quote: Regarding the Websites you quoted: I think the ONLF is the only relevant site to the discussion. Its very difficult to discuss somali O-gadenian issues from menelik and mengistu websites. of course it is difficult to discuss issue's when you can't refute facts presented to you Mr. Letterman, Quite the opposite. All I want is that I don't want to discuss somali ethiopian issues from menelik and mengistu websites. There is nothing to be accomplished by discussing somali issues with information from menelik and mengistu web sites. quote: example: "The powerful SICU, that controls most of somalia, including the Capital". This is repeated addnausium from some of the media. You can easily see the untruth of that statement. no there is nothing untruthfull about that.. Mogadishu is the largest city in Somalia Kismayo is the third largest port city in Somalia ICU is definitly the superior military force in SomaliaIf you choose to ignore Somaliland and Puntland to make your favourites from Mugadishu look good based on false presentation, all power to you. I would say the SICU controls most of southern somalia and that would be truthful and fact on the ground information. Article 39 is a scam!! Are you not from the menelik mengistu camp here, Mr. Latterman? Those are the only people who woul say something like this. Both ONLF and OLF will never say something even remotely close to this. All article 39 says is that every nation, nationality or peoples have the right to self determination if they convince and get 66.6% of the vote of the said nation or nationality. quote: I think ethiopia is the happiest country that there is peace, order and security in 70% of somalia. Try again a stable Somalia is Ethiopia's biggest nightmare if it starts supporting the multiple groups in your house your doomed and you will Collapse that's a fact [/QB]Mr. Letterman, You have learned nothing from Somaliland and Puntland, let alone Djibuti. Mutual peace, security and development is a two way street. You will need peace to build anything worthy. You will need security to have peace. its all interdependent. Here is the way I see it. Build somalia to be the strongest, the most united, at peace with itself....all east africans would kill to be somali. Until then try to live in the neighborhood as best as you can.

Originally posted by Red Sea: There is no doubt,I have known this for long time now,the problem wasn't even going to be the ICU vs. TFG,in my view that is minor thing that could be solved with relative ease,however,the problem is the Tigray regime in Addis which that has its hand in the jar. Mr. Red Sea, This might work on some ethiopian menelik or mengistu supporters website, but evryone here knows and remembers one thing. For a moment forget ethiopia. Think Yemen. Its only thanx to Yemen and its efforts the speaker came to Baydoa in the first place otherwise he was OK with the warlords and others in Mugadishu standing against the TFG. Next you can also forget everything and this is what the speaker said: The issue is “between the [islamic] Courts and the [somali] federal government, who share ethnicity and a country,” Speaker Sharif said.

Originally posted by M.M.: Acrimony? Who are the elders to mediate Wayone and ONLF? Aren't they the same opressed, mistreated, ignored and neglected masses of somali O-gaden? The elders were forced out but never willingly traveled abroad just the same way the Shariah Court of the Somali state was forced to speak against the MMI in Mogadishu. [/QB] Are you telling me that the somali state government or the federal government forced these elders to travel abroad and work to reconcile the ONLF with the somali O? In regards of the sheria courts chairman of somali state, comments on sheik hassan tahir, why don't you look into the background of the comments. Do you know if these two men had their passes crossed in the past, during mengistu times after 78 when some "friendship" was going on between mengistu and mugadishu? Most of the participants in these cases have some or too much knowledge about each other. I would always look into it. One thing you can glean from the comments of the religious leaders or elders of somali state is that the supreme islamic leader, thats the official name for shiek hassan tahir, I am not kidding you, is not welcome.

The issue is “between the [islamic] Courts and the [somali] federal government, who share ethnicity and a country,” Speaker Sharif said.

Originally posted by me: Dear Xabash, this is the scenario, we will kill you all or you will bow to us. There is no talking, no middle ground. We will finish Axmed Gureys work. The prophet might have given you Xabash's peace, but I am not very strict on religion. So lets stop talking and get to war. Let the weak Somalis die off so that strong Somalis can take over. Lets get down to natural selection. Let the Somalis that deserve Somalia live or let us all die. The answer is NO. lol There is no need for war between us. Make what you have better and we all will trip over eachother to become citizens of somalia. But as we have seen in over a century thats no guarantee for peace.

David_Letterman, The man in Djibuti is playing his cards very well and better than anyone else in the area. Do you have anything against this statement? Assab is rusted and sitting there. Eritrea begged the Americans to use it, they said NO and went to Djibuti. Do you disagree with this statement? Any African that can navigate his way between France and US in a small country has good grey matter between his ears. You know that some countries cannot even handle US and Britain let alone US and France. Anything againts this?

