The Family Siad Barre

[Senora]

Hello all,

 

For those following American politics, you've eventually heard about the secretive Christian organization called The Family.. (or maybe you've heard of their home on C-Street). Well if you are like me, you probably didnt know that they acted as the policy middleman between the US & Siad Barre. A very interesting revelation...

 

You can catch it here

*it starts at the 39th minute

[Fabregas]

AMY GOODMAN: And Siad Barre of Somalia?

 

 

JEFF SHARLET: Yeah, dictator of Somalia. It’s, to me, one of the scariest stories that I found in their archives. I was able to recreate this, because they dumped 600 boxes of papers in the Billy Graham archives. Siad Barre was a—not a likely candidate for Christian right recruitment, called himself a Koranic Marxist. But in the early ’80s, the Soviets had abandoned him. There had been a power shift between Somalia and Ethiopia. He was in the market for a new patron. And working through Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, of course still in office—

 

 

AMY GOODMAN: Talk more about Chuck Grassley, who certainly is in the news now, who, together with Max Baucus, heads the Senate Finance Committee.

 

 

JEFF SHARLET: Yeah.

 

 

AMY GOODMAN: Baucus, Democrat; Grassley, Republican. Very powerful figure, especially around healthcare right now.

 

 

JEFF SHARLET: Indeed. And Grassley has been involved with the organization for quite some time, since the ’80s, when he traveled to Somalia to join Barre, Siad Barre, in prayer to Jesus. And he brought with him a defense contractor named Bill Brehm.

 

 

And Barre was a kind of a cynical character, as you might expect for a dictator. He was very clear. He says, “I’m willing to pray to Jesus, and here’s what I want in return.” He says, “I want my defense budget doubled.” He says, “I want meetings for my officials with the Reagan White House. And I want a sort of a hands-off policy while I crack down on some rebels.” Doug Coe, the leader of the group, wrote back, in essence, “Done, done and done.”

 

 

And when we look at history, so it was. And Barre used those weapons, supplied to him in part by the US, to wage a war of almost biblical proportion on his own people, from which Somalia has not recovered to this day. The Family doesn’t consider that a failure; they consider that God’s will for Somalia.

 

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[General Duke]

^^^Dont give Sharif Hotel any new ideas lads.

[General Duke]

And when we look at history, so it was. And Barre used those weapons, supplied to him in part by the US, to wage a war of almost biblical proportion on his own people, from which Somalia has not recovered to this day. The Family doesn’t consider that a failure; they consider that God’s will for Somalia

Thats disturbing...

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

This is really strange.

[nuune]

Ceesaan yaroo mina shaakiriin

[Paragon]

JEFF SHARLET:....

 

Chuck Grassley, a guy who’s been involved for such a long time. Grassley was involved with the Somalia project throughout the 1980s. They recognize that Somalia, of course, is a nation of great strategic importance, right there on the Horn of Africa. So, even as they are pursuing what they say is a religious agenda, it’s also meshing very neatly with a certain kind of agenda of American expansionist power and oil, frankly.

 

 

AMY GOODMAN: And rarely is the devastation of the failed state of Somalia talked about in terms of its history, that the US, for decades, supported this dictator, Siad Barre.

 

 

JEFF SHARLET: Yeah, yeah, exactly. The story, for most Americans, begins with George Bush very nobly sending over these troops to fight the warlords. It begins with Black Hawk Down. And we don’t recognize that it was really—I mean, Somalia almost—is almost a purest case possible of US support for an absolutely murderous regime.

 

 

In the face of all odds, too. I mean, there’s nothing, it seemed, that Barre could do to dissuade the Family that he was worthy of support, even to the point of insulting Doug Coe, the leader of the group, who used a sad case, the death of his son, wrote to Barre and said, “My son has died today. And as he was dying, he was speaking of you and how important you are.” It was a strange, crass move. Barre didn’t play along. He said, “I never knew your son. But keep the money flowing.” And they did.

[Paragon]

What is this? Lol.

[xiinfaniin]

“I never knew your son. But keep the money flowing.”

 

That sounds like the man we knew.

[Gheelle.T]

Mr.Sharlet, the author of the book was on Bill Maher's show other day and talked about lengthy about the C-streets and who's who in the family, their dealing, believes and what not. It was really disturbing to say the least. Now we have this connection with Barre wooow!

 

I remember in the interview where he says they(the C-street) have more power and say in the US military than we can imagine. He talked about story where US marines in Iraq have painted their armors with slogans such "Jesus killed Muhammad" in Arabic and how that particular unit was connected to the family. And how they distribute bibles and build churches inside US army bases in the States.

[Gheelle.T]

Here is the link of Sharlet's interview with Bill Maher:

 

http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=n3npWdChc Go

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

I don't believe it; I cannot believe it either. Wax macquul suurta gal ah uma eko. It is too bizarre.

 

Iyaga ayuu siray, as they already called him 'cynical.' Probably u been guuray those right-wing nuts, probably telling them he is praying to what they wanted to.

[AYOUB]

^^ Agree but that IS as bad. Anyways, this explains a lot of the wanton destruction of religious institutions by that military regime.

[Som@li]

Wax walba ka filo power-hungry dictator, but this looks not right

[Ducaysane]

I dont believe it. Aabo Siyaad waa siray nimanka.