Now we can all east Africans say thank you President Abdullahi Yusuf. We were all sometimes angry as to what is he waiting for. The man can hear a Pakistani and Eritrean forces of terror and destruction talkning from his office in Baydhoa. They did the unthinkable of suicide bombing to kill him. Now Its clear why he waited and minimized the loss of life of the people of Somalia and neighboring countries and the states in the north and south west in Somalia. He waited until every Somalian was given the opportunity to see for themselves that the ICU are not what they say they are. Once ICU was exposed and abondoned by the people, he went for it and it now looks like easy and simple. Their action about Kismayo will be the last of their imposter character exposed. There will be nothing left to know about these imposters.

Originally posted by Caamir: I am for the survival of Somalis and it is now right before your eyes. You can make a change by promoting dialogue and bringing Somalis to the table. ICU threatened evryone with naked power. Your country needs you. Countries are temporary they change in shape and status all the time, national anthems change, empires come and go, governemnts come and go, so the single most important thing should always be the people. Their need and interest to preserve themselves from destructive actions should always be paramount.

Originally posted by Castro: quote: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. These are probably the same ones that denounced HizbAllah. Djibutiman, If President Abdullahi Yusuf did not choose to ignore your countrys failed attempt, your president will get some points for his efforts.

Somali president visits Afgoye, towards Mogadishu Somaliweyn Media Center (SMC) Somalia's transitional federal government president Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed ha made a emblematic visit to Afgoye district, some 30km south from the capital Mogadishu on saturday where he was met with a mix of cheers The president is set to get to the capital Mogadishu urgently as aids told SMC, two days after his forces with Ethiopian troops kicked the powerful Islamists off. Yusuf said he was mulling a return to Mogadishu. It would mark his first visit since 1978, after he fled as an enemy of the previous regime. "I will go soon," he said.” Why not? It's the capital’. President Yusuf was met in Afgoye, 20 kilometes (12 miles) outside Mogadishu, by Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, who drove in from the capital where he had made a triumphant entrance Friday after nine days of fighting; claiming total victory over rival Islamists and saying his Ethiopian military allies would stay there for as long as needed. Yusuf flew in from Baidoa, seat of the country's weak transition government about 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of the capital, on board an Ethiopian military helicopter that set down at a military base on the outskirts of Afgoye. The two leaders were reported to be in a meeting inside the aircraft, which was surrounded by soldiers. On Friday in Baidoa, Yusuf defended his government's ability to lead the nation, but said the transitional government would need immediate help from the international community. He said Somalia needed African Union peacekeepers until the government can rebuild a national army. Another top priority is providing services and assistance to the people, he added. Mogadishu meanwhile was calm as this Muslim nation prepared to celebrate Saturday's start of the four-day day holy feast of Eid Al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice. The UN-recognized government, organized in 2004, has endured so much derision that many pundits and journalists routinely refer to it as "Somalia's weak transitional government," one government official recently complained, "as if 'weak' had somehow become part of the formal name." After Islamists rose to power this summer, the transitional government appeared headed toward another failed attempt to install law and order since Somalia slipped into chaos and civil war in 1991. Source: SMC

Originally posted by mystic: What are you talking about? The only terrorists I know of eat raw meat and are fool-smelling pests. You have captured nothing to start with, for there were no arabs or pakistanis you have captured! Hopefully will be made public, at least as to numbers. They are all gathering in Kismayo and area. Other witnesses reported seeing a large number of foreign fighters in the convoys heading south and there were rumours they were headed for an Islamic courts' base at the very southern tip of Somalia called Ras Chiamboni. Islamic fighters have gone door-to-door in Kismayo, recruiting children as young as 12 to make a last stand on behalf of the Islamic courts, according to a confidential U.N. situation report citing the families of boys taken to the frontline town of Jilib, 65 miles north of Kismayo.

Originally posted by General Duke: Why spare Mogadishu and not KISMAYU? Why spare Mogadishu on a press release then hand heavy wepons over to the streets? They talk a good game but their actions differ. There where the men who used to parade children and women and make idle threats against everyone. When it came to it they ran away? It even gets more bizzarre. Read this: Islamic fighters have gone door-to-door in Kismayo, recruiting children as young as 12 to make a last stand on behalf of the Islamic courts, according to a confidential U.N. situation report citing the families of boys taken to the frontline town of Jilib, 65 miles north of Kismayo.