Originally posted by xox ogaal: you should also think of this every region should have army not police but an army that can defend that region ? if you have any question then idon't see why any country should have federal system. you can't tell me the tigry can have army but not somali galbeed. I am afraid you have the wrong information. Every state has police and safety/security organization run under the state government. Some people call them state militia. No state has an army. Army is only under the federal state. There is no difference what so ever between states except some lack the capacity and they are building it. Tigray doesn't have the same capacity as Oromia or Amara and Gambella doesn't have the same capacity as Tigray or Somali states. In state like Gambella the federal police do the work of state police, but that will change as capacity is built. Somali state is in the middle or Average. On the poverty scale Afar and Tigray are the poorest of the poor and Oromia, Southern and Amara are the richest of the poor, Somali state is again in the middle. Actually some of the commanders of the army in Tigray are somalis, oromos etc. You may have heard the general and colonels that went to eritrea (to OLF)were based in the army positions in Tigray. The army has no state attachment.

David_Letterman, Have you heard that BBC is banned in Ethiopia? I think you have the wrong information. They are all there.The so called media which Addis Ababans call gutter media in jail are there for only one reason, they printed material that is against the constitution, they participated in activities against public safety. Democratic or not, there is no country in the world that allows so called media that calls for killing of people. Regarding the Websites you quoted: I think the ONLF is the only relevant site to the discussion. Its very difficult to discuss somali ethiopian issues from menelik and mengistu websites. We can have a separate thread for that if you think its worthy here in SOL. I don't. example: "The powerful SICU, that controls most of somalia, including the Capital". This is repeated addnausium from some of the media. You can easily see the untruth of that statement. For someone who has no idea about the lay of the land and forces in somalia it maybe the only thing they know. What do you think would it help if you and I spent time discussing this obvious item. nothing. Because we both fairly know that all the supposed fights, conflicts are happening in less than 1/3 of somalia. -Has Ethiopia allowed self determination for Somalis in O-gadenia?? Here again there is disenginous presentation of the question. Even ONLF doesn't present it that way. Somali state is the one that has the constitutional right to self determination. A somali that wnats to excercise this right need to convince 66.6% of the somali ethiopian. Lets not have it both ways. ONLF has clearly stated they accept this formulae. If you want the facts on the ground, the situation is that ONLF is not able to convince 66.6% of the O provinces let alone the whole of somali state. Thats a fact. Last years eleders committee that met ONLF and Both the state government and the federal government trying to resolve the issue has ended in acrimony between the elders and ONLF. -the 15 different warlords that were supported by Ethiopia and it's sugar daddy were chased out I am afraid this is also disengenous statement I don't want to use the word lie. Can you name any of the anti-TFG warlords that was friendly to ethiopia? Since the establishment of the TFG, anything ethiopia does in somalia, be it outonomous regions or provinces is all through the TFG and by agreement of TFG. I don't know if you missed it, but an agreement between Puntland and Ethiopia on Air travel and airports was witnessed by none other than the speaker Shiek Sherif. -Somaliland and Puntland both are implementing Shariah-law on the order of their subjects something Meles doesn't like he hates everything Islam Again. Lets not have it both ways. The menelik and mengistu websites that you relied upon for your discussion and their supporters accuse Meles and Tigray where he comes from, for making ethiopia a pro islamic country. They accuse him of having judges including chief justices, Military commanders, Security and Intelligence, majority of his government ministers....moslems. Your accusation is baseless in ethiopia or even as seen from neighboring countries, except those menelik and mengistu children in ethiopia and the johny come lately "icons" in Mugadishu. my people in S-land and P-land and South will work it out don't worry but you won't have a say in it att all! I think ethiopia is the happiest country that there is peace, order and security in 70% of somalia. Somaliland and Puntland both have excellent relations with Ethiopia as bordering regions as well as in common peace and security. Trade is expanding. Both the TFG and the ethiopian federal government encourage this. There is good will on both sides and clear understanding that peace and security has many dividends for all of us.

Originally posted by xox ogaal: Somali-friend are you somalia ? if not what makes you take one side ? I am an ethiopian. I am convinced that federalism is the answer to so many some trivial and some important issues where we waste time, money and worst in some cases life. Let every region manage its affairs, then its easy to identify the common functions that everybody needs. You list them. Set up a common government to do them and thats called federal government. I hope that answers your question why I take side.

