Dr.C/Risaaq Faarax Taano Oo Ka Digay In Ciidamo Soomali Ah Ay Dowladda FKMG Ah U Soo Dirto Magaalada Kismaayo May 07,2007 by Kismaayo-GEDO-NN Dr.C/Risaaq Faarax Cali (Taano) oo ka mid ah siyaasiyiinta Beesha **** ee Kismaayo ayaa shaaca ka qaaday in aysan marnaba aqbali doonin Ciidamo soomaali ah in loo soo diro magaalada Kismaayo. Isagoo waraysi gaar ah siinayay Gedonet ayuu sheegay C/risaaq Faarax taano in ay u hogaansameen dhammaan awaamiirtii dawlada KMG ah ee in ay wareejiyaan hubka iyo in aysan wareerarin kooxahii ay kula dagaalameen magaalada oo ku sugan tuulada Buulogaduud oo 38km Kismayo u jirta. “Waxaan sugaynaa go,aanka kama dambaysta ah ee guddi ay xukumadu u saartay xaalada kismaayo waxaanuna aaminsan nahay in mushikiladu ay ka taagan tahay dhinac awood qaybsiga oo ana cadaalad darro ka tirsanayno dawlada” ayuu yiri C/risaaq oo intaas raaciyay in aysan marba xal keeni doonin Ciidamo soomaali ah oo laga soo diro muqdisho oo ay ubadan tahay in ay dhinac gacan siiyaan. Dr.C/Risaaq Faarax Taano oo haatan ah ninka koowaad ee isku duwida iyo hawlgalinta Maleeshiyaadka beesha **** ayaa dhinac kale ku nuux nuuxsaday in uu saacdaha soo socdo diyaarin doono ciidamo iyo gaadiid dagaal oo gaaf wareega xaafadaha si loo hubiyo ammaanka iyo maleeshiyooyin habeekii dadka Moobaylada ka qaata dukaamadana baarta. “Haatan mas,uuliyadu anakka ayay na saran tahay, waxaanu ku rajo waynahay in aan shacabka la dhibaatayn, hawlaha dawliga ahna sidooda ayay u soconayaan, mana jirto cid hayb loo raadsaday, laakiin kooxaha Moobaylada habeenkii dhaca waanu soo afjari doonaa” ayuu yiri C/risaaq faarax Taano. Dhinaca kale, ciidamada dawalada dhinacooda ku sugan tuulada Buuloguduud ayaa maalinti 3 aad gacanta ku haya nin asalkiisu yahay falastiini oo ku dhashay tuulada Goobwayn o ay la xariiriyaan in uu ka tirsan yahay shabakada alqaacida. Xasan Ibraahim Cumar aabaha Saamir oo ah 22 jirka la haysto ayaa u sheegay Gedonet in kooxaha haysta wiilkiisa ay waydiisteen lacago hadii kalena ay xabsi kale u diri doonaan. Ma jirto ilaa iyo iminka cid ka hadashay xariga lagu hayo ninkaas carabka ah ee reer kismaayaha ah ee la qabtay xilli uu ka yimid degmada afgooye oo uu bilihii ugu dambeeyay joogay. N D F-GEDO-NN-Kismaayo 10629 times read

Wasn't Gacmadheere part of the waan-waan group? It is reported that he is heading towards Kismaayo with some TFG troops, so I am wondering, if this news is true, what does this mean? The same man who acted neutral yesterday in the reconciliation back to you today with an army? Now a peace-maker, now a warlord...hmmm! ---- Ciidamada DF oo ku sii jeeda magaalada Kismayo Ciidamo isugu dhafan kuwa Soomali ah iyo Ethiopian ayaa la filayaa in ay gaaraan magaalada Kismaayo ee gobolka Jubbada hoose halkaasi oo xiisado colaadeed ay ka taagan yihiin. Warku wuxuu intaa ku darayaa in ciidamadan ay hoggaamin doonaan xubno sare oo ka tirsan dowladda KMG, kuwaasi oo ay ka mid yihiin wasiirka arrimaha gudaha Maxamuud Maxamed Guuleed (Gacma Dheere) iyo xubno kale oo ka soo jeeda gobolka Jubada Hoose. Arintan ayaa waxay ka danbeysay kadib markii dagaallo ay ku dhex mareen gudaha magaalada Kismaayo ciidamo ka tirsan dowladda KMG iyo maliishiyo beeleed halkaasi dega oo sababay in ciidamadii dowladda laga saaro gudaha magaalada Kismaayo. Abaabul ciidan oo xoogan ayaa saacadihii u danbeeyay laga dareemayaa labada dhinac ee ku dagaalamay magaalada Kismaayo iyadoo aysan muuqan dadaalo lagu xalinayo arintaasi. Cali Muxayadiin Cali,GO

