Taleexi abti dadka qaar baan la yaaba ishay iska tuuraan war iska daya intu ka hadlay aqoonsiga Somaliland iyo dimuqradiyada Somaliland iyo hormarka Somaliland ay samaysey , Qaran Somalia sidu maanta ku jira ileen ninku wuxu yidhi Somalia qaran maha , caqligu halku idinka dhaafa. Mise idinku waxad leedihin qaran Somalia ba jira? Xiinfanin baba maalin dhawayd qaran ka baadhayey SOL miyanad ogayn

And all the people in here who disagree with the author of the article believe that there is a state called Somalia are they not living in a delusional world;)

Shimbiraale oo Laga Hirgelinayo Saldhig Milatari July 12, 2011 Shimbiraale(MMedia) Waxa ka jira Magaalada Shimbiraale oo ka tirsan Gobolka Sanaag qorshe saldhig Melateri looga hirgelinayo ka dib markii dhawaan ay soo degeen Cutubyo ka tirsan Somaliland kuwaasoo degay meel Magaalada u jirta ilaa 3Km Ciidaman oo u hogaaminayoTaliyaha aaga Bari ee Somaliland Kornayl Muuse Jaamac Deelaaf ayaa qorshahoodu yahay inay Saldhig Melateri ka sameeyaan Magalaada Shimbiraale Saldhigaas oo noqon doona ka ugu way ee ka jira Gobolka Sanaag waxaanu hada Taliyuhu Socdaal ku marayaa Magaalooyin ka tirsan gobolka Sanaag Iyo Haylaan Maray Maakhir Media la xidhiidhay siday u arkaan dadka deegaanku Saldhigan laga samaynayo Magaalada ayay aad usoo dhaweeyeen qorshahan la wado waxaana daba socda ayay yiraahdeen Ciidamo laga qorayo deegaanka oo yeelan doona awooda saldhigaas kuwaasoo laga yaabo in dhawaan la qoro Maxamed xasan oo ka mida odayaasha deegaanka ayaa Maakhir Media wax ka waydiisay sida uu u arko Ciidamdan soo dega Magaalada iyo hadaladii kasoo yeeray Wasiirka Warfaafinta P/land waxaanu ku jawaabay inuu P/land idaacadaha uun ka maqlo weligiisna arag wax p/land ka socda hadalka wasiirka wax kazoo qaad malaha adeer dadkani Maamul ayay u baahan yihiin cidii ay u arkaan inay wado wax dantoodana cid uma daba fadhiisanayaan sababto ah 20sano ayaanu ku jirnaa Maamul la,aan markaa Somaliland Maamul u samayn iyo dhismayaal ay kwada deegaanka maxaanu ku diidaynaa markaa Dhinaca kale Magaalada ayaa ganacsigeedu hada aad u sara kacay waxaana ka jira dhaqdhaqaaq xaga wax kala iibsiga ah waxa kale oo la dareemayaa inay soo buux dhaafiyeen Maleeshiyooyin lagu wado in Ciidamo laga dhigay kuwaasoo aad ugu soo qul qulaya Magaalada Taliyaha ayaa maruu la hadlayay dadka deegaanka u sheegay hadii aanay doonayn ciidamada in laga qaadayo madaama ay iyagu yihiin cida masuuliyada Magaalada iska leh waxa kaloo Magaaalada ka socda dhismayaal xaga waxbarashada iyo caafimaadka ah oo ay wado Somaliland Hadaba dhawaan ayaan idiin soo gudbin doonaan waraysiyo Maqal iyo Muqaalba leh oo aanu kazoo qaadayno Ciidmada soo degay Shimbiraale iyo dadka deegaankaba Maakhir Media Shimbiraale