David_Letterman, Why you could not quote a single item from a somali ethiopian website, radio, statement....etc.I would have preferred the discussion to be from an ONLF supporters website than a menelik or mengistu supporters websites. The reason is not that I don't like to see what the children of mengistu or menelik are saying, but they are not worth anybody's time. Ethiopians are not going back to the system these past regime nostalgics want. Why did you have to quote from all that trash of Websites that are Menelik and Mengistu nostalgic collection. Do you share any of it or you are part of the strange bedfellows that is happening by those who have given up and about to give up. You are ignoring all the changes that ethiopia and somalia went through in the last decade or more. For many its fundamental change, but you chose to ignore it and went on all the diatribe of those in ethiopia who are fighting in DC or some other western country to restore Menelik and Mengistu. Weyannie or no Weyannie those who are crying for nostalgia of the old system are dying breed even on the internet. Do you realize all the websites you quoted are against Federalism in Ethiopia. Some are outright in opposition to ethnics using their languages to educate their children. They just want to have Addis Ababa dictate evrybody and everything. In ethiopia today, the level of devolution is only at the stage of ethnics. Since there is one somali ethnic in ethiopia, you need to be fair and considerate of all. Hopefully in the coming years it will devolve more to provinces within the ethnic or region. Somalia will also go through the growing up into federalism. For some that are so used to "lordship" from the capital, its a painful process. Thats probably why Shiek Hassan Tahir called it a system against Islam. Puntland can be used as a good incubator for a federal system. In Ethiopia we didn't have one like that, so it was a very hazardeous road to travel. Even ONLF accepts the constitution we have. They think its good. Their only problem is ONLF could not win the somali ethiopian's vote and they decided to go for armed struggle. Are you telling me that its a border conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia? Because if you speak to represent the somali ethiopian from Mugadishu, thats what you are saying. ONLF does not agree with you. You can look at their websites, printed materials, alliances they enter with others..etc. I think you have a few late nights spent on it. The same with you also. I repeat. Don't take it personal.

Originally posted by General Duke: In Eritrea one of the dumbest regimes in history exists today. They violated your signature quote. The Northern ethiopians don't go after revenge. They left free half a million Mengistu army to fend for themselves and take care of their families except for a few top officials that were ordering and sometimes doing the butchery. Eritrean leader still wants to revenge for the embarassment he got in 2000 when the ethiopian army sneaked on donkey and mules through mounainous area and made useless the miles and miles of eritrean trenches and tanks defence line. Assab is now pretty much useless. It will need billion dollar complete reconstruction and re equip the whole thing. Where as Djibuti can't expand and modernize fast enough for the ethiopian market. The dumbest thing Eritrea is doing is keeping 300,000 of its working age citizens in army service for all these years on top of the army. where as ethiopia only has 120,000 as per Janes defence. Every now and then ethiopia makes some excercises with elite commandos near eritrea and eritrea gets so worked up now there is no gas for civilian use in the country. They forget that ethiopia can raise a million man army in short order - easy to do when one has 80 million people. One generation like this and eritrea is pretty much gone down the tube, and when their dictator is gone it will be the congo. People win or lose have to learn to move on to doing some construction and attend to life's needs. War is terrible and it has to be as short as possible. Eritreans take pride for fighting the longest time, forgetting that the fighting is done for getting peace at the end of it or getting something better at the end of it.

