Horta anigu waxaan is oran jiray dadkan madowga ah (blacks) maxeey ugu danbeeyaan dadka kale? Waalahi taa waxey ahaan jirtay mid aan aad iyo aad ula yaabo. Marwalba, madowga dadka kale oo bini-aadanka ahi waa'eey ka danbeeyaan. Hada anaa sababta idiin sheegaya, sababtu waxa weeye wax aan HIP HOP iyo MUSIK aheen maba yaqaanaan. Ban ninkii waxa uu na weeydiinaya bal arka? Yaa NEXT HIPHOP STAR ah? War aduunka wax uu ilaahay badshey ma hip hop baa hada inoo sheegeeysaa? Ileen madowgu bilaash uma danbeeyaan amaba lama guseen kareen hadii eey wax faa'ido ah ku hadli lahayeen. Anigu waxaan jeclaan lahaa in aarko ilmahan ismooday in eey yihiin MADOW in eey soo jiyaan oo eey school kooda ku xirmaan.

good. thats a good news for somalis. that would keep them off our back for a while.

War amerikaanka ma'ayaaga wax suubin karaan? Hadey isku dayaan in eey wadanka soo galaan hilfaha ayaa loo labi. Oo meedkooda ayaanu ku marshaxaleeneeynaa. Amerikaanku waa doofaarin.

ManOfWisdom. There are two kinds of people in this world: Leaders, and followers. I think which group women belong to is obvious. And its better they remain that way, since its very easily manageable.

I work with Afrikaan Amerikaans, white Amerikaans,Hispaaniks, and one Indian guy. I am not even the ONLY Somali there. There are two younger Somali girls who work in the Customer Service Dept. We dont get to see each other that often, and when we do its all formal and work related.

Brother Zak. According the Djibouti government, these people are security threat to the existenz of the National Dj gov't. And ofcourse to their Amerikaan pigs. They have deported both Soomalis, and ethiopians who were living legally in the land.

Zakariya has said everything i wanted to say. Please everyone, re read what Zak has wrote. He is truly talented person. Ayeeyo, walaal marka hore Salaan iga gudoon. Tan labaad, waan kugu raacsanahay DA'DA laqarsho in eey ceebtahay. Qofwalba waa in uu da'diisa PROUD ku yahay.

I can't believe my people will do that. They said refugees should leave the country for both economical/security reason. Djiboutia has over 2000 Amerikaans in part of the war on terrorism.

Originally posted by Shujui-1: wlckomen Mein Furrer Hey shujue, the girl wasn't speaking German, but Jamaican English. But i am suprised that you know about der führer.