They are not relatives in the sense they are family. Meles mother was born in what is now Eritrea. His mothers birth place and his father's towns are just near (whats now international border)the border. Isayas mother is from Meles's province in Tigray Isayas father is also from another province, but Tigray state.

Originally posted by mystic: Why should we, you ETs are just puppets of America. Aisha Yusuf and Amina Gedi may be meles puppets but America is p!mping you ETs The language you used is a bit tough for me.LOL Ethiopia existed before America was found in its current form and people (europeans). If China becomes the next big man we will still be there, I hope not as poor and backward as we are now. Yes we are at the bottom of the tottem pole in some aspects, but not in everything. At least we deal directly with the bigman of the day. Wether french, british, american or russian we always dealt directly. Not through second hand or third hand. Give us credit for one thing in the case of Somalia. We were able to say no to supporting the warlords fight with ICU to the US. We also welcomed the ICU, because we thought it was people who have had enough with the situation and want to welcome their government. It quickly changed. Ethiopia also did not hand a single person from anywhere to Gitmo, where as Arab and so called Islamic countries were tripping over each other to do so. Ethiopia handed terrorists it captured to their birth countries. Look at the picture of President Abdullahi Yusuf in China. Go back to the time it happened. That picture speaks a thousand words. It dramatically changed EU as well as US. Give credit when you see it. Its only fair and also will make you feel better including your health.

Eritrea: Country and Ethiopia Top Africa in Army Sizes New Vision (Kampala) December 28, 2006 Posted to the web December 29, 2006 Vision Reporter Kampala Eritrea and Ethiopia have the biggest armies in Sub-Saharan Africa. The data, contained in the latest UNDP Human Development Report, are raising more concerns about the situation in the Horn of Africa. Western Union Both countries have troops in Somalia, fighting on opposite sides. Both in percentage and in numbers, Eritrea tops the list. Of a population of 4.2 million, 202,000 are in the armed forces. One in every 20 Eritreans is a soldier. Ethiopia holds the second position. It has an army of 183,000 for a population of 75 million. Other countries with large armies include Angola (108,000 troops), Sudan (105,000 troops), Nigeria (79,000) and the Democratic Republic of Congo with 65,000 troops. Rwanda, with a population of 8.9 million, has an army of 51,000, which is larger than Uganda's 45,000, with a population of 27.8 million. Gambia and Equatorial Guinea have the smallest armies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their armed forces count only 1,000 soldiers. Down on the ladder are also Lesotho (2,000) and Central African republic (3,000), while Niger, Malawi, Benin and Gabon each have 5,000 soldiers. Interestingly, the number of soldiers does not correspond with military expenditure. Botswana and Namibia, though having only 9,000 soldiers each, are spending a high percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, 3.8% and 3.1% respectively. Though many Sub-Saharan countries have not submitted their figures, from the data available Burundi has the highest military expenditure as compared to GDP (6.3%), followed by Angola (4.2%) and the DR Congo (3%). Uganda, which has been criticised by donors over its defence budget, spends 2.3% of GDP on the military. This is a slight increase compared to previous years but significantly less than in 1990, when military expenditure stood at 3.1% of GDP. With 2.2 million soldiers, China has the largest army in the world, followed by the US (1.5 million), India (1.3 million) and Russia (1 million). In terms of military expenditure in relation to GDP, Middle East countries score the highest. Relevant Links East Africa Eritrea Ethiopia Arms and Military Affairs Oman spends 12% of its GDP on defence, followed by Israel (8.7%), Saudi Arabia (8.3%), Jordan (8.2%) and Kuwait (7.9%). In absolute terms, however, US military expenditure, currently at 4% of GDP, is likely to top because of the size of its economy. Five countries in the world have no army at all. They are Iceland, Panama, Haiti, Mauritius and Costa Rica.

Originally posted by Jimcaale: [QB] The Nation (Nairobi) December 28, 2006 Posted to the web December 28, 2006 Nation Reporter Nairobi[QB] The MP also asked Kenya as the chair of Igad, to initiate dialogue with the Transitional Federal Government and the union. Only if the TFG asks for outside mediator, otherwise Kenya should stay out of it. But the delegation asked the union to abandon its quest for more territory. What territory is he talking about. ICU has lost the territory it held, let alone to capture more. Supkem said the attack was "an outright violation of all international and civilised protocol". I don't know which school of international law he went, but the TFG sets the law and protocol for Somalia interaction with other countries. The council also asked Igad members to recall their respective ambassadors from Ethiopia. Why not recall your country's ambassador to Ethiopia instead? Are you going to recall your Ambassador to AU or UNDP if the AU supports ethiopian participation and Ugandan deployment? The leaders spoke a day after the Kenyan Government asked Ethiopia to stop the strikes saying the decision was unilateral. Kenya was trying to appease ICU, but it learned the hard way when Jihad was called on it. That Jihad word came so easy with the ICU supremos.