Thankful;733896 wrote: I agree Jacpher, It's just another outsider giving us his opinion on an issue he knows nothing about. Like he has a right to say what exists and what doesn't or who is functioning and who is not. The article - like so many other outside-forces - is meant to divide us. It's the old colonial strategy. I only listened to his outsider opinion on AY, because it differs from what his enemies in Somalia try say. Even the mere mention of his name, brings out the wrath of his enemies. Jacpher says the Young man is a student and you say he works for the Colonial office which one is it

Thankful;733888 wrote: His strong armed tactics had no piracy, we can agree on that right? Or kidnapping right? Maybe he chased Riyaale out of Lascaanod, however the problems we see now, weren't occurring before....can we agree on this? Because of what Puntland was then and now, AY is slowly being vindicated! Wrong abdilahi Yusuf started killing elders in galkacyo that is a well known fact and what do we see every day in bosaaso the killing of elders in april this year 3 clan elders were gunned down in bosaaso.

Suldaanka;733887 wrote: ^The keyword is "strong-arm tactics" of the former warlord. i.e. bulldozing any opposition within Puntland and killing traditional leaders at point blank with no questions asked. That is vindication for you. Those tactics might have worked in Puntland, but they backfired at him in Mogadishu where even the Amhara tanks couldn't save him from his demise. Tuute Muuse the tribal leader of bosaaso fled to ceelafweyn sanaag he fled from the wrath of Abdilahi Yusufs Clan Militia. i agree it might have worked on the Trinity clan of the garowe pirate administration as oodweyne would say.

And thankful thought warlord Abdilahi yusuf was really in charge back than Walad Abdallah was the UN chief playing Chess with the so called Koonfurian Politicians. And melez zanawi was exercising his military might with the blessings of Uncle sam. The sad part is the Koonfurian Politicians don't even know they lost their sovereignty long time ago.

He made some good points the modern day Somali state ceased to exist 1991 it only existed for 31 years from 1960 till 1991 and the Sheikh dalxiis TFG imposed on the koonfurians created in Djibouti is a total failure, also on the Garowe clan administration its not a secret they are involved in piracy activities themselves.

PasserBy;733875 wrote: Awdal did exist during the days of ancient Ethiopian Emperors. Somaliland is a different story. But I like myths. So tell me more. Walashma Dynasty Later Adal Empire by the way they were not called Ethiopian Emperors they were the Abyssinian Christian rulers we hunted them down one for one. Ethiopia back then did not exist , Loool@ myths

A_Khadar;733869 wrote: ^^ People to defend their homes is voilency? Defending their home from who their own people ?

^^ The people existed and the land was known as ardu al Somaal meaning Somaliland.

No i was correcting your map as for awdal as i said its part and parcel of Somaliland its where we planned the destruction of your Ethiopian Emperors

Somalilands unique case for statehood cannot longer be denied by the African union , the African Union will lose further credibility if they continue to be indifferent about Somaliland quest for statehood as their fact finding Mission 2005 clearly stated that Somaliland case in africa is unique and will not open a pandora box for secessionist groups in africa. With south sudans gaining independence and the international community fully supporting eventhough they have a long way to go in state building and building their institutions dissarming the Militia the reshape of the new border the border dispute between north sudan and south sudan over the oil rich region of abayei. The west the EU and US in partcilary are really thinking of this lightly undermining the African union charter and the African union are quiet like little bois sitting still on the school bench and they are being lectured about their own AU constitutions by the likes of the EU ambassadors to the UN.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The African Union (AU) Observers have certified South Sudan’s secession vote “free, fair, credible and a true reflection of the democratically-expressed will of the South Sudanese voters.” In its preliminary statement on the conduct of the vote, which could lead to the creation of Africa’s newest country and pave the way for the independence for Somaliland, the AU said the referendum was conducted in a safe and peaceful environment. The words of the African Union

