^ Perhaps. Though I strongly believe that many of these "milestone" events occurring in Iraq (often conveniently scheduled on weekends and prime time TV slots in the west) are for domestic western consumption. No one can doubt the desire of many Shiica to kill Saddam but after the kangaroo trial he went through, the almost laughable "appeal" process and the unprecedented rapid hanging, one is hard pressed to give the Americans any benefit of doubt. Ma caleyna.

^ You just added the warning. Nothing is purely Iraqi today. And, unfortunately, the Americans are both here and there (and everywhere in between).

Here's the video of the taunting. It actually shows Saddam laughing at the collaborators surrounding him. LOL. The rush to execute him comes from the fear that any further trials might embarrass the companies and governments that helped Saddam maintain his reign. Mostly American and European governments and companies. It was also rushed to coincide with the the Eid of Muslims so they would know how much the west thinks of Arabs and Muslims. The ultimate humiliation, so to speak. Finally, it was rushed to this weekend to juxtapose his hanging in a shabby basement room with the state funeral and burial of US president Ford. The only victory the west has in Iraq is killing Saddam and his two boys. A pitiful prize for the money they spent and the mayhem they caused. Mac sonkor.

^ Daba dhilif Puke would disagree with Saddam.

^ LOL. Such a desperado you are, general puke. If he denied this, then both you and he can go cry to the Associated Press. Or is the Associated Press against the TFG? :rolleyes:

General Puke ( ) should love this. Former warlord calls government control of Somali capital an illusion The Associated Press Sunday, December 31, 2006 MOGADISHU, Somalia Mohamed Qanyare Afrah was once among the handful of warlords who ruled this city. For more than 10 years, he had thousands of militiamen under his control, keeping an iron grip on the southern part of Somalia's seaside capital. With no effective government in Somalia, Afrah and warlords like him acted as Mogadishu's leaders, judges, jailers and executioners, until they were driven from the capital by Islamic militants six months ago. Last week, a newly powerful Somali government retook Mogadishu, with the help of Ethiopian troops. And now, Afrah is back — suggesting that the age of the warlords may not quite be over. "I have 1,500 militiamen under my control," Afrah told The Associated Press on Sunday from the home he returned to on Friday, a compound teeming with weapons, including 12 armored vehicles mounted with double-barreled anti-aircraft guns. "And why not? An angry man is an angry man. We need to protect ourselves." Many nervous residents in Mogadishu have reported seeing freelance gunmen roaming the streets again — a sight that had all but vanished under the Council of Islamic Courts, which brought a semblance of control but also terrified Somalis with its severe interpretation of Islam and violent punishments. One man, who refused to give his name for fear of retribution, said he no longer felt comfortable walking around the city since the government took over, saying they do not have enough power to keep the peace. "The warlords are coming back," he said. Afrah, in his first interview with the international media since June, said government control of Mogadishu was only an illusion, and that any military advances it made were due to the help of neighboring Ethiopia, the region's military powerhouse. "If Ethiopian forces pull out tomorrow, (the Islamists) will come back the following day. I guarantee you," said Afrah, who was casually dressed in a red-and-white striped shirt and traditional Somali wrap. He said he believed "100 percent" that the Islamists were still in Mogadishu, in hiding, and would launch "urban guerrilla warfare — land mines, explosives. People will live in terror and fear." The government insists it has control of the city, but has appealed for peacekeepers. Afrah had led a U.S.-backed warlord alliance against the Islamic movement until its defeat in June. The warlords, most clan based, ruled the African nation of 8 million after overthrowing longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. They divided the country into a patchwork of rival fiefdoms, plunging the country into chaos. Two years ago, the transitional government was set up with the help of the United Nations, but failed to assert any real control until last week, after Ethiopia stepped in. The government has had trouble gaining popular support, as its members include some former warlords — including Afrah, a member of Parliament. His criticisms Sunday suggested that the administration, long riven by infighting, is still fractured despite its military gains. Afrah said he wanted to see the city disarmed, but would not tell his militiamen to surrender their weapons unless a bill was passed through Parliament stating the government's specific aims. He also said Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi's statement Saturday that he expected to disarm Mogadishu within three weeks was wishful thinking, but he would not comment on how his militiamen would react if Gedi tried forcefully to disarm them. "From Somaliland to Kismayo, the guns are everywhere," Afrah said. "But the word of one man with one microphone cannot solve this."