^^ Intey taangi gurigaaga sitting-roomkiisa ku park-gareeyaan ayey hadana ku leeyihiin 'don't point a finger' at its kirishboy whose instruction the tank-driver followed. Waa maadaysi dunida...

Somalia: Response to Ambassador Kebede’s Article Mohamed Mukhtar May 5, 2007 On 27 April 2007, the Guardian ran an article entitled: ‘Thousands flee as shelling by Ethiopian tanks kills hundreds of civilians in Somali capital’. The article depicted the grim reality of Mogadishu. This piece of writing has given a lot of people heartburn especially those who want to hide the bad news radiating from Mogadishu. Mr Berhanu Kebede, Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK, tops these people. On 3 May 2007, the ambassador wrote an article entitled: ‘Somalia asked us to save them from this brutal sub-clan’. The main aim of the ambassador’s article was to challenge the Guardian’s article. Meles Zenawi has successfully massaged America’s interests until they may be in accord with his interests and convinced the US that Ethiopia’s illegal occupation of Somalia is part of ‘war on terror’. But when Zenawi’s regime attempts to stage-manage what the international media should write about that cannot be left uncontested. The ambassador has chosen an interesting title for his article: ‘Somalia asked us to save them from this brutal sub-clan’. Is the ambassador suffering from a shortage of memory or is he trying to pull the wool over the international community’s eyes? Earlier in this year, Cameron Duodu wrote a paper entitled: ‘America’s New Puppet’. In reply to Duodu’s paper, the Ethiopian ambassador to London said: “Ethiopia went into Somalia for reasons of self-defence.” Now the ambassador is telling the world that Ethiopia went to Somalia to deal with a sub-clan. The begging question is: was he economical with the truth then or is he misleading the international community now? The lack of intellectual coherence of the ambassador’s article is evident. The essence of the Guardian’s article was to report the human suffering that Mogadishu residents were undergoing. The paper reported: “The Ethiopian assault has killed several hundred people, many of them civilians harmed by indiscriminate shelling that has destroyed homes and shops, and forced tens of thousands to flee the city as it spread to previously relatively peaceful parts of Mogadishu. Corpses lie scattered on the streets because it is too dangerous to collect them.” Instead of coming up with evidential value to challenge the above facts, Kebede’s article went astray and focused on why Ethiopia is fighting inside Somalia. Whether this was a deliberate calculation or intellectual bankruptcy, the ambassador’s garbled article fails to be a telling response to the lucid article of the Guardian. The ambassador is not only contradicting himself but he is saying the opposite of his government. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin and other Ethiopian officials have consistently claimed that this is a war of self-defence. Has the ambassador gone off on a long incoherent tangent? There is also certain incoherence in the ambassador’s conception of the human rights reports. The ambassador argued: “Exaggerated human rights reports, published by an organisation closely linked to the UIC, have been used as an authentic source by many media outlets without independent scrutiny.” Alas, the human right reports did not come from one source alone, and surely those who are concerned about the human right issues are not the supporters of the Islamic Courts. Senator Norm Coleman noted the sufferings of Mogadishu residents in a letter to Jendayi Frazer, U.S. Assistant Secretary. He wrote: “there continues to be a severe humanitarian crisis in Somalia. It is estimated that the recent violence in Mogadishu affected over 100, 000 civilians, forcing them to leave their homes and endure significant suffering. This large population of internally displaced persons, who often sleep outside