South Sudan Defies Africa´s Colonial Borders—Somaliland Accepts Them While South Sudan redraws Africa´s colonial borders and eagerly creates new ones, Somaliland keeps its original boundaries intact and simply reverts to them. Yet these two countries are not equal. That is, they won´t have the same status in the eyes of the African Union´s (AU) policy makers. The AU´s charter forbids changing the colonial borders that the Africa nations inherited, however; South Sudan not only redraws the boundaries but also succeeds as Africa´s 55th state, on July 09, 2011, with or without the AU´s blessings. On the other hand, Somaliland which obtained its independence, in June 26, 1960, before Somalia´s and voluntarily and hastily joined Somalia in the same year is not only repeatedly denied its independence, but it is also cruelly punished for seeking sovereignty and demanded to recommit itself into another emotional gunshot marriage with Somalia. For the past two decades, Somaliland remained politically and economically isolated. Although the AU boasts about having the last say in Africa, the truth is from its claims. Take as an example, it was not the AU that forced or persuaded the Sudan´s brutal regime to let go South Sudan, despite the South Sudanese people enduring over 51 years of oppression. In fact, the AU´s approval to the secession of South Sudan was not even important. Without down playing the commendable determination of the South Sudanese people to free themselves from the hands of a barbaric tyrant, their success was mainly due to the Western countries’ support. The United States and other Western countries played a major role in dividing Sudan into two countries. Neither the AU nor the Arab countries´ views had any impact on South Sudan’s independence. In reality, the AU´s charter which demands (verbally) to maintain the colonial borders intact counted as nothing more than toilet paper. Evidently, the Western countries pushed for South Sudan´s independence primarily for two reasons: for one thing, the idea of breaking up Sudan into two countries was irresistible; after all, the Western countries perceived Sudan as their enemy. For another, supporting South Sudan´s independence and managing its black gold (the oil) was a dream come true. Truly, the West killed two birds with one stone. Bingo! Therefore, what the AU said about South Sudan´s sovereignty was as meaningless as what the Arab regimes whispered to one another about Palestine´s independence, for the past six decades. Now, when it comes to Somaliland´s quest for statehood, although the West reiterates that it is an internal matter of the AU and it is up to the AU to take the lead, in the case of South Sudan, in fact, the AU was just shown where to place its signature on, never mind having a say or protesting against the creation of new borders. (Oops! There goes the AU´s charter—”the sacred cow”.) But the real challenge for the AU and the West is: South Sudan which didn´t have defined populations or borders when the colonials departed from Africa is let go; then, Somaliland´s case will be unstoppable. After all, Somaliland was a country with populations and defined borders when the colonials fled Africa. The AU and the West cannot permit South Sudan to gain its independence, under the pretext of protecting humanity—or more precisely: oil fields—while, hypocritically, denying Somaliland´s. Also, if the notion that the wealthy Arab regimes heavily armed the Sudanese tyrant, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, to oppress South Sudan, therefore, it deserves its sovereignty, holds any water, the Arab regimes also armed to the teeth the former Somalia´s dictator, Gen. Mohammed Siad Barre, to crush Somaliland. And he did so. He pulverized it to dust, savagely butchering over 60, 000 civilians to death and obliterating every major city from the face of the earth, in late ´80s. And if the South Sudanese suffered over 51 years, so did Somalilanders—from 1960 to 2011. Therefore, what is good for South Sudan is also good for Somaliland. (Hello!) Additionally, the United States, Italy, former East Germany and other countries were major army suppliers to Gen. Barre when he was slaughtering the Somaliland people. Unlike, South Sudanese people, the Somaliland people not only suffered in the hands of a ruthless dictator, but also the Western governments, “the human rights protectors”, and former Eastern Block regimes provided him the killing machines. In the lat ´80s and early ´90s, Somalilanders begged for animal rights