Lander i couldnt' agree with you any more. Only Somaliya/Lebanon has managed to kick the Amerikaans out of their soil. Read this article about Amerikaan kowards. ------------------------------------------------ The Fourth Reich Everyone likes to say, "Hitler did this", and, "Hitler did that". But the truth is Hitler did very little. He was a world class tyrant, but the evil actually done by the Third Reich, from the death camps to WW2 was all done by German citizens who were afraid to question if what they were told by their government was the truth or not, and who because they did not want to admit to themselves that they were afraid to question the government, refused to see the truth behind the Reichstag Fire, refused to see the invasion by Poland was a staged fake, and followed Hitler into national disaster. The German people of the late 1930s imagined themselves to be brave. They saw themselves as the heroic Germans depicted by the Wagnerian Operas, the descendants of the fierce Germanic warriors who had hunted wild boar with nothing but spears and who had defeated three of Rome's mightiest legions in the Tuetenberg Forest. But in truth, by the 1930s, the German people had become civilized and tamed, culturally obsessed with fine details in both science and society. Their self-image of bravery was both salve and slavery. Germans were required to behave as if they were brave, even when they were not. It's easy to look back and realize what a jerk Hitler was. But at the time, Hitler looked pretty good to the German people, with the help of the media. He was TIME Magazine's Man Of The Year in 1938. The German people assumed they were safe from a tyrant. They lived in a Republic, after all, with strict laws regarding what the government could and more importantly could not do. Their leader was a devoutly religious man, and had even sung with the boy's choir of a monastery in his youth. The reality was that the German people, as individuals, had lost their courage. The German government preferred it that way as a fearful people are easier to rule than a courageous one. But the German people didn't wish to lose their self-image of courage. So, when confronted with a situation demanding individual courage, in the form of a government gone wrong, the German people simply pretended that the situation did not exist. And in that simple self-deception lay the ruin of an entire nation and the coming of the second World War. When the Reichstag burned down, most Germans simply refused to believe suggestions that the fire had been staged by Hitler himself. They were afraid to. But so trapped were the Germans by their belief in their own bravery that they willed themselves to be blind to the evidence before their eyes, so that they could nod in agreement with Der Fuhrer while still imagining themselves to have courage, even as they avoided the one situation which most required real courage; to stand up to Hitler's lies and deceptions. When Hitler requested temporary extraordinary powers, powers specifically banned under German law, but powers Hitler claimed he needed to have to deal with the "terrorists", the German people, having already sold their souls to their self-delusions, agreed. The temporary powers were conferred, and once conferred lasted until Germany itself was destroyed. When Hitler staged a phony invasion from Poland, the vast majority of the German people, their own self-image dependant on continuing blindness to Hitler's deceptions, did not question why Poland would have done something so ****** , and found themselves in a war. But Hitler knew he ruled a nation of cowards, and knew he had to spend the money to make the new war something cowards could fight and win. He decorated his troops with regalia to make them proud of themselves, further trapping them in their self-image. Hitler copied the parade regalia of ancient Rome, to remind the Germans of the defeat of the legions at the Tuetenberg Forest. Talismans were added from orthodox religions and the occult to fill the soldiers with delusions of mystical strengths and an afterlife if they fell in battle. Finally, knowing that it takes courage to kill the enemy face to face, Hitler spent vast sums of money on his wonder weapons, airplanes, submarines, ultra-long range artillery, the world's first cruise missile and the world's first guided missile, weapons that could be used to kill at a distance, so that those doing the killing need not have to face the reality of what they were doing. The German people were lured into WW2 not because they were brave, but because they were cowards who wanted to be seen as brave, and found that shooting long range weapons at people they could not see took less courage than standing up to Hitler. Sent into battle by that false image of courage, the Germans were dependent on their wonder-weapons. When the wonder-weapons stopped working, the Germans lost the war. I remember as a child listening to the stories of WW2 from my grandfather and my uncles who had served in Europe. I wondered how the German people could have been so ****** as to have ever elected Hitler dog catcher, let alone leader of the nation. Such is the clarity of historical hindsight. And with that clarity, I see the exact same mechanism that Hitler used at work here in this nation. The American people imagine themselves to be brave. They see themselves as the heroic Americans depicted by Western Movies, the descendants of the fierce patriot warriors who had tamed the frontier and