under trees with no food, water, or sanitary facilities, is in need of urgent assistance. Consequently, diseases such as diarrhoea are exacting a very high toll on the displaced children.” The International Committee of the Red Cross said: “The population of Mogadishu is caught up in the worst fighting in more than 15 years.” Using a one-way moral mirror, the ambassador said: “The UIC introduced a crude form of punishment, including floggings and executions, and restrictions on people's liberties such as banning music and TV and radio programmes.” The ambassador sounds that he belongs to a regime that champions human rights, but a little probing around the regime’s human rights record tells a different story. Let the records of history speak for themselves and let us quickly look at how Zenawi’s regime has behaved both inside Ethiopia and Somalia. In Ethiopia, in 2005, a report which detailed the human rights abuses committed by Zenawi’s regime was complied by the U.S. Department of State. The report said: “The following human rights problems were reported: unlawful killings, including alleged political killings, and beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces; detention of thousands without charge, and lengthy pre-trial detention and government restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists for publishing articles critical of the government; self‑censorship by journalists.” Human Rights Watch also observed this concern: “Since the May 15 parliamentary elections in which opposition parties made massive gains in their share of seats, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has used repression, intimidation and violence to punish real or perceived opposition supporters and eliminate dissent in both urban centres and rural areas.” In Somalia, the CNN reported “according to the U.N. refugee agency, some 124,000 people have fled Mogadishu since the beginning of February [2007].” That number went up quite dramatically the following two months. On 24 Apr 2007, World Vision said: “Recent Clashes Force Nearly Half a Million to Flee.” UN Integrated Regional Information Networks reported on 3 May 2007 that “the fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu has led to increases of between 30 and 70 percent in the price of rental properties, transport, water and basic food and non-food items over the past four weeks.” The Ethiopian government and others have been accused of war crimes. A security adviser to the European Commission recently advised the Commission: “I need to advise you that there are strong grounds to believe that the Ethiopian government and the transitional federal government of Somalia and the Amisom force commander...have through commission or omission violated the Rome statute of the international criminal court.” The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) noted that “press freedom violations soared in Somalia in the period from 1st January to 1st May [2007], up more than 43% on the same period in 2006.” The ambassador’s response does not only show how sensitive his regime is to any criticism and but it exposes how his regime would like to silence the international press. The Zenawi regime has almost managed to silence the Ethiopian press. Reporters Without Boarders observed in their 2003 Annual Report on Ethiopia: “many journalists prefer to say nothing and not use information rather than risk being sentenced to a fine or a prison sentence and thereby threaten family members for whom they are the only source of income.” On May 1, 2007, Web monitor, the OpenNet Initiative, “accused Ethiopia of blocking scores of anti-government Web sites and millions of blogs in one of sub-Saharan Africa's biggest cases of cyber-censorship.” Therefore, it seems now the ambassador’s wish is to silence the international media and keep the international community in the dark about Zenawi’s criminal activities in Somalia. Mohamed Mukhtar London Email:mohamed323@hotmail.com