because human rights were unavailable for them. Thanks to the United States and its allies. In my vivid memories, as a little boy, in 1988, at the height of the Somali regime’s devastating onslaught against the Somaliland people, from the hills, adjacent to the beach, near Mogadishu airport, I watched as huge East Germany military planes, marked clearly with East Germany’s flag, landed at the airport. Also, the United States´ support to the dictator and possible bribes from the American oil companies were crucial, as he couldn´t have otherwise slaughtered over 60, 000 civilians in Somaliland. In return, Gen. Siad Barre gave exclusive rights to five American oil companies to undertake oil explorations in Somaliland. One report states, “Beginning 1986, Conoco, along with Amoco, Chevron, Phillips and, briefly, Shell all sought and obtained exploration licenses for northern Somalia [somaliland] from Siad Barre’s government. Somalia was soon carved up into concessional blocs, with Conoco, Amoco and Chevron winning the right to explore and exploit the most promising ones.” Again, it was oil that mattered, not humanity. Two decades later nothing has changed. Indisputably, the statement “protecting humanity” means “protecting oil fields” through the eyes of the imperialists. In another stunning development, the current Somali regime recognizes South Sudan as a sovereignty country in less than twenty hours after it celebrated its independence, but the Mogadishu regime holds Somaliland hostage for twenty years. What an irony! Now because Somalia is willing to recognize other countries while, on the other hand, it argues it will sit down with Somaliland only when it [somalia] becomes stable, exposes the Somali regime´s thuggish behavior. In fact, from now and on, whether Somalia is stable or not, Somaliland should press more than ever before to sit down with the foreign-imposed Mogadishu regime to end decades of holding Somaliland hostage. For Somalia, no more beating around the bushes! After all, Somalia is not mental, is it? Doubtless, the Somali regime will work around the clock to forge a close relationship with South Sudan, dissuading South Sudan to extend recognition to Somaliland. A new battle to win the hearts and minds of the South Sudanese leaders will rage between Somaliland and Somalia. But Somaliland must take the lead. The new South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, already sent a sincere brotherly invitation to the Somaliland President, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud Silanyo, to celebrate with the hard-earned South Sudanese people´s independence. Mr. Silanyo and large delegations of Somaliland officials and reporters celebrated with the South Sudanese people on July 09, 2011. Now, Somaliland should invite Mr. Kiir to visit Somaliland, persuading him that Somaliland people suffered as much as the South Sudanese people endured atrocities. And Somaliland is a function government while Somalia is a playground for terrorists and pirates. Hence, Somaliland is the only authority in the region, which deserves its well-overdue recognition. History attests that the struggles for freedom and self-determination of the South Sudanese and the Somaliland people have a lot in common. As the Somaliland President, Mr. Silanyo emphasized while en route to South Sudan, the independence of South Sudan bolsters—a golden opportunity indeed—Somaliland’s case for statehood. The president stated , “As you know there are rigid restrictions on changing the colonial borders of Africa. The restrictions demand the old borders cannot be changed. Somaliland is not changing its old borders. And the independence of South Sudan changes everything…” Mr. Silanyo also reminded the public during the struggle of his rebel forces, a.k.a Somali National Movement (SNM), against Somalia´s dictator, he used to meet the founder of South Sudan, John Garang, in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, and were both on a mission to free their respective oppressed people. In short, let bygones be bygones. Today, a new peaceful dawn rises over Somaliland. And as the current Somaliland President, Mr. Silanyo, stated on May 18, 2011, Somaliland´s independence day: “Even if it takes another 100 years to regain our lost sovereignty, we will never give it up”. That is, Somaliland may not have proven-oil fields and may be unable to challenge the AU and the West´s shameless double standard towards Somaliland’s sovereignty, but, recognized or not, Somaliland is here to stay.