defeated the might of the British Empire. But in truth, by the dawn of the third millennium, the American people have become civilized and tamed, culturally obsessed with fine details in both science and society. Their self-image of bravery is both salve and slavery. Americans are required to behave as if they are brave, even when they are not. The American people assume they are safe. They live in a Republic, after all, with strict laws regarding what the government can and more importantly cannot do. Their leader is a devoutly religious man. The reality is that the American people, as individuals, have lost their courage. The government prefers it that way as a fearful people are easier to rule than a courageous one. But Americans don't wish to lose their self-image of courage. So, when confronted with a situation demanding courage, in the form of a government gone wrong, the American people simply pretend that the situation does not exist. When the World Trade Towers collapsed, most Americans simply refused to believe suggestions that the attacks had been staged by parties working for the US Government itself. Americans were afraid to, even as news reports surfaced proving that the US Government had announced plans for the invasion of Afghanistan early in the year, plans into which the attacks on the World Trade Towers which angered the American people into support of the already-planned war fit entirely too conveniently. But so trapped are Americans by their belief in their own bravery that they will themselves to be blind to the evidence before their eyes, so that they can nod in agreement with the government while still imagining themselves to have courage, even as they avoid the one situation which most requires real courage; to stand up to the government's lies and deceptions. The vast majority of the American people, their own self-image dependant on continuing blindness to the government's deceptions, never question why Afghanistan would have done something so ****** as to attack the United States, and as a result, Americans find themselves in a war. Now the US Government has requested temporary extraordinary powers, powers specifically banned under Constitutional law, but powers the government is claiming they need to have to deal with the "terrorists". The American people, having already sold their souls to their self-delusions, are agreeing. The temporary powers recently conferred will be no more temporary in America than they were in Germany. The US Government knows they rule a nation of cowards. The government has had to spend the money to make the new war something cowards can fight. The government has decorated the troops with regalia to make them proud of themselves, further trapping them in their self-image. Talismans are added from orthodox religions and the occult to fill the soldiers with delusions of mystical strengths and an afterlife if they fall in battle. Finally, knowing that it takes courage to kill the enemy face to face, the United States government has spent vast sums of money on wonder weapons, airplanes, submarines, ultra-long range artillery, cruise missiles, and guided missiles, weapons that kill at a distance, so that those doing the killing need not have to face the reality of what they are doing. As I mentioned above, Hitler was TIME Magazine's Man Of The Year in 1938. Stalin was TIME Magazine's Man Of The Year for 1939 and 1942. Both of these men, and many others also celebrated by the media, were unimaginable monsters. The lesson from these facts is that it isn't easy to spot a genocidal tyrant when you live with one, especially one whom the press supports and promotes. Tyrants become obvious only when looking back, after what they have done becomes known. The German people did not stand up to Hitler because their media betrayed them, just as the American media is betraying the American people by willingly, voluntarily, even proudly, abandoning its traditional role as watchdog against government abuse. It is the very nature of power that it attracts the sort of people who should not have it. The United States, as the world's last superpower, is a prize that attracts men and women willing to do absolutely anything to win that power, and hence are also willing to do absolutely anything with that power once they have it. If one thinks about it long enough, one will realize that all tyrants, past and most especially present, MUST use deception on their population to initiate a war. No citizen of a modern industrialized nation will send their children off to die in a war to grab another nation's resources and assets, yet resources and assets are what all wars are fought over. The nation that wishes to initiate a war of conquest must create the illusion of an attack or a threat to start a war, and must always give their population of cowards an excuse never to question that carefully crafted illusion. It is naive, not to mention racist to assume that tyrants appear only in other nations and that somehow America is immune simply because we're Americans. America has escaped the clutches of a dictatorship thus far only through the efforts of those citizens who, unlike the Germans of the 1930s, have the moral courage to stand up and point out where the government is lying to the people. And unless more Americans are willing to have that kind of individual courage, then future generations may well look back on the American people with the same harshness of judgment with which we look back on the 1930s Germans.