Saw, uncle, saw more. While you are at it, make yourself a string we could hang you with.

Warar dheeraad ah oo aan ka hellnay qaraxii ka dhacay maanta Wadada Aadan Cadde ee Magaalada Muqdisho. Posted to the Web May 07, 14:50 Muqdisho:-Qarax aad u xoogan ayaa maanta lagu weeraray gaari ay la socdeen ciidamada booliska DFKM kaasoo mar ayay wadada Aadan Cadde ee magaalada Muqdisho taasoo sababtay khasaare soo gaaray ciidamadii la socday gaariga ayadoo gabi ahaanba ciidamada DFKM ay xireen wadada Aadan Cadde. Waa qaraxii ugu horreeyay oo waxyeello gaysta oo lagu qaado ciidamada DFKM tan iyo markii ay la wareegeen gacan ku haynta caasimada kadib dagaal socday muddo 10 cisho ah oo dhex maray ciidamada Ethiopia iyo kuwa DFKM oo dhinac ah iyo kooxaha ka soo horjeeday joogitaanka ciidanka Itoobiya. Goob joogayaal ku sugan meel u dhaw goobta qaraxa uu ka dhacay ayaa sheegay in gaariga ay wateen ciidamada Booliska uu la kacay miino lagu aasay wadada dacalkeeda taasoo sababtay in qarax weyn uu ka dhaco goobta weerarka uu ka dhacay. Goob joogayaasha ayaa intaa ku daray in ay arkeen ciidamo ka tirsan DFKM oo waxyeelo ka soo gaartay kuwaasoo lagu daabulay gaari kale, waxaana soo baxeysa in khasaare isugu jirta dhimasho iyo dhaawac uu soo gaaray ciidamada DFKM. Ciidamada DFKM ayaa xiray wadada Aadan Cadde kadib markii qaraxaasi uu dhacay taasoo caqabad ku keentay isu socodka gaadiidka iyo dadweynaha, waxaana socda baaris ku saabsan qaraxaasi iyo cidii ka danbeysay, mana jirto ilaa iyo iminka cid sheegatay masuuliyada qaraxa lagu qaaday ciidamada DFKM. Halgan.net C/qaadir Osman Muqdisho -- Nin is qarxin lahaa oo Muqdisho lagu qabtay iyo Qarax kale oo ka dhacay magaalada Last Updated::2007-05-07 15:38:11 Muqdisho:- Qarax xoogan ayaa laga maqlay agagaarka wadada hor marta guriga Aadan Cade saacadu markay 12:50 duhurnimo qaraxaas ayaa waxa uu ahaa miino dhulka lagu aasay oo lala beegsanayey kolanyo Ciidamada Ugandha oo halkaas marayey. Qaraxa ayaa waxa uu haleelay gaari ay saarnaayeen Ciidanka Booliska DFKM waxaana la sheegayaa in qaraxaas uu sababay dhimasho iyo dhaawac. Wadada Aadan Cade ayaa waxaa si xoogan u jooga ciidamo tira badan oo ka tirsan DFKM iyaga oo aad u ilaalinayey dhaqdhaqaaqa wadadaasi waxaana marmar weheliya kuwa Ugandha. Waa Qaraxii labaad ee ka dhaca magaalada Muqdisho ilaa iyo inta ay Muqdisho ay la wareegeen gacankuhaynteeda Dowlada Soomaaliya. Ciidanka Booliska DFKM oo sheegay in ay qabteen nin watay waxyaabaha Qarxa. Ciidamada Booliska DF ee ku sugan dekadda ayaa sheegay in ay gacanta ku dhigeenee nin rabay inuu isku qarxiyo gudaha dekadda magaalada Muqdisho. Ciidamada AMISOM aay ku guuleystay in ay furfuraan Bamkii uu watay ninkaan sida ay sheegeen saraakiil ka tirsan Df. Waxaa su,aalo weydiinaya ninka la qabtay Ciidanka AMISOM iyo kuwa DF ee ku sugnaa dekadda waloow ilaa haatan aan la shaacin ninka la qabtay iyo Magaciisa. HorseedNet.com

^Loool. Caano Geel? Waryaahe don't drink it adiga marka hore, or you would make the suuliga your temporary office for some days to come . If you are used to 'fish and chips', Caano Geel would clean out your stomach. Waa dawo walle- caloosheey socodsiiyaan lol. North, I am sure your boss is used to carab camel milk..usheeg the Somali camel milk is stronger lol. PS: June then? Give us pictures of Hargeysa if you can sxb.

Bokero, you certainly haven't got a clue of how deeply entrenched 'geopolitical sentiments' are in the Horn of Africa, do you? Lol.

^^War ninyahow, ma adigaa isla hadlaya? Talow ma cimgiriga iyo cirradiisaa mise carrabkaa kaaga dhacay? Sida kale, sidee la yahay Soomaali maryooleey?

Hmmm!

Bilaal, was the letter translated before it was sent or it was sent in Somali? If it was translated, maybe having it in this topic would be wonderful. There are many groups that browse this section of the forum with little or no knowledge of the Somali language. I tried to find a translated version but with no success. If you can, that would be helpful.

^^Lol. Who would brave to have an open discussion with you, me? You would all outlast all of us like duracel .

err...steady now...the topic has been started in 2004. The results of the blue-prints should be just in. Any news of this new village taking an integral part in Hargeysa? Northerner, are you in H Town now? If you are, whats the news?

^^Lol@Google waa fariid... anigu waa fariidad ayaanba oran lahaa lol. Google is like a dutiful servant who knows where you've put your stuff exactly. -- SYL, SNC, HDMS (or Hizbiyah), SDU, MU, The Liberals (PLGS), USP.... e.t.c, e.t.c... Maybe we can go as far back as to the 10 year Trustee period and analylize the politics of that era. Only then would we be able to grasb the politics of today. In party and faction-wise, there really seems to be little difference. The reason why some did what they did and others hold their greviences can be traced back to that era. That was the sowing the seeds of the bitter harvests we're reaping today. Good luck, Somaliyeey. We need it.