Indeed its about time. Well done mr president and welcome mr maxamad aw siciid

Somaliland’s President Silanyo pledges to work toward common objectives with the United Kingdom after meeting William Hague, British Foreign Secretary. July 11, 2011 President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo met with British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Friday [8 July 2011] in the Ethiopian capital to discuss bilateral, humanitarian and regional issues. Mr. Hague praised the UK-Somaliland relations and Somaliland’s progress in the key areas of security, human rights, development and democracy. He promised to strengthen Somaliland and UK ties and expand cooperation in security and development. President Silanyo on his part thanked the Minister and urged him to help Somaliland gain international recognition. He lauded the two states ties and said Hargeisa is prepared to work with UK in common areas of interest. The historical meeting comes a day after President Silanyo met with senior British naval officers aboard a British warship at Berbera port. The two sides discussed regional security and stability in the region. They agreed to cooperate in the combating of maritime piracy off the coast of neighbouring Somalia and other security operations. This warship conducting anti-piracy operations in the region is the first British naval ship to dock at Berbera in 60 years. The president and his delegation left Addis Ababa early today for South Sudan to attend the independence ceremony in Juba on Saturday. A large delegation including the former President Dahir Riyale is already in Juba waiting to welcome President Silanyo and his delegation. The president also plans to meet with African heads of state, EU and U.S. delegations including Susan Rice, the US envoy to the United Nations. Somaliland hopes to be the newest African state after South Sudan.

Axmed Silanyo, has just confirmed a decision by his predecessor Dahir Rayale, awarding the firm Somcable headed by Mohamed Said Guedi the contract to connect the territory to one of the undersea optical fibre cables reaching East Africa. July 12, 2011 The businessman Mohamed Saïd Guedi (MSG) has purchased the old civil protection building situated in the centre of Djibouti City for the sum of FDJ 50 million (about €200,000). The civil protection service will move to its new barracks situated to a locality known as “sans-fil” (wireless) just opposite the premises of the national police force. Mohamed Saïd Guedi intends to renovate this building so that it can house the headquarters of his company Somcable. This firm has won the contract from the neighbouring government of Somaliland to connect this self-proclaimed independent territory to the undersea optical fibre cable that runs along the coast of East Africa (Read below). Work on laying the optical fibre is almost complete on the section between Hargeisa and Berbera. Somcable will supply optical fibre to Somaliland via the State-owned company Djibouti Telecoms. This may be one of the reasons behind the choice of replacement for Ali Abdi Farah from his post of Djibouti minister for information and communication. His successor since last month, Abdi Houssein Ahmed, is an Issak, as is the Djibouti First Lady and a fair number of Somaliland inhabitants. The new President of the self-proclaimed independent territory of Somaliland, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud known as Silanyo, has just confirmed a decision by his predecessor Dahir Rayale Kahin, awarding the firm Somcable headed by Mohamed Said Guedi the contract to connect the territory to one of the undersea optical fibre cables reaching East Africa. The work will require investment estimated at $30 million and Somcable has already contacted the firms Sagemcom and Alcatel Lucent France. The connection will probably be to the Seacom cable from Djibouti via a land link. Somcable had competed for this contract with another company, Dalkom Somalia owned by Mohamed Ahmed Djama, a businessman backed by the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The latter had wanted the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) to land in Mogadishu. To be sure, Dalkom is a partner in the African consortium West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) which owns a 28% stake in EASSy. But as the situation in Mogadishu was not conducive to the EASSy cable landing there, the head of Dalkom turned his attention to Berbera in Somaliland. Finally, both EASSy and Seacom landed in Djibouti. Another company called Small Globe Solutions unsuccessfully tried to convince the EASSy promoters to have their cable connect directly to Somaliland. This firm is linked to the British company Small Globe Ltd which was founded in April 2010 by several businessman of Somalian descent: Ahmed Nur Amin from Cardiff, plus AbdikarimAli, Mahdi Ahmed-Jama and Mahmoud Abdi from London. Giving Somcable his contract adds force to Mohamed Said Guedi`s trading empire, which already has the upper hand on importing cigarettes into Djibouti via its subsidiary Business Royal. He has good relations with Djama Mahamoud Haid, the governor of the Banque Centrale de Djibouti and the brother of Ismail Omar Guelleh`s wife.

