink of civil war. The final shape of Bush's new strategy began to emerge yesterday in a series of leaks and statements in Washington and Baghdad ahead of his announcement, expected on Tuesday. That strategy, it now seems certain, will focus on stabilising the capital through the deployment of five extra US brigades - between 10,000 and 30,000 soldiers - made available by extending tours of duty and accelerating the rotation of fresh troops into the country. An increase of 30,000 would bring the number of US troops in Iraq to 170,000. In addition, the US would pour new resources into a job creation programme - involving painting schools and cleaning streets - that could cost up to $1bn. Bush's apparent determination to send extra troops, rather than set a timetable for withdrawal, represents a rejection of the Iraq Study Group report, which said US policy was not working and urged talks with two of Iraq's neighbours, Iran and Syria. It also sets the stage for a major battle between a House and Senate newly under Democratic control, put into power largely because of US voters' misgivings over his conduct of the war. In the strongest indication of Bush's preferred strategy, Iraq's Shia Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki pre-empted Bush's statement by announcing that Iraqi security forces, backed by Americans, were about to implement a major crackdown on illegal armed groups from all sectarian factions in Baghdad. Maliki's speech was a US condition for deploying extra troops, insisted on by Bush in a two-hour teleconference with Maliki last Thursday. Iraqi forces will begin a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood assault on militants over the next few days, as a first step in the new White House strategy to contain Sunni insurgents and Shia death squads, advisers to Maliki said. One of the neoconservative thinkers, whose views are believed to have influenced Bush, suggested the military action might last longer than expected. 'We need a long-lasting surge because we have to keep in mind that we face an enemy here that adapts to our strategy,' said Frederick Kagan, a military historian and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. 'If we do a short surge they will just wait us out. We need to surge for at least 18 months.' He added: 'The administration understands that they have reached the crossroads in Iraq. They know that any short-term or half measures will be fatal.' The fresh Bush strategy, to be carried out by General David Petraeus, the new US commanding officer of multinational forces in Iraq, is modelled on Operation Forward Together II, the attempt to retake no-go areas of Baghdad last summer and autumn. That operation faltered largely through a shortage of US manpower on the ground and Maliki's unwillingness to agree to raids against the Mahdi army, the Shia militia loyal to firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose assembly members supported Maliki's government. US and Iraqi troops used a tactic of 'take, hold and rebuild' - driving gunmen out of their strongholds - and following through after the fighting with military civil affairs teams bringing small but noticeable differences to the areas where they were operating, including electricity generation schemes, rubbish collection and repairing water and sewage systems. But when the troops moved on to new areas the gunmen returned. The emphasis of operations is also expected to shift from preparing Iraqi forces for a quick handover of responsibility to protecting the population. According to Maliki, military commanders in each area of Baghdad would have full powers to implement the scheme as they saw fit. 'We will depend on our armed forces to implement this plan and the multinational force will support our forces,' he said. 'They will intervene whenever they are called on. 'There will be no refuge from this plan for anyone operating beyond the law, regardless of their sect or political affiliation,' he said, adding that the plan would continue until its aims were achieved. 'We will come down hard on anyone who does not carry out their orders and does their job according to his political or sectarian background. We will pursue those people under the law and punish them most severely,' he said. The Guardian

What amazes me today, more than anything else, is that a person like Sheikh Sharif (unanimously admired by Somalis) is hunted down like an animal by an invading army and its collaborators while the real animals who fed on the people's flesh for decades are entering their former hunting grounds like royalty. And yet some wonder why this puppet government has no support. What is wrong with this picture?