^^Elders met with the Ethiopians. Shariif is in Asmara. As we speak now, members of the insurgency are leaving the city. So no, I don't support self-interested clan elders and their agreements with Ethiopia.

^^Is that the information you got out of your research? Who helped in informing you? . Yes, when confronted by two options: to side with Xabashi or to side with reer Dhahar, Somaliland, or reer Gedo, I would gladly choose the Somali side. That should explain to you why I am agaisnt the illegitimate TFG and the illegitimate Ethiopian occupation of Somalia. With that said, I do not support people in their wrongs. I do so only on their rights. Garadaase? PS: Lol, I grew up among other people sxb, so no, no mistreatment there. I am sorry if my opposition to wrong doings is proving painful, because it should. Nothing personal against any group sxb, it is a general rule of mine. Not even reer Dhahar would escape my opposition were they to engage in wrong-doings.

Originally posted by Emperor: ^Baashi notice the tone, at last Paragons's hate/cuqdad for a clan is finally expossed. Now Paragon comes up with Yey's clan were behind the attrocities against Somaliland in 1998, even a Somalilander can't come up with this wild accusation, one must wonder why Paragon? Read again, Emperor. Wear your glasses this time, would you? Can you comprehend the difference between 'clan' and 'general tribe'? Consult the dictionary, if you must.

Originally posted by Baashi: What is your point, Paragon? Who said "Somali oo dhanbaa" invited Habasha? Baashi, my point is, TFG supporters not only say it, but also insist on it. Who was behind Hargeysa "massacre"? Particular clan or National army under the direction of the leadership at the time? Ok. It is quite interesting to notice that you opted for a clan in the place of 'a section of the general tribe', which is the phrase I used. I was hoping 'section' would denote a collection of more than one 'clan'. Think wider, Baashi. Don't be clan-focussed. All leaders are responsible for all the crimes committed under their guard or direction. Gaani, Green, Morgan and et al were all ordered to carryout orders by the leadership of the regime. Other generals might have even taken part in it, but the responsibility rests with the leadership. Its use or misuse of national army or resources will, in Somali terms, be scrutizined as furthering tribal agenda so long as power is held by a dominant tribe. In our case here, the act of one clan against another tribe implicates the tribe in which that clan belongs. One clan within the general tribe of Yey, or if you like, Hiiraale or even Galayr, in their national leadership has made serious begrudging attacks on Hargeysa. And the same, or even uglier –because of those used to massacre the civilians, has been carried out by the remaining section of the general tribe of Yey and Hiiraale. To claim it is the national army that carried out such attacks then and it is the national army now is truly laughable. Sometimes, few home-truths wouldn’t be so bad to enable one to see things as they are, as opposed to way they like them to be. Who is behind the Benadir fiasco? Warlords under TFG? Yey's sub-clan? Geddi/Mohamed Dheere's sub-clan? Ahmed Diiriye's folk? Hmm… do you mind telling me what fiasco that is. How Yey's clan is responsible for all that went wrong in Somalia? Not before, but now they are. But in both accounts, the general tribe was implicated. Its this sort of thing that has prompted the 'dabar-goynta' the tribe slogan in Mogadishu during the 1991 flight that worries me. Would it be repeated? Sure. Are u still supporting insurgency or you now think dialogue is the way forward? Yes, I still believe the insurgency in Mogadishu has a cause worthy of my and all other Somalis’ support. Yes, I am all for dialogues but not with Ethiopians and their lackeys. Share power? How? Through dialogue and negotiation leading to reconciliation grand meeting perhaps!... Dialogue and negotiations, yes but I hope not the one you propose, especially grant meeting with little substance.