Yemen: A Tough Zit to Pop Gary Brecher By Gary Brecher ( war_nerd@exile.ru ) 13 November, 2002 Reading the leaks from Washington, you can tell we're gearing up to do something in Yemen. A little regime-change action maybe, a sideshow to the big production number in Iraq. Hitting Yemen makes sense-a lot more sense than occupying Iraq. Nobody in DC really believes that Saddam and his two million mustache-clone slaves could really threaten a nest of ants, much less America. They peddle that stuff to the suckers, but they don't believe it themselves. They don't believe the crap they throw out about Iraq as a haven for terrorists, either. No Arab militant would be seen dead with Saddam; they hate him as much as we do. Saddam couldn't even persuade Abu Nidal to work for him, for Christ's sake! Abu died in Baghdad last month, and by all accounts he was offed on Saddam's orders, because he wouldn't set up the agent networks Saddam wanted. When a dictator can't make Abu Nidal start up terror networks, folks, then that dictator is just not a competent manager of "human resources," as my asshole Christian boss would say. I think it's pretty clear by now that ol' Saddam is about the worst personnel manager since Jeffrey Dahmer started trying to figure out how to make his tricks stay the night. Fact is, Saddam as terror-monger is a joke. If Iraq is a threat to America's big cities, then I'm a 29" waist. This is what happens when you **** a stranger in the ***! This is what happens when you **** a stranger in the ***! But Yemen...that's a different story. The Yemen connection to Al Qaeda is for real. The attack on the USS Cole in Yemeni waters was just a small sample of the scary stuff waiting for anyone who tries to take Yemen. Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, is full of soldiers, spies and recruiters for every Jihad from Kashmir to Algeria. Bin Laden himself is Yemeni. The bin Laden clan were typical Yemenis: energetic, hardworking, a lot tougher and smarter than the average Arab. Bin Laden's father did a Jed Clampitt: loaded up the truck an' headed for the big money, building big public projects in Riyadh. The Saudis were always happy to let their poor Yemeni cousins do the work. The Saudis are mixed up in Yemen right up to their noses. Typically for them, the goddamn morons, they were a lot better at stirring up Islamic crazies than controlling them once they were riled up. Saudi Arabia has been trying to keep Yemen off-balance for most of the twentieth century. The last thing they want to see is a strong, united Yemen on their southern borders. They're afraid of the Yemenis-and for good reason. The Saudis have every hi-tech weapon money can buy, but they don't have any soldiers worth a damn. The Yemenis are fiercer, smarter, and quicker by far. They've been warring against each other for decades. They'd go through the fat, phony Saudi Army like a mongoose through a dairy cow. And that's why trying to pull off a "regime change" in Yemen won't be easy. These people can fight. More importantly, they can fight without getting orders from a central source, unlike the Iraqis. And they can handle any amount of chaos we throw at them. They thrive on it. And as for setting up a "regime change" -- there ain't no "regime" in Yemen in the first place! As my high-school guidance counselor used to say, "That's the root of the whole problem!" The big vacuum where a state would be is what makes Yemen the preferred destination for every Arab radical on the run. The history of Yemen is uncommonly ****ed-up, even by the standards of the Arabian Peninsula. And that's sayin' somethin'! I mean, where do you want to begin? Pick any date you want; it's going to be the same. Here's a simplified Yemeni history timescale: 2000 BC: Yemen ruled by Queen of Sheba, who's actually mentioned in the Bible. High point of Yemeni development. It's all downhill from here. 1999 BC to 1838 AD.: Anarchy, chaos. Slavetaking and pillage. Tribes controlled by petty chieftains joined in shifting alliances with frequent betrayals. 1838 AD: The British land and claim Aden and South Yemen for the Crown. The British grabbed a piece of the Yemen coast on the off-chance it might come in handy someday. They weren't shy back then, before "Imperialism" was a dirty word. If they saw a shoreline that looked inhabitable, they rowed ashore and planted a Union Jack. They held onto Yemen for decades, but it wasn't until the Suez Canal was finished in 1870 that they finally realized what they'd wanted Yemen for. By God, it commanded the entry to the Red Sea! Yemen: It Yemen: It's God's country! While the British were occupying South Yemen, the part facing the Indian Ocean, the Ottomans held onto Northern Yemen, the part that faces the Red Sea. Both empires settled for forts along the coasts. Nobody much wanted to explore inland, where the tribes still ruled themselves. Those tribes didn't take kindly to surprise visitors (and still don't). So the borders of Yemen start out at the coasts with big strong dark lines, then fade into nothing as they head inland. Nobody really knows where the borders are once you head inland. It's the Rub-al-Khali, "The Empty Quarter" -- the nastiest, driest and blankest part of the whole stinking Arabian peninsula. Until they found oil up there, nobody but the tribes gave a damn who owned it. (Since then, the Saudis, the big hogs, have started working up a nice little border war with the Yemenis.) In 1918 the Ottoman Empire -- one of the biggest, oldest empires in the world -- just crumbled. Northern Yemen, which used to be Ottoman territory, was suddenly independent, whether it wanted to be or not. The British held onto South Yemen, though. The North tried forcing the British to pull out of the South so they could set up a united Yemeni state. The British sent more troops. Yemenis fought a small but deadly little guerrilla war against the British right through to 1967, when the British finally pulled out. That's when Yemeni history gets REALLY confusing and messed-up. To oversimplify: the British withdrawal in 1967 left a power vacuum in South Yemen. It filled up fast with the "Pan-Arab" schemes which were all the rage among early-sixties towelheads. In 1962, North Yemen had joined the "United Arab Republic," a big pan-Arab scheme run out of Egypt. That was a disaster, but it gave the Egyptian intelligence services a foot in the Yemeni door. A coup against the Yemeni ruling family that year gave all the local powers a chance to interfere: the Saudis backed the Yemeni Royals, the Egyptians supported the rebels. But it wasn't really ideological. Nothing ever is in countries like Yemen. It was the old clan-vs-clan warfare, just gussied up with fancy foreign words about "democracy" and "socialism." That was exactly what happened in 1967, when South Yemen, newly independent, renamed itself "The People's Republic of South Yemen." That set the next, inevitable war: this time a civil war between the royalist North and the Communist South. It was Vietnam reversed; alone among Third World conflicts, the South were the evil commies, and the North were the good anti-commies. Most freedom-loving folks were used to rooting on the South of any Third World civil war against the North: South Vietnam, South Korea... It was so confusing that it just never made the papers. That war got off the ground in 1972 and ran, off and on, right up to 1990. In that time there were dozens of peace treaties, coups, unions, declarations, promises and commissions. It's impossible to say how bloody the war was - more like a long-running feud. As far as I can tell, none of the