^^^ I wouldn't insult any woman by naming her after coward Geedi. Before liberating Muqdisho of the invading army, the heads of these two pigs pictured above must be severed from their xaaran-ku-naax bodies.

Originally posted by General Duke: As for President Yusuf Yey, he is a master strategist and is doing a fine job bringing this nation back. [/QB] Where was his master strategy when he was holed up in Baydhaba? Or is the appearance of upwards of 20,000 Ethiopian troops sent by Zenawi just a coincidence and inspired his master strategy? It seems the master strategists live somewhere inside the beltway in Washington D.C. Yeey himself is so far down the food chain, far further than Zenawi himself, that he's somewhere between a rat and a pig.

That was then: Somalia protests Ethiopian border foray April 11, 1999 Hussein Aideed (right): One of the two leaders behind the protest The two main faction leaders in Somalia have joined forces to lodge an official protest with the United Nations Security Council over a border incursion by Ethiopia. Somalia says heavily-armed Ethiopian troops entered the towns of Bula Hawo and Dolo on Friday. The troops are alleged to have taken over the local administration and detained officials in the towns. The two Somali leaders, Ali Mahdi and Hussein Aideed, issued a joint statement calling on both the UN Security Council and the Organisation of African Unity to intervene to end what they describe as Ethiopian aggression. First protest since 1991 This is the first time that Somalia has issued what amounts to a national protest, after being without a government since 1991. The letter, which was sent on Sunday - three days after the invasion - says it is not the first incident of its kind. It claims Ethiopia has been de-stabilising and invading Somalia since August, 1996, and has recently been distributing weapons, in violation of the UN Security Council arms embargo on Somalia. Read more And this is now: Hussein Aideed (again on the right): One of the TFG leaders behind the collaboration with the Ethiopian invading army. What a worthless piece of shit traitor who sold his soul (and his people) for a few xabashi cinjeera.

Somalis Split as Fighting Halts and Hint of Insurgency Looms Anti-Ethiopia riots erupted in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, on Friday, while masked gunmen emerged for the first time on the streets, a day after Ethiopian-backed troops captured the city from Islamist forces. Hundreds of Somalis flooded into bullet-pocked boulevards to hurl rocks at the Ethiopian soldiers, set tires on fire and shout anti-Ethiopian slogans. “Get out of our country!” they yelled. “We hate you, Ethiopians!” In northern Mogadishu, residents said men with scarves over their faces and assault rifles in their hands lurked on the street corners. Mogadishu has plenty of gunmen, of every age and every clan, but gunmen hiding their identity is something new and may be a sign of a developing insurgency. “We’re going to turn this place into another Iraq,” said Abdullahi Hashi, a construction worker who said he was part of a new underground movement to fight the Ethiopians. Many analysts have said that if the Ethiopian troops protecting the internationally recognized transitional government of Somalia linger in the country too long and their intervention turns into a full-scale occupation, it will uncork a long and nasty guerilla war. At the same time, it seems that many Somalis appreciate the presence of the Ethiopians for helping to bring some stability. Just a few hours after the protests, thousands of residents came out to warmly greet Ali Mohammed Gedi, the prime minister of the transitional government and one of the leaders who called in the Ethiopian muscle. It is unclear what is going to happen in Mogadishu. Many people are still absorbing the dramatic power shift that occurred this week, when the Islamists who once ruled much of the country quickly collapsed under Ethiopia’s overwhelming force, enabling the transitional government, which had been roundly dismissed as weak, to suddenly take control. Islamist leaders said Friday that they were not simply giving up. While most of their troops have abandoned the cause — shedding their uniforms and shaving their beards — the Islamist leadership said it was regrouping in Kismayo, a city along Somalia’s southern coast. Not far from Kismayo is a lightly populated, heavily forested area that Western intelligence officers said has served as a terrorist hide-out for many years. “We will not leave Somalia,” Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, a top Islamist leader, told The Associated Press on Friday. “We will not run away from our enemies. We will never depart from Somalia. We will stay in our homeland.” The Islamists uttered similar vows to fight to the death for Mogadishu, their former stronghold. But when thousands of Ethiopian fighters and troops from the transitional government reached the city’s outskirts on Wednesday, the Islamists fled and the city fell the next morning without a shot. Ethiopian officials have justified the intervention in Somalia by saying that the Islamists were extremists who had their eyes on part of Ethiopia, and said their troops would remain on Somali soil until that threat is wiped out. The Ethiopian and transitional government troops seem to be focused on Mogadishu, but many Somalis suspect that once that city is stabilized, the bulk of the Ethiopian forces will shift to Kismayo. On Friday, Kismayo residents said Ethiopian fighter jets were circling the skies above town. Mr. Gedi, meanwhile, is wasting little time getting to work. He announced Friday that the transitional government, one of the most promising efforts at a central government since 1991, when Somalia descended into anarchy, was imposing martial law for the next three months. He asked Mogadishu’s various clan militias to turn in their weapons or face the consequences. “This country has been through a lot of anarchy,” Mr. Gedi said, “so to re-establish order we will have to have an iron hand.” Last year, when Mr. Gedi set foot in the capital, he was nearly assassinated. On Friday, he was surrounded by armored trucks and Ethiopian infantrymen. Though officials in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, have said their troops should not enter downtown Mogadishu, many are camped in the former American Embassy, a decrepit building that was closed more than 15 years ago after American soldiers suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of warlords. NY Times