Somalis invited the Ethiopians, eh? Is that the lie entertained in some quaters? Soomaali oo dhanbaa Xabashada u yeeratey lol. I wish that was the case, but I am afraid, taasi runta ka fog. Nimankan Tigrayga ah, for some, are the bullions of force behind regaining Muqdishu, Kismayo and, if we stretch it further, bring Hargeysa under certain control. Marka yaanan naloogu sheekayn Soomaali oo dhanbaa soo 'invite' gareysey Tigray, when we know specifically who enlisted their help. Whatever the Tigray regime and the Americans had in mind, this is another story. The massacre of 1988 in Hargeysa, carried out by one section of the general tribe of Yey, has created a long-standing hatred between Somalilanders and Puntlanders/reer Gedo/Afmadow etc.. and has possibly led to seccession. Now, with the help of cadowga Tigreega, the other section of Yey's general tribe is carrying out the same attrocities in Mogadishu. The same enmity held by reer Hargeysa is now held by reer Mogadishu. Now, fast foward to 50 or 100 years from now, with such enmities united by one common enemy, who would be the hunted tribe? Whatever the enforced governance that may come out of the TFG now, 50 or 100 years from now, these outstanding enmities are most likely going to distabilize it, just as the Barre regime has collapsed due to greviences. I say, if you want genuine peace and nationhood, think ahead of your time and envisage a more acceptable and durable system of sharing power in the country.

Getting Ethiopia out of Somalia By Afyare Abdi Elmi The Boston GlobePublished: May 3, 2007 The UN's humanitarian affairs office in Somalia reports that the recent clashes between Ethiopian troops and Somali resistance groups have killed more than 1,000 civilians and displaced more than 350,000 Mogadishu residents. The European Union, which is investigating whether war crimes were committed, argues that civilian areas were intentionally targeted. The United States, however, is on a different page. When the Union of Islamic Courts defeated the U.S.-backed warlords, the Bush administration - using the war on terrorism as justification - supported the Ethiopian occupation, arguing that the Islamists were an emerging threat to U.S. interests. But approaching the complex conflict in this simplistic way and linking it to the war on terror was a mistake. The United States has inadvertently stepped into a local, tribal and regional quagmire. The resistance groups - clans, business groups and Islamists - are challenging the occupying Ethiopian troops and the warlord government in many ways. Recent events in Mogadishu and Kismayo indicate that ignoring their grievances will only perpetuate the conflict. The fighting has multiple causes - competition for resources, repression, the country's colonial legacy, widespread atrocities and politicized clan identity. Ethiopia, through its proxy warlords, was the principal spoiler of peace efforts. Somalis fear that landlocked Ethiopia wants to balkanize their country into clan-based regions in order to get access to the sea. Ethiopia, which had been heavily criticized by the U.S. State Department for its human rights record, also used the Somalia occupation as a way of getting closer to Washington. The United States has been heavily involved in Somalia since the 9/11 attacks. The Bush administration closed Al-Barakaat - the largest telecommunications company and bank, though the investigations of the 9/11 Commission could not establish any link to terrorism. Washington also added about 20 Somali individuals and organizations to its terrorist list. The United States and Ethiopia collaborated to destroy the UIC, a homegrown popular Islamist movement that ruled southern Somalia in the later part of 2006. Washington should revisit its strategy. Somalis are determined to resist the Ethiopian occupation and attempts to rescue the warlord-government and impose it on the people have backfired. Despite international calls for inclusive government, the leadership in Baidoa has decided to exclude even more individuals and groups - evidence that these warlords have neither the will nor the political competence. Ethiopian troops are not filling a security vacuum; they are a source of destabilization. Ethiopian occupation must end. The United States is the only country that can order Ethiopia to leave Somalia. Rewarding warlords will not bring peace to Somalia. These individuals have committed heinous crimes and they are not interested in peace or democracy. The United States should help in establishing a commission of international inquiry that investigates the Somalia war crimes. As State Department officials have stated many times, the Bush administration understands the need for a genuine peace process in Somalia. But it has to act. Instead of endorsing the so-called congress in Mogadishu - a convention for the Ethiopian proxies - Washington should support Saudi Arabia's proposed peace conference. The Saudi government has helped mediate similar conflicts in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Moreover, most Somalis consider it a neutral country. It has a close relationship with Washington and can influence the Islamist groups that are indispensable for ending the fighting. Washington can play a constructive role in building peace in Somalia if it identifies with the aspirations of the Somali people, removing the Ethiopians, controlling the warlords, and initiating a genuine Somali-owned peace process. Afyare Abdi Elmi is a doctoral candidate in international relations at the University of Alberta. This article first appeared in The Boston Globe. Getting Ethiopia out of Somalia

Go to The Guardian's comment is free and make your voices heard. It was tribal, all along.