treaties and declarations made a damn bit of difference. Weirdly enough, there was apparently something actually resembling peace in Yemen for a couple of years in the early '90s. Somebody tell Dan Akroyd! He should've put this on his Strange Impossible Paranormal Events series: peace in Yemen! The locals were so embarrassed at this "peace" thing that they got to work and started up the good ol' North vs. South Civil War again in 1994. This time it was the South saying it wanted out of United Yemen. (You can't blame them. If I had a family like this, I'd be down at the courthouse with a petition for a name-change first thing on Monday morning.) The new war was going very nicely, with the Saudis sniffing around the borders looking to make a little extra trouble without actually having to fight, like the overfed jackals they are. If this all sounds completely insane, that's because it is. Fact is, Yemen doesn't have a "history" like some nice European country. What's the history of a gangfight? We're talking about the Horn of Africa, for God's sake! Somalia is just across the straits! Small-scale war (or big-time banditry, if you prefer) is a way of life in those parts. There are inland zones in Yemen where kidnapping for profit is still the big local industry. The power of the government, if any, never really made it into these "tribal areas like Hawdramawt, which is a permanent no-go zone for government troops. If you have the money or the right connections, you're welcome in the "Tribal Areas." The backwoods Yemenis are kind of like backwoods people anywhere: they don't trust the gummin't, not even a little, and they have a soft spot for outlaws on the run. If anybody from the Yemeni government tried to come in and take out a "guest," they'd be violating those "age-old laws of hospitality" you always hear about these savages having. These tribal hosts resent that. And they express their feelings with AKs and RPGs. Last year we found out just how seriously they resent it. The US prodded the Yemenis to send troops into one of the "tribal areas" to flush out some Al Qaeda suspects sheltering with the locals. It was not what you would call an unqualified success: 18 government soldiers died, versus three local "tribal fighters." I'd say the locals won that one. I'd say somebody got himself ambushed. And I'd say that if I were a Yemeni soldier, I'd report sick on the day they sent the next patrol into that neighborhood. Might as well fight another war! Might as well fight another war! The most obvious lesson from Yemen's incredibly ****ed-up history is that these people are good guerrilla fighters. They've been at it long enough, damn it -- they should be good at it by now. So it would be a big mistake to treat Yemen like Iraq. The invasion of Iraq is going to be a cakewalk, militarily. I mean, Jeez -- remember Sam Kinison's bit on the Iraqi Army? "They were surrendering to video cameras! 'Put your hands up or I'll zoom! I'll do it! Don't make me zoom you!" Yemenis are a different breed. They fight back. And they fight dirty. But hey, so do we. We fight dirty with the best of 'em. There was a truly glorious kill last week in Yemen, when a Hellfire launched from a CIA Predator RPV managed to vaporize a half-dozen Al Qaeda guys who were driving around Yemen in their SUV. I wonder if any of the surviving relatives tried to collect on the insurance. "Sorry guys, Toyota Landcruisers are not warranted against the impact of a Hellfire missile." The Hellfire warhead was designed to penetrate the turret armor of a 55-ton tank, so you can imagine what an easy time it had annihilating an SUV. Did you see the pictures of the kill-scene? That's my idea of good porn. There was just a smudge on the ground where the SUV had been. You'd've needed dental records to decide what make and model it was. Quincy, M.D.: "The molars look Toyota, but the bicuspids are Honda..." As for the occupants, there were no body-parts left at all. This was one accident where even my Driver's Ed teacher, who was totally insane on the subject of seatbelts, would've had to admit that buckling up wouldn't've made much difference. Even driver-side airbags wouldn't have helped these ******s. It's nice to see the Hellfire getting a little action, because it's one of the real success stories of US weapons design. It was developed to provide attack helicopters, specifically the AH 64 ("Apache") with a standoff weapon which could kill all Soviet armored vehicles. The name stands for "Helicopter-launched Fire-and-Forget" missile. But "Hellfire" makes the point pretty nicely on its own. The missile acquires the target before it's fired. Once the helicopter enters the target data, it can fire the missile and immediately take evasive action. The missile guides itself to the target. The idea was that Hellfire would allow AH 64 pilots the chance to attack Soviet convoys and get out of sight quickly, before the ZSU-23 quad AA vehicles that traveled with all Soviet convoys could bring their guns to bear. The Apache would track the Soviet convoy, in tandem with smaller scout choppers, then pop up out of the forest (they were imagining a Central European NATO/Warsaw Pact scenario), launch its Hellfires, then zoom off low and fast. The Israelis appreciated the Hellfire before anybody else. They have a good eye for the American weapons that really work. Hellfires have been weapon of choice in the strikes Israel's been making on Hamas leaders travelling in their cars. The Israelis were also the big pioneers in using RPVs in combat. So you can see that this CIA strike in Yemen, using a Hellfire fired from an RPV, has IDF/Mossad influence written all over it. The whole notion of assassinating your enemies on their home ground is a big Israeli tradition too, of course. Mossad and Shin Beth have a rep that they will track you down anywhere, no matter what it costs or how long it takes. The CIA doesn't have that kind of reputation. I hate to say it, but they used to be kind of a joke when it came to assassinations. I remember a joke I heard from one of my quasi-spook net friends: "In 1964 there was an attempt to assassinate Sukarno. Everybody knew immediately that the CIA was behind it, because the bomb killed every single person in a crowded room EXCEPT Sukarno." But the CIA did it right this time. And durn, they were proud of themselves. Whatever happened to the "cloak of secrecy"? Everybody at CIA was on the phone, calling reporters, faxing graphic shots of the vaporized SUV to the wire services. I mean I appreciate a good kill shot-we get way too few in this war-but it doesn't make me respect them. If we stick to firing Hellfires from RPVs, we may be able to do the job in Yemen -- kill the people who need killing without losing anybody of our own. We might even be able to bribe some locals to kidnap the people we want. All that tribal "hospitality" crap tends to evaporate when you offer some lice-ridden sheik a million bucks to hand over his "guest." A few deals like that, and we can bring the people we want to Gauntanamo for one of those special US Marine Corps makeovers, with blindfolds and earplugs, manacles and white noise-the whole "Welcome to the World of Consequences" treatment. That would be the smart way to do it. But it's not like we just found out about Yemen. The Cole got blown up in October, 2000 -- and all we heard for two years was *****-fights from every agency in DC about whose fault it was. It's a classic matchup: Yemen vs. the USA -- a dirt-poor little country with no government at all vs. a big rich superpower with so much government it can't seem to get anything done.