Originally posted by General Duke: Thousands greet Somalia's PM in capital Somalia, Friday, Dec. 29, 2006. AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Somalia's prime minister entered the capital Friday, a day after an Islamic movement's fighters retreated ahead of his Ethiopian-backed troops, and was welcomed by thousands of cheering residents of the battle-scarred city. A lot of work must have been done ahead of time to get any capital city to welcome Federalists. In 1991 in Ethiopia Meles and co. were not well received and still the city is opposition city. Capital cities lose their power and influence in Federal system. Mugadishu can see this from Addis Ababa or any Federal country. Canada, India, Germany (bon time especially). It seems TFG had a lot of ground work done already to get such a good reception.

As far as Ethiopia is concerned the ICU hate campaign was, lets throw anything on Ethiopia including the kitchen sink. In the process the ICU got really carried away and called for Jihad, called for taking Jijiga by force, called that Tigray should be overthrown (I know where they got this idea of Tigray and amazingly its from the Fascist Mengistu children who buthered ethiopians in the name of socialism)...yada yada.... They were trying anything. Islam was not spared, and was muddied as anything else. The title Shiek may not remain the same after ICU experience. It is pure political opportunism and propaganda that comes from it. Ethiopia is incapable to be against Islam even if we become so cynical and suspect some leaders, the country doesn't have any factors that can make it anti-Islamic. Yes sects always have a hard time in ethiopia. Not just Islam, but also christianity. There is only some tens of thousand catholics after all the effort from Rome. Iran has one cultural center and has not made any headway in ethiopia, but in Sudan there is already contraversy, but Iran has 4 cultural centers there. In conclusion: Don't include ethiopia in the new world order thing.

Originally posted by Taliban: The bottom line; Ethiopia isn't a rich and powerful country like the US that can wage counter guerrilla or insurgency war. Even the US with all its might and help from NATO is failing in Iraq and Afghanistan. What Ethiopia has set to prevent could as well materialize. [/b] Taliban, Before you go into all that analysis, let me point out to you something very basic and fundamental. If you decide to fight, you will be fighting your own brother not an ethiopian. I have seen ethiopians in 1991 that were saying the same words of yours in Addis Ababa. The Capital Addis Ababa is still against the Government of Meles, but now is almost giving up the fight. The reason is the village boys (most of government in ethiopia)are tough nut to crack. Don't plan on fighting ethiopia. all your investment will come to naught. will be waste of money and time, unless as IndaCadde said you want to come to Addis Ababa. The time it takes you to prepare, the ethiopian forces will have retired to their camps in the north or west Ethiopia. If you are planning to fight your own government, thats your business, but from our experience don't forget you will be fighting a few of your states and provinces and you can lose your country all together. From our experience it was close, but was prevented from destruction by Federalism. No Federalism no ethiopia. that was the stark choice.

Originally posted by raadamiir: BY MARY BAUER Pioneer Press Friday, December 29, 2006 Deep divisions lead many of Minnesota's 20,000 Ethiopian immigrants to believe that any involvement by their homeland is a waste of time. Source: Pioneer Press, Dec 29, 2006 I wish the same people that said this used their time to build a school a clinic in their home villages or any area in ethiopia they so choose. Instead they pay monthly contribution to some enterprising ethiopians to return the old order of things in ethiopia that gave us all the ills we suffer from. There is nothing that can be done without peace and order. Peace of Somalia is not a waste of time for anyone especially the neighboring countries.

Originally posted by Taliban: quote:Originally posted by Somali_Friend: Taliban, since you like the name Taliban let me tell you as Taliban and not as Somalian. There is no Pakistan here in our neighborhood. The Taliban are from Afghanistan, not Pakistan. You missed the point. Taliban are supported by Pakistan. They still are either tolerated or Pakistan turns a blind eye. Kenya cannot afford to do so, even if it wanted too. We all live in glass houses