Fear Factor: Press Plays 9/11 Card to Justify Somalia Slaughter Written by Chris Floyd Wednesday, 02 May 2007 by Chris Floyd A few days ago we were – how to put it? – uncivil to New York Times reporter Jeffrey Gettleman, taking him to task over his story about Somalia, in which he told readers of the "world's leading newspaper" that the little tussle they were having over there was mostly the fault of a bunch of greedy gangsters with inborn anarchic tendencies who didn't want to pay taxes. Mr. Gettleman's story, we suggested, with unpardonable rudeness, was not really a work of journalism but more of propaganda piece, aiming to whitewash the Bush Administration's crucial – and armed – role in instigating the brutal war of aggression that has brought fresh ruin and death to that long-broken land. We now wish to apologize most wholeheartedly to Mr. Gettleman for our splenitive and rash outpouring. It was wrong of us to imply that he had poisoned the public discourse with the artful distortions and compelling mendacities that adorned his piece. We reacted so strongly because we feared that his peculiar take on the situation – greedy darkies getting what's coming to them – would become the "conventional wisdom" about Somalia in the American media world, thus blinding the American people once again to the vast crimes being committed in their name by the buccaneers of the Beltway. But it turns out that Mr. Gettleman's manly effort on behalf of Little Caesar and Big-Time Dick was quickly effaced by the sterling work of one Chris Tomlinson of the Associated Press. In a story that appeared last Friday – and soon permeated every media market in America, and many foreign ones as well – Mr. Tomlinson delivered a much bolder pre-emptive strike against any unpatriotic malcontent who might question the president's wise policy in Somalia. Indeed, Mr. Tomlinson's long and much-reprinted piece was so servile and accommodating that it makes Mr. Gettleman look like the second coming of I.F. Stone. Eschewing the psychological nuance that characterized Mr. Gettleman's insightful analysis (such as his discovery of the "raw antigovernment defiance" that will prevent "many Somalis" from ever accepting any government, much less the beneficent hegemony of President Bush's proxies, the dictator of Ethiopia and his Somali warlord allies), Mr. Tomlinson cuts right to the chase, brandishing the Bush Administration's most potent weapon: raw fear, produced by the constant evocation of 9/11 and the world-encircling dastards of al Qaeda. Right out of the gate, in the second paragraph, Tomlinson asserts — without any qualification or attribution whatsoever — that those resisting the American-backed invasion of their country by are "threatening to turn the country back into a haven for al-Qaeda." (9/11! 9/11!) Just two paragraphs later, he provides this description of the Islamic Courts council that had brought Somalia its first measure of peace and stability in 15 years before its overthrow by Ethiopian tanks and American bombs: ...Islamic radicals who grabbed power for six months last year, filling Somalia's power vacuum with a strict religious government. Like the Taliban who once ruled Afghanistan and hosted Osama bin Laden, the Somali movement, the Council of Islamic Courts, harbors al-Qaeda terrorists, U.S. officials say. Just like the Taliban! Osama bin Laden! 9/11! 9/11! At least this paragraph offers one of Tomlinson's rare uses of a source — albeit unnamed ones — to back up his bald assertions. But the import is clear: the Islamic Courts council is the same thing as the Taliban and al Qaeda, and thus the invasion of Somalia is entirely justified as part of the noble War on Terror that President Bush is waging to keep Americans safe. Nowhere does Tomlinson offer even a pro forma mention of the Islamic Courts' constant denials of any involvement with al Qaeda. Nor does he mention — doubtless because, in his sweet ignorance, he does not know — that the Courts themselves were comprised of various factions of varying degrees of religious fervor, from moderates to more hard-core fundamentalists. They were never simply a monolithic bloc of Taliban-style fanatics. You'd have to look to Mr. Bush's longtime family friends, the Saudi royals, for that kind of thing; their kingdom is by far the most repressive religious regime on the face of the earth — and also a haven for not a few al-Qaeda supporters, including some very highly placed and quite wealthy ones. In fact, Tomlinson's constant assertions of an inextricable link between the deposed Islamic Courts and al Qaeda rests on the word of those fountains of unerring truth — "intelligence officials" in the service of the Bush Administration. These charges are in turn based on the alleged presence in Somalia of a bare handful of individuals with alleged ties to alleged al Qaeda-associated enterprises. Tomlinson breathlessly relates that a whole ten "al Qaeda operatives remain in Somalia," and are "at least partially responsible for the growing violence in the capital." Who knew that these wily al Qaeda operators were somehow able to sneak