SICU has now become, All dressed up with all kinds of garbs, but no where to go Their forward movement has been stopped Northward, westward and southwestward...in every direction. I am not a military person, but what I would do would be just start engine and drive a truck forard and reverse in a parking lot and get the ICU run out of breath trying to anticipate where its going. They cannot attack the TFG, because they know any federalist village in the middle of the territory they are holding can bring the whole tent down. The more they wait, the lies become verified as lies and come back to bite them. People normally don't expect someone who wants to be called shiek to declare a colonel has been captured and beheaded. When that colonel shows up then either the colonel becomes icon or the shieks are shown to be fraud. The latter happened. The TFG will be busy helping the Ugandans settle in the territories they were asked to help. Sudan will not be far behind now, they can see the African thrugh AU or IGAD catching up and it will help them for their Darfur dispute.

Originally posted by General Duke: Puntland is moving steadily but surely in the right direction. Ethiopia with its 70 million + population is an important regional market and one Puntland needs to develop further. Business and the creation of jobs and opportunities is what will win in the end. In this globalizes world you have to have the right image, for example why should Puntland not do business with Ethiopia or foster a relationship with that country since all its neighbors including Somaliland, Djabouti and Sudan are all trying to get a piece of the action? Deeper business ties with Yemen, Oman, and Ethiopia will create wealth for the sate of Puntland. Exploitation of the natural resources of the state will enable us to feed, clothe and care for the majority of our citizens as well as develop real cities and infrastructure. Che_Guevara, You need to look at it, at least sometimes, from this angle, like the General did. It comes from the confidence of knowing who is offering what to whom. Puntland has a lot to offer in all areas, so Puntland has the better position of getting unfettered access to Ethiopia. And it already gets it. Puntland also knows is competing against others and has to overcome the distance by some other incentives, after all its trade. As people, believe it or not both sides of the trade may even be conducted by Somalis or one where the Somali is most prominent. The countries that are already there or shortly will be in Puntland are also more friends or non-threatening to Ethiopia. China and Yemen are common friends and if the Canadian, Australian, American business came will not be threatening to either. Russia will not be far behind. Thanx to oil it has made a remarkable comeback to its position as major power.