The honorable Che-Guevara wrote on July 23, 2006: "MMA.....Tanug you for confirming the Ethio presence. General Duke waa naga yaabiye. Now duke, do yu still support da TFG?" And the leader of the Transitional Door Knob Society (TDKS) responded: Originally posted by General Duke: I do support the TFG, though this latest action I disagree with.. Door knob fowqal door knob.

LA Times December 31, 2006 MOGADISHU, SOMALIA — Leaders from Somalia's capital gathered Saturday where matters of importance are often debated and settled here: under the shade of a thorny aqab tree. This one was at a bombed-out military barracks on the edge of Mogadishu, chosen because the guest of honor, President Abdullahi Yusuf, refuses to enter a notoriously dangerous city that until last week had been under the control of an Islamist alliance. "I will come to Mogadishu once everything is in place," he said. Though most Islamist fighters fled Thursday when troops from Ethiopia and Somalia's transitional government advanced, so far the government is moving cautiously in finishing the pacification and occupation of the capital. Most government soldiers remain on the city outskirts. Only one government agency, the Interior Ministry, has moved back in. The security vacuum has led to sporadic looting and rioting. Local leaders warned that the transitional government might lose control of the capital if it did not act quickly to solidify its victory. "People are already hiding their guns underground," said Ibrahim Shawey, the former mayor of Mogadishu. "I urge the government to use force [to disarm the city], rather than negotiate." Part of the delay is strategic, officials said, with government forces needed elsewhere in the country. On Saturday, thousands of Ethiopian-led troops were heading south to the last Islamist holdout in Kismayo, about 280 miles from Mogadishu. Town leaders there briefly drove the Islamists out last week, but the region was overwhelmed again by hard-line fighters after they fled the capital. Leaders of the Islamic Courts Union, supported by an extremist faction known as Shabab and some suspected foreign fighters, are threatening to make a last stand against Ethiopian soldiers in the region. "Islamic Court officials will not surrender," said the alliance's chairman, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed. "We will defend ourselves and defeat the enemy." He issued similar threats in Mogadishu, only to abandon the capital without a fight. Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi said Saturday that a battle was possible if the Islamists refused to give up or flee. "If remnants try to attack, bloodshed will take place," he said. But the possible final showdown was sapping needed troops inside Mogadishu. Pacifying the capital will not be easy, Interior Minister Hussein Aidid said. An estimated 2,000 armed opponents, including some Islamist fighters, are believed to be hiding in the city, and it is feared that Islamists may have left behind mines or booby traps. Although the Islamic Courts Union collected the guns of militias and citizens at the beginning of its six-month reign, it redistributed them shortly before leaving the city. As a result, Mogadishu is once again awash in guns, particularly among two clans with a history of animosity toward the transitional government. Many say they will keep their weapons. "I'll never give up my gun, either to the government or to the Ethiopians," said Iman Adan, 31, who worked at a high school before joining the Islamic Courts. "I'm ready to fight or die." Government officials won't say how many troops are providing security inside the city. Yusuf, who took a great deal of ribbing Saturday for his reluctance to enter Mogadishu, vowed to immediately implement a disarmament program, by force if necessary. Gedi predicted the guns would be collected within three weeks. But both men said Mogadishu's leaders must share the responsibility by supporting the government, including the deployment of Ethiopian troops, and by controlling their children. In recent days, much of the anti-Ethiopia looting and rioting has involved teenagers. "You must welcome the president not only by mouth, but by heart," said Gedi, who was targeted by assassins twice last year during visits to the capital. "In the past, you were welcoming me, but not working with me."