Shujui, no ONE is complaining just a little suggestion. That part of the site seems to attract only, let me not say it. Do you know what i think they should replace it with, the DHAQAN forum. I am very sure there are many HIGHLY NOBLE nomads in here, who would want to put a stop to the deteriating state out dhaqan seems to be in.

They just should delete it, and not try to rename it to anything else. Both the POETRY/TEEN forums need to go.

Hey i just put up a similar thread asking someone to delete the POETRY forum. I think that is the worst forum SOL has (even worse than the TEENS/WOMEN forums) They just should get rid of it.

Originally posted by Ibtilo: Somaliland is and was a country, and a country and people who dont want nothing to do with SOmalia, so how can there be a federation, if the people of Somaliland have voted 97% for redecloration of independance? Ibtilo Ibtilo the sad thing is, with enuff money politicans could be bought. It doesn't really matter if the people are against anything or not. Just look at those Arab nations. They betray their people, for MONEY. Og Girl. Federal System could work (if ofcourse the kapital,and all the major institutes remain in our beloved city Xamar). I sometimes think god is punishing our beloved country, for drifting away from our way of life (dhaqan, diin). And that peace will come only after we get back to our roots.

My son tells me the reason major call centers are being opened in India and other third world countries is because, its very cost effecient (saves you money?) to pay an Indian $2hr to do a similar thing that an Amerikaan will do it for about $20hr. So i think its economikaal for those kompanies to have their call centers there. I think they should look into Kismaayo, and see what they can do there. Will cost them probably $1hr to pay the lokals to work for them.

What worries me is that we are imaging pre WWII Germany. The parallels are striking.... --lack of real political opposition (weak Weimar government--weak Democratic Party) --consolidation of massive amounts of power without a clear mandate from the people (1932 election--2000 election) --usurpation of leftist terminology to further a RW agenda (national socialism--compassionate conservatism) --the use of propaganda (Goebbels--Rove, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, FoxNews, CNN) --hatred of the French --an appeasing British Prime Minister (Chamberlain--Blair) --contempt for the international community (Hitler ignores the Treaty of Versailles--Bush ignores the ABM treaty and U.N. treaties on global warming, the international criminal court, landmines, chemical and biological weapons) --hatred directed at leftists and other groups in opposition to the government (communists-- war protesters) --hatred directed at minority groups (Jews--Arabs) --weapons of mass destruction cited as a reason to invade other countries (Hitler claims that Poland could use poison gas against Germany--Bush claims Saddam Hussein could use poison gas against the U.S.) --a terrorist attack on the country as the final catalyst for fascism (Reichstag fire -- 9/11 attacks) --the merging of big business with government (Krupps -- Halliburton) --extreme nationalism (Nazi flags everywhere--American flags everywhere) --a culture that emphasizes the physical over the intellectual (Aryan *supermen*--American redneckism) --leader worship (Hitler as Der Fuhrer--Bush as God's child) --the creation of an internal security department (Gestapo--Department of Homeland Security) --massive build-up of military and police forces (paramilitary SS dressed in black--paramilitary cops dressed in black) --the use *lightning* warfare (blitzkrieg--shock and awe) --easy military victories setting the stage for other conquests (Sudentenland--Poland and France, Iraq--Syria and Iran) --eventual disastrous conflict with the Russians (WW2--Armageddon?) The only real difference is that this time Jews are on the side of the fascists, and of course this crossover of Jews is the final nail in the coffin of the Democratic Party. There is no way Democrats can mount an effective opposition to Republican imperialism without taking on the Jewish neo-cons and the fascist Sharon government, and there is no way they're going to do that and risk alienating Jewish voters. In the end, whatever disasters may befall this country, it will be because the Democratic Party placed the feelings of 2% of American voters over the best interests of the U.S.

Originally posted by Lefty: And how many is too many for us ?? Lefty i dont think you are allowed to axceed anything more than four.

Hey i like the guy. He has all his four wifes sitting together. And they all seem to be very observant to everything he is saying.

Underdog that article had opened my eyes. Lets look how our beloved Soomali-culture is effected by this. Feminism is an attack on our dhaqan iyo hido. I have been saying this all along. When women come to this country, its like they think differently. I dont care if they start thinking for themselves, but it kills me to hear them saying something horrible about our dhaqan. I spoke with this women in London, UK. I was sadened to hear her insult her mother/father land. There are many other women who see through the lies of the Amerikaan (women/jew controlled media) and know that ONLY LOVE for our dhaqan iyo hido (culture/traditions) will save them. More the reasons why SOMALIYA should be a place fore PURE Soomaali dhaqan place. Macsalaam. Nabad Galyo.