How did Djibuti outsmarted Eritrea? Eritrea got too greedy and wanted to cut off Djibuti from Ethiopia and become the sole port facility for Ethiopia, through Assab. Does anyone remember Assab now? hardly. When Eritrea failed in its war with Djibuti then it moved on to make trouble with another competitor, Sudan. That also failed to materialize. On the contrary Sudan built a new dry port just for Ethiopia. Djibuti and Sudan serve different parts of Ethiopia and they are not in direct competition. Djibuti completely and fully engaged Ethiopia commercially and security. That became the death of Assab. Now the cranes are rusted and the whole port is dead. Djibuti cannot rest on its seat, there are new kids on the block. Somaliland and Puntland. They both have already taken a chunk of Djibuti's monopoly, thus the interest of Djibuti now on a counter to slow or stop the competition. The counter force is now in Mugadishu. If Djibuti makes it out of this challenge with the minimum loss navigating between Ethiopia, Somaliland, Puntland and the rest of Somalia, then Djibuti will have graduated into the smart countries club.

Somalia’s Islamists and IGAD to convene in Djibouti Mogadishu 30, Nov.06 ( Sh.M.Network) – An Islamist delegation of seven individuals led by senior Islamic Courts leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has flown to neighboring Djibouti where meeting orchestrated by Djibouti government between Somalia’s Islamists and member states of Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD, is expected to take place. Speaking to reporters at Mogadishu airport, Sheik Sharif said their trip was to hasten diplomatic dialog with IGAD over the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops inside Somalia. Ethiopia is a member state of IAGD. “If IGAD needs to be neutral in Somalia’s internal conflict, it should force Ethiopia to pull its military forces out of Somalia”, Sheik Sharif said, thanking Djibouti and Qatar for their of supporting the tightening of the arms embargo on Somalia after UN Security Council unanimously approved the resolution of keeping arms embargo on Somalia in place. He denied that several countries supplied Islamic Courts with weapons and money. He pointed the UN report recently posted on the internet fake and baseless. UN report revealed ten countries involved in arming Somalia’s challenging groups. He also denied that foreign fighters do fight alongside Somalia’s Islamic Courts. “American accusations on us that we harbor foreign Islamists are absolutely wrong”. He said, welcoming the resolutions of the UN Security Council on stiffening the arms embargo on Somalia. Somalia’s parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden has landed at Mogadishu airport, returning from Djibouti as Aden said he went to Djibouti to work with Djibouti government over reconciling the Somali government and the Union of Islamic Courts. Somalia Union of Islamic Courts executive council leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed along with Islamist entourages gets on board a plane at Mogadishu airport Thursday. Sharif headed for neighboring Djibouti to attend a meeting orchestrated by Djibouti between IGAD and Union of Islamic Courts. Thursday, Mogadishu 30 November 2006.

Now it is even more obvious why ONLF wanted exit from Mugadishu in a mad dash. After Kismayo (where the intention of international terrorism's interest not the somali interest for peace and reconstituting the country was clearly shown) the ONLF has been in internal termoil.

One thing is for certain. The SICU has hit the wall and is checking all around the wall moving left right and confused which side has been checked for exit. The people are demanding that the shiekies set up local governemnt and join the other states in working with the federal government. The SICU is saying, lets not talk abut government, lets just fight. Only we know what we get out of the fighting. Don't ask. After all we are sheikies. That can only last few days. It has run its course.

Originally posted by Juje: this suicide bombing it will not do the ICU any favours except reveal their true colours, expert in terrorist activities and introducing a new form of combat in Somalia, Suicide bombing...very dangerous. Bal adeer halke ku qariin dona wa yabe. This is some old folks introducing themselves to the neighborhood with new garb, culture and "fighting" style. Its a sign that the SICU has given up any hope of overunning all of somalia and are afraid of losing what they have in a hurry.

Originally posted by Paragon: ^^ Amiin. I guess Meles never learns; trying the same trick twice . Well, if this act was meant to implicate the UIC then, I say, what a futile exercise! Meles, try something else- What makes you smile? Why can't you wait for the identities of the terrorists? The rest has been there for 16 years, only the new arrivals bring new culture and methods of fighting. The only new arrivals are in Mugadishu. But I don't know if its them or their guests invited by shiek IndaCadde?