Originally posted by Sheikh Fiqqikhayre: He will not spare them Duke, for Aweys is renowned to be someone, who likes to spare his people but not others especially our folks! I wouldn't spare your "folk" either. You don't even qualify as a collaborator. You're merely a cheerleader who brought great shame to an honorable people. Uff iyo akhas.

Originally posted by Sheikh Fiqqikhayre: This joke is very original and ingenious!!! Ethiopian soldier's in Mogadishu who supposedly wanted to see the ocean, they had never seen, provided them with the biggest scare of their mostly young lives! It's the first time, those youngsters who are very few in terms of numbers have accounted the ocean or a sea for that matter, their excitment could simply not be more joyous or frightful in regards to that particular situation/scenario! Is this supposed to be the biggest joke of all the time? Thank you somalitalk.com for giving me a much needed and spontanous not laugh but grin on my face! What's next 'Swimming classes for Ethiopian soldiers'? Or a how about a new film 'Ethio soldier bitten by sharks as he was teaching himself how to swim on the shores of Somalia'! In the next two weeks I expect something even more ingenious like 'Ethio soldiers frightend by the sight of camels'! Very amusing, continue please! The floor is all yours. You are quite possibly the biggest door knob to whom a mother has ever given birth. Not only do you exhibit signs of severe and irreversible brain damage, you seem to be enjoying it. LOL. Natural selection should have taken you out millennia ago. What a colossal fcuking moron? Praise the good Lord you're cheering for war criminal A/Y and the amxaaro for if you were cheering for us, Somalis, I'd have slit my throat.

^ A "sunni Muslima" who associates partners with Allah has invalidated her Muslimhood and Sunnihood. So your question is moot.

Originally posted by Djib-Somali: Quatorze oulémas saoudiens dénoncent violemment les Etats-Unis, l'accusant notamment de pratiquer le terrorisme international, pour son alliance avec "l'agresseur éthiopien" dans son "invasion" de la Somalie, dans un communiqué publié jeudi. With all the turmoil in the Islamic world, these Ulema must be denouncing stuff around the clock. Too little, too late.

Apart from a few collaborators (and their cheerleading door knobs), Somalis of every persuasion and every corner of the land categorically reject this cowardly war criminal as president.

Stunning pictures. Thanks Princess.

Ciid wacan oo waanaagsan to all my brothers and sisters, young and old wherever you are. May Allah bless you and keep you safe.

^ Are you two flirting in a time of war? Though Saddam's hanging is just, his executioners are neither qualified to condemn him nor carry out his execution.

fartun, do you know Rudy by any chance? He lives in LA as well. I doubt he's light skinned though.

Originally posted by ThePoint: ^Well - you know what they say about Amxaaro/Tigree loving, unpatriotic, treasonous, anti-Muslim, gaalo-raac, munafaq dhabadilifs - don't ya? Yes. Door knobs.

^ Fair though overly rosy.

"Widely recognized" are the key words, aren't they? How widely recognized is Karzai? Or Al-Maliki? Legitimacy is a critical condition of any government, yaa LePoint, and the TFG sorely lacks it. And what little they had, they lost in the past few weeks. In addition to the monumental task of rebuilding the country physically, there's an even greater hurdle and that is legitimizing the illegitimate. There's no new blood here. It's the same old killers wearing different coats. I would have to suffer severe and sudden amnesia to support the TFG in their quest for power. Specially not after what happened in the past ten days.

^ I said it was therapeutic not hysteria inducing. LePoint, don't tell me you're wearing your TFG jersey today.