FORCED TO BEG, BUY OR BORROW Aug 25 2003 By NICK SOMMERLAD and NATHAN YATES BRITISH troops serving in Iraq are so poorly equipped they are known as "The Borrowers". They have to get by on second-rate kit or by begging from their American comrades. They earned the nickname - from the classic children's book and film - after running out of necessities even including toilet roll. Earlier this month an Army survey found that 55 per cent of troops and 42 per cent of officers had bought items of kit with their own cash because the felt what they had been issued with was inadequate. And in July top brass admitted British troops had to take part in combat in Iraq without the correct weapons, body armour and clothing. They apologised to troops. The verdict contradicted Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon's words to the Defence Select Committee. He told the MPs in May that British troops had been given "the right boots" and "sufficient clothing and protective equipment". The deaths of three Red Caps - killed as they rode in a hired, unprotected Nissan vehicle - is not the first time the lack of equipment has shocked an army that prides itself on being among the world's best. On the eve of battle in Iraq, many UK troops said they were still waiting for desert clothing. They were forced to buy their own or ask relatives to purchase them from Army surplus stores. One RAF wing commander described his men's boots as "totally inappropriate" and said they had even had to ask the Americans for water and rations. Troops in staging post camps in Kuwait struggled with kit meant for Europe. It was there that many had to write home for toilet paper after supplies ran out. A huge desert training exercise in Oman last year revealed the extent of the problem when boots melted and fell apart. Yet a year on, the problem repeated itself. Paul Williams, a 23-year-old signaller from Bournemouth, complained earlier this year: "It's a new boot, days old, but it's melting, falling to bits." Mirror.co.Uk

Read it here.

US asks Israel to explore reopening Iraq pipeline MARGARET NEIGHBOUR THE United States has asked Israel to explore reviving a pipeline route pumping oil from Iraq direct to the oil refineries in the Israeli port of Haifa. The office of the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, sees the pipeline project as a "bonus" in return for Israel’s backing of the US-led campaign in Iraq, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported yesterday. The pipeline from Mosul to Haifa was a vital supply line for British forces in the Second World War. In 1941, Britain sent forces to protect the oil pipeline and overthrow the pro-German Iraqi politician who had taken power in Baghdad in a coup. But the pipeline fell into disuse after 1948, when Iraqis stopped the flow of oil to newly independent Israel. Since well before the Iraqi war, the history of the oil pipeline has fuelled a busy rumour mill. Critics, including Israelis, have warned that plans to revive it could play to those in the Arab world and beyond who would claim the US fought the Iraq war for oil. With pumping stations on the old pipeline unused for more than 50 years, a new pipe would need to be laid. It would take oil from the Kirkuk area, where some 40 per cent of Iraqi oil is produced, Haaretz reported, and transport it via Mosul, and then across Jordan to Israel. The US request came in a telegram from a senior Pentagon official, the newspaper said. Israel had asked the US for the official notification, however. Israel’s oil imports are 12 million tonnes a year, but it continues to suffer under a trade embargo by the oil-rich Arab states of the Middle East. Some 80 per cent of Israel’s oil is bought from the former Soviet Union, the rest on the market in Rotterdam and from Egypt. "There is no precise plan at this stage. There is a project sketched out," said the Israeli infrastructure minister’s spokesman, Joseph Paritzky. The minister is to visit Washington in two weeks to discuss energy issues. Mr Paritzki in April ordered a feasibility study on the reopening of the pipeline. The Jerusalem Post said Israel’s foreign ministry criticised the initiative over concern that it would fuel rumours of an Israeli-US design to control Iraq’s oil reserves, the second largest in the world after Saudi Arabia. Haaretz quoted Mr Paritzky as saying the pipeline could pass through Jordan, which would receive a transit fee. Jordan signed peace with Israel in 1994. Haaretz said the United States has asked Israel to check the possibility of pumping oil from Iraq to Haifa. It quoted sources in Jerusalem suggesting that the American hints about the alternative pipeline were part of an attempt to apply pressure on Turkey. Ankara has already dismissed the threat that would be caused by an Iraq-Israel pipeline to its own pipeline with Iraq. "Our route is the strongest, both technically and with respect to capacity," the Turkish energy minister, Hilmi Guler, said in April. Iraq’s acting oil minister, Thamir Ghadhban, in June denied plans to resurrect the old Mosul-Haifa pipeline. Reports that it would be reopened were "no more than rumours" he said then. The possible change of heart may have been fuelled by sabotage of existing pipelines. Iraqi oil is now being transported to the Mediterranean via Turkey. But the line is presently out of service, having been sabotaged twice in recent weeks.