Originally posted by Che-Guevara: ^^^^According to Somali-Friend, everyone who serves the Woyane has reached a level maturity that's unprecendented in the horn...loool Che, Ever tried to look at it from the other side or end? What if the Woyane is serving (since you seem to like this word) the somali? Talking about serving, how about serving egypt arabs in its fight against ethiopia for no benefit to the somali what so ever? That is called brotherhood, I think not serving. I think Yemen is just too far to think of how Puntland shows matured relations. Puntland and somaliland should have been friends with egypt only.lol

Originally posted by BiLaaL_07: quote:Originally posted by Somali_Friend: The somali ethio speaks for himself and bargains what ever that has to be bargained himself. To whom can the 'Somali Ethio' bargain with? Before answering, you would do well to research on the areas concerned and their systems of administration. Some of your statments reveal a general lack of knowledge on Somali affairs. You keep tossing terms such as warlord, ethnicity, regional, Islamist etc - terms i'm sure you've picked up from mis-informed and unrealiable media outlets. I doubt that you're Somali at all. I hope the administrators at SOL start monitoring and filtering poorly researched and ill-considered information, as they guard against tribal statements. 1. If Mugadishu can bargain with mengistu without any concern for WSLF, what makes you think that the somali ethiopian cannot say enough is enough, you speak for yourself we speak for ourselves. 2. Could you ever bring one post of mine where I wrote or used the word Islamist..you won't find, but you just have to put untruth, as so much untruth is raining from mugadishu these days. Shieks doing propaganda work. 3. Why don't you bring any research you have and debunk that the somali ethiopian rejects and resents now being spoken about as helpless provinces. Everyone rejects this. You didn't dispute ONLF statement. Thats exactly what ONLF is saying and better accept that now. If you are having a hard tme accepting it from Jijiga accept it from ONLF. 4. The only word I use and you don't like is Ethnic or Ethnicity. Its common term now. Of all ethiopian states the Somali and the Afar are the closest to exactly matching the Ethnic state. Its sometimes refered to as ethnic federal system.

Originally posted by Kashafa: ^ Yo, Alien Member 8033... You need to understand one thing: The concept of Somali-Etho friendship is a non-starter untill you give Western Somalia it's independence. I know that ain't happenin, so we'll just have to take it back sometime this century once we got our domestic issues under control. And this time, it ain't gon be no Russo-Fidel-Angolan-Libi-Yemenoid forces saving your sorry butts. You know it. I know it. The Etho soldier has no desire of war or bloodshed. The most mild-mannered Somali is the complete opposite, ready to throw-down at a moment's notice. So, you see friend , it's inevitable(inshallah), we can start bein friends after you give back(or we take, your choice), what's rightfully ours. Do you realize the wrongs of your argument. Its fundamentally wrong. Who are you to speak on behalf of the somali ethiopian. You need to understand, my friend, and if you are not willing to understand, you need to accept that the somali ethiopian is big enough to demand what he wants and is strong enough to go and get what he wants himself. You put your house in order, he will put his house in order, which is exactly what he is doing, Puntland and Somalialnd are putting their houses in order. Let everybody speak for themselves. Thats the message being sent even from the most unlikely places ONLF. read the statement ONLF issued. Lets not get into Mugadishu warlords trying to speak on behalf of Puntland and Somaliland trying to speak on behalf of somali ethiopian...forget that old tiresome game. Its dead. Wether the somali is in 10 countries or one country, first things first. He has to have his rights respected, governing himself, speaking his language and raising the next generation as somali and taking advantage of every opportunity for development. Don't take it personal, but everything else is nonesense. If Mugadishu speaks for Somali ethiopian, it means Mugadishu will bargain the somali ethiopian...no no no...stop that shenanigan. The somali ethio speaks for himself and bargains what ever that has to be bargained himself. That point has been reached by everybody wether they are in government or in opposition in Jijiga and also those fighting for their province in parts of the O, with ONLF.

"Recently, exploration teams from Australia have been hunting for oil in Somalia’s Puntland. Canadian lawyer Jay Park, “one of the world’s top oil and gas lawyers,” is working with the Somalian government to create a "credible petroleum regime". According to Park, "(Somalia) is one of the poorest countries in the world, but it may be sitting on some of the greatest oil and gas treasures.”" Competing Geostrategic and Energy Interests in Somalia http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHI20060527&articleId=2524

Originally posted by Temujin: The RRA liberated Baidhabo from the USC with the aid of Zenawi. How grateful. Almost everybody is in the same line up, with some individuals changed and a wholesale name and makeup and beautification changes in mugadishu. OLF and ONLF were also on the other side. At this time ONLF will get out of mugadishu. It have had split in the leadership and also warnings from some elders in the community from its supporters side. The more things change the more they stay the same. Thats one reason the Jihad thing didn't find takers. Even ONLF stated that this mugadishu shindig has nothing to do about religion. The sheriia courts chair of somali state ethiopia actually went further against "shiek" hassan tahir.