into the tanks and artillery batteries of the American-trained Ethiopian army, which has been the source of most of the "violence in the capital" in the last month, when more than 1,400 people were killed, most of them civilians? Gadzooks, is there nothing these evil masterminds can't do? There is more — much more — in this vein. Tomlinson notes that those opposing the invasion are said to possess some shoulder-fired anti-aircraft guns. Now, you and I might think these weapons would be used by the "insurgents" to attack those who have invaded their country. (And indeed, their only reported use has been to shoot down an Ethiopian cargo plane supplying the invaders and an Ethiopian military helicopter.) But Tomlinson is mainlining the Bush juice now, and so simply says flat out — again without even the fig leaf of an unnamed "intelligence official" — and that these weapons "could be used against civilian aircraft throughout the region." Al Qaeda! Airplanes! 9/11! 9/11! But yes, it's true that shoulder-fired missiles could be used against civilian aircraft in the region. And the Chinese could give a nuclear bomb to the Ku Klux Klan. Germany could invade Poland tomorrow. All kinds of things could happen in this crazy world. But normally, in a "news" story, one offers some kind of evidence for this kind of assertion. But this is not a story designed to provide readers with the news of what is happening in Somalia. It is designed to convey — without a single dissenting viewpoint — the official line of the Bush Administration regarding the murderous proxy war that it has greenlighted in Somalia. There is no mention of the American air strikes against fleeing refugees in the early days of the war — an ostensible attempt to kill alleged al Qaeda operatives that instead murdered dozens of innocent civilians. There is no mention of the "rendition" of refugees — including innocent American citizens — into Ethiopia's torture chambers. There is no mention of the years, and millions of dollars, that the Bush administration has spent in arming and training the repressive Ethiopian military. There is no mention of the complexities of the political situation in Somalia, just constant invocations of "Taliban" and "al Qaeda" to evoke a Pavlovian response of fear — and unquestioning acquiescence to the Terror War policies of the Bush Administration. After all, who could possibly oppose a righteous operation to keep Somalia from "turning back into a haven for al Qaeda"? The reality, of course, is that deposing the Islamic Courts council — which had reached out to the West, seeking recognition and cooperation — and plunging Somalia back into anarchy virtually guarantees that it will indeed become a haven for terrorism, just as in Bush's other "regime change" operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But then, the Terror War has never been about curtailing the terrorist threat against Americans. This is blatantly obvious, as every aspect of the "War" has only exacerbated terrorism and anti-American feeling around the world. The Terror War is about securing even more loot and power for elite factions in the American Establishment (and selected foreign cronies). Somalia's oil and its strategic location make it a prime target for the Terror Warriors; hence the invasion and the blood-soaked occupation. But these truths must remain forever hidden from the American people. And here Tomlinson's story has been marvelously effective. The ubiquitous AP wire serves countless papers and television stations, large and small, across the length and breadth of the land, and around the world as well. Even a cursory Googling of the story's appearances in print shows the tremendous reach of Tomlinson's piece: Casper, Wyoming. White Rock, South Dakota. Wilmington, North Carolina. Fort Wayne, Indiana. State College, Pennsylvania. Gainesville, Florida. Seattle, Washington. Twin Falls, Idaho. Sacramento, California. Baltimore, Maryland. Houston, Texas. Atlantic City, New Jersey. Albany, New York. Los Angeles. Las Vegas. Denver. The Federal News Radio. Newsday. Fox News. The Guardian. Pravda. The Scotsman. On and on it goes. This conglomeration of fear, fantasy, manipulation and omission is now the picture of the situation in Somalia for millions of Americans: a propaganda coup for the Bush Administration, yet another "mission accomplished." Atlantic Free Press

^^You don't say! May they recover, the poor faaraxs, that is . And return determined!

^^Thanks bro.

^^Actually it was the IMF and the World Bank that has spread the idea that nationalising national assets is not economically viable. Both agencies use to make the world believe that absence of the 'state' has made possible 'Pacific Asia's' economic miracle. The agencies believed the states in these countries, such as Japan, were not regulating the markets and thus the markets were totally operating themselves- and at times of crisis, had the power, as liberal economists believe, to self-correct itself. This is what smith has called the Invisible hand in the market. But all these crap has been disproven. To be continued... read