State Entry Exit Combat Forces Population Losses Cuba 1975 1987 150000 8700000 2000 Ethiopia 1964 1987 217000 42000000 15000 Rebels 1964 1987 50000 1000000 5000 Somalia 1964 1987 50000 5000000 15000 The SNA never recovered from its defeat in the Ogaden War. The battles to retake and then defend the Ogaden stripped the Somali armed forces of many troops, much of their equipment, and their Soviet patron. For the next decade, the SNA sought unsuccessfully to improve its capability by relying on a variety of foreign sources, including the United States. The Ogaden War therefore remains the best example of the SNA's ability to mount and sustain conventional military operations. Before the Ogaden War, the most striking feature of the 23,000-man SNA had been its large armored force, which was equipped with about 250 T-34 and T-54/T-55 Soviet-built medium tanks and more than 300 armored personnel carriers. This equipment gave the SNA a tank force more than three times as large as Ethiopia's. The prewar SAF also was larger than Ethiopia's air force. In 1976 the SAF had fifty-two combat aircraft, twenty-four of which were Soviet-built supersonic MiG21s . Facing them was an Ethiopian Air Force (EAF) of thirty-five to forty aircraft. Ethiopia also was in the process of acquiring several United States-built Northrop F-5 fighters from Iran. At the outbreak of fighting, Ethiopia had approximately sixteen F5A /Es. As chaos spread throughout Ethiopia after Haile Selassie's downfall, Mogadishu increased its support to several pro-Somali liberation groups in the Ogaden, the strongest of which was the WSLF. By late 1975, the WSLF had attacked many Ethiopian outposts in the Ogaden. In June 1977, Addis Ababa accused Mogadishu of committing SNA units to the fighting. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, Somalia denied this charge and insisted that only "volunteers" had been given leave from the SNA to fight with the WSLF. By late 1977, the combined WSLF-SNA strength in the Ogaden probably approached 50,000, of which 15,000 appeared to be irregulars. After the Somali government committed the SNA to the Ogaden, the conflict ceased to be a guerrilla action and assumed the form of a conventional war in which armor, mechanized infantry, and air power played decisive roles. The SNA quickly adapted its organization to battlefield realities. The centralized Somali logistics system controlled supplies at battalion level (600- to 1,000-man units) from Mogadishu, an unwieldy arrangement given Somalia's limited transportation and communications network. To facilitate operations, the logistics center and headquarters for forces fighting in the northern Ogaden moved to Hargeysa, the SNA's northern sector headquarters. Before the war, all Somali ground forces had been organized into battalions. After the conflict started, however, the standard infantry and mechanized infantry unit became the brigade, composed of two to four battalions and having a total strength of 1,200 to 2,000 personnel. During the summer of 1977, the SNA-WSLF force achieved several victories but also endured some significant defeats. In July 1977, it captured Gode, on the Shabeelle River about 550 kilometers inside Ethiopia, and won control of 60 percent of the Ogaden. By mid-September 1977, Ethiopia conceded that 90 percent of the Ogaden was in Somali hands. The SNA suffered two setbacks in August when it tried to capture Dire Dawa and Jijiga. The Ethiopian army inflicted heavy losses on the SNA at Dire Dawa after a Somali attack by one tank battalion and a mechanized infantry brigade supported by artillery units. At Jijiga the Somalis lost more than half of their attacking force of three tank battalions, each of which included more than thirty tanks. Somalia's greatest victory occurred in mid-September 1977 in the second attempt to take Jijiga, when three tank battalions overwhelmed the Ethiopian garrison. After inflicting some heavy losses on Somali armor, Ethiopian troops mutinied and withdrew from the town, leaving its defense to the militia, which was incapable of slowing the Somali advance. The Ethiopians retreated beyond the strategic Marda Pass, the strongest defensive position between Jijiga and Harer, leaving the SNA in a commanding position within the region. Despite this success, several factors prevented a Somali victory. Somali tank losses had been heavy in the battles around Dire Dawa and Jijiga. Moreover, because the EAF had established air superiority over the SAF, it could harass overextended Somali supply lines with impunity. The onset of the rainy season hampered such air attacks; however, the bad weather also bogged down Somali reinforcements on the dirt roads. The Soviet Union's decision to abandon Somalia in favor of Ethiopia eventually turned the tide of battle in the Ogaden. From October 1977 through January 1978, about 20,000 WSLF guerrillas and SNA forces pressed attacks on Harer, where nearly 50,000 Ethiopians had regrouped, backed by Soviet-supplied armor and artillery and gradually reinforced by 11,000 Cubans and 1,500 Soviet advisers. Although it fought its way into Harer in November 1977, the SNA lacked the supplies and manpower to capture the city. Subsequently, the Somalis regrouped outside Harer and awaited an Ethiopian counterattack. As expected, in early February 1978 Ethiopian and Cuban forces launched a two-stage counterattack toward Jijiga. Unexpectedly, however, a column of Cubans and Ethiopians moving north and east crossed the highlands between Jijiga and the Somali border, bypassing Somali troops dug in around the Marda Pass. Thus, the attacking force was able to assault the Somalis from two sides and recapture Jijiga after two days of fighting in which 3,000 Somali troops lost their lives. Within a week, Ethiopia had retaken all of the Ogaden's major towns. On March 9, 1978, Siad Barre recalled the SNA from Ethiopia. After the SNA withdrawal, the WSLF reverted to guerrilla tactics. By May 1980, the rebels had established control over a significant portion of the Ogaden. Eventually, Ethiopia defeated the WSLF and the few small SNA units that remained in the region after the Somali pullout. In late 1981, however, reports indicated that the WSLF continued to conduct occasional hit-and- run attacks against Ethiopian targets... Furthermore, in 1974 Ethiopia's imperial government was headed toward collapse. In September of that year a group of military officers deposed Haile Selassie. Conflict ensued among those responsible for his overthrow, and several insurgent groups sought to secede from the erstwhile empire. Somalia's military buildup, coincident with the turmoil in Ethiopia, temporarily altered the balance of power between the two countries. In 1976-77 Somalia attempted to take advantage of the situation by supporting a guerrilla campaign by the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF), a pro-Somali liberation group in the Ogaden, to seize the Ogaden from Ethiopia. By the late summer of 1977, Somali armored forces and mechanized infantry supported by aircraft had invaded the Ogaden, capturing 60 percent of the disputed territory within several weeks. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union had started supporting the Marxist-Leninist regime that had emerged in Ethiopia while simultaneously attempting to maintain Somalia as a client state. After its attempts at mediation failed, the Soviet Union decided to abandon Somalia. In August 1977, the Soviet Union suspended arms shipments to Siad Barre's regime and accelerated military deliveries to Ethiopia. Three months later, Somalia renounced the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, expelled all Soviet advisers, broke diplomatic relations with Cuba, and ejected all Soviet personnel from Somalia. Following Moscow's decision to support Addis Ababa, Ethiopia received massive amounts of Soviet arms. Along with Soviet military advisers, about 15,000 Cuban combat troops also arrived. By early 1978, this aid had turned the tide of war in Ethiopia's favor. By March 9, 1978, when Siad Barre announced the withdrawal of the Somali armed forces from the Ogaden, the Somali military had lost 8,000 men--one-third of the SNA, three-quarters of its armored units, and half of the Somali Air Force (SAF). For all intents and purposes, Ethiopia's victory during the Ogaden War ended Mogadishu's dream of recreating Greater Somalia. Even before the setback in the Ogaden, Siad Barre had relinquished his claim to Djibouti after 95 percent of the voters in that country indicated a preference for independence over incorporation into Somalia. In 1981 Somali-Kenyan relations improved after Siad Barre visited Nairobi and indicated that his government no longer had any claim to Kenyan territory. In December 1984, Somalia and Kenya signed a pact that pledged both governments to cease hostilities along their common frontier. Subsequently, the level of insurgent activity along the border was minimal. However, the activities of Somali shiftas, or bandits and ivory poachers and the periodic influx of Somali refugees into Kenya continued to strain relations between Mogadishu and Nairobi. ***** War in the Ogaden: In Addis Ababa, meanwhile, civilian opposition to the military government erupted in urban civil war. On February 11, 1977, Mengistu Haile Mariam was named head of state and chairman of the ruling military council, and throughout 1977 anarchy reigned in the country as the military suppressed its civilian opponents. During this trauma the Somali chose to attack. The Somalian president, Maxamed Siyaad Barre, was able to muster 35,000 regulars and 15,000 fighters of the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF). His forces began infiltrating into the Ogaden in May-June 1977, and overt warfare began in July. By September 1977 Mogadishu controlled 90 percent of the Ogaden and had followed retreating Ethiopian forces into non-Somali regions of Harerge, Bale, and Sidamo. After watching Ethiopian events in 1975-76, the Soviet Union concluded that the revolution would lead to the establishment of an authentic Marxist-Leninist state and that, for geopolitical purposes, it was wise to transfer Soviet interests to Ethiopia. To this end, Moscow secretly promised the Derg military aid on condition that it renounce the alliance with the United States. Mengistu, believing that the Soviet Union's revolutionary history of national reconstruction was in keeping with Ethiopia's political goals, closed down the U.S. military mission and the communications centre in April 1977. In September, Moscow suspended all military aid to the aggressor, began openly to deliver weapons to Addis Ababa, and reassigned military advisers from Somalia to Ethiopia. This Soviet volte-face also gained Ethiopia important support from North Korea, which trained a People's Militia, and from Cuba and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, which provided infantry, pilots, and armoured units. By March 1978, Ethiopia and its allies regained control over the Ogaden. Mengistu's government was unable to resolve the Eritrean problem, however, and expended large amounts of wealth and manpower on the conflict while rebellion spread to other parts of Ethiopia. Similarly, Siyaad proved unable to return the Ogaden to Somalian rule, and the people grew restive; in northern Somalia, rebels destroyed administrative centres and took over major towns. Both Ethiopia and Somalia had followed ruinous socialist policies of economic development, and they were unable to surmount droughts and famines that afflicted the Horn during the 1980s. In 1988 Siyaad and Mengistu agreed to withdraw their armies from possible confrontation in the Ogaden.

That was very well said Entre. I very much agree with you, they should declare independence, and when the times comes (Somalia United) join their brothers. Ogadenia should also do the same. I have lived in Nairobi, Mombasa kenya for about 4yrs. And i have to tell you this, Somali-Kenyans are the smartest people of all Somalis. But they are too nice, submissive (to the kenyans?) and never revolt. There should have been a CIVIL WAR in Kenya by this time, bcuz of their mistreatment of the minorities. By the way, whats the population of the Somalis in Kenya?

Originally posted by somalialover: sure rudy toward the policy of NO WOMAN LEFT BEHIND. that is very funny.