Forget about Alshabaab and their cave ways of Misusing the religion but what about the aids infected ugandan troops do you now aids percentage rate of uganda?

Where is part two?

Thank you Mohammed

Since when is bulaxaar gabiley arasbiyo wajaale part of awdal province, Awdal is where the Modern Somaliland civilization started god bless and it will always remain part of Somaliland.

A khadar President Siilaanyos duty is to protect and to continue the hard work he is doing at the moment President Siilaanyo has been in office for one year and in that year he changed Somaliland for the better and that's what matters his visit to the Arab world was to strengthen the relations with the Arab world and the visit to south sudan is was to welcome this new nation to africa. Now why is your clan jabhad leader xaglatoosiye roaming between kenya ohio dubai getting welcoming parties at the international airports wasting money for doing what other than collecting money from the poor ladies from his clan in the diaspora. His Khusuusi leader is defecting due to his mismanagement its indeed sad .

In a series of interviews in Mogadishu, several of the country’s recognized leaders, including President Sharif, called on the US government to quickly and dramatically increase its assistance to the Somali military in the form of training, equipment and weapons. Moreover, they argue that without viable civilian institutions, Somalia will remain ripe for terrorist groups that can further destabilize not only Somalia but the region. “I believe that the US should help the Somalis to establish a government that protects civilians and its people,” Sharif said. In the battle against the Shabab, the United States does not, in fact, appear to have cast its lot with the Somali government. The emerging US strategy on Somalia—borne out in stated policy, expanded covert presence and funding plans—is two-pronged: On the one hand, the CIA is training, paying and at times directing Somali intelligence agents who are not firmly under the control of the Somali government, while JSOC conducts unilateral strikes without the prior knowledge of the government; on the other, the Pentagon is increasing its support for and arming of the counterterrorism operations of non-Somali African military forces. A draft of a defense spending bill approved in late June by the Senate Armed Services Committee would authorize more than $75 million in US counterterrorism assistance aimed at fighting the Shabab and Al Qaeda in Somalia. The bill, however, did not authorize additional funding for Somalia’s military, as the country’s leaders have repeatedly asked. Instead, the aid package would dramatically increase US arming and financing of AMISOM’s forces, particularly from Uganda and Burundi, as well as the militaries of Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia. The Somali military, the committee asserted, is unable to “exercise control of its territory.” That makes it all the more ironic that perhaps the greatest tactical victory won in recent years in Somalia was delivered not by AMISOM, the CIA or JSOC but by members of a Somali militia fighting as part of the government’s chaotic local military. And it was a pure accident. Late in the evening on June 7, a man whose South African passport identified him as Daniel Robinson was in the passenger seat of a Toyota SUV driving on the outskirts of Mogadishu when his driver, a Kenyan national, missed a turn and headed straight toward a checkpoint manned by Somali forces. A firefight broke out, and the two men inside the car were killed. The Somali forces promptly looted the laptops, cellphones, documents, weapons and $40,000 in cash they found in the car, according to the senior Somali intelligence official. Upon discovering that the men were foreigners, the Somali NSA launched an investigation and recovered the items that had been looted. “There was a lot of English and Arabic stuff, papers,” recalls the Somali intelligence official, containing “very tactical stuff” that appeared to be linked to Al Qaeda, including “two senior people communicating.” The Somali agents “realized it was an important man” and informed the CIA in Mogadishu. The men’s bodies were taken to the NSA. The Americans took DNA samples and fingerprints and flew them to Nairobi for processing. Within hours, the United States confirmed that Robinson was in fact Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a top leader of Al Qaeda in East Africa and its chief liaison with the Shabab. Fazul, a twenty-year veteran of Al Qaeda, had been indicted by the United States for his alleged role in the 1998 US Embassy bombings and was on the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” list. A JSOC attempt to kill him in a January 2007 airstrike resulted in the deaths of at least seventy nomads in rural Somalia, and he had been underground ever since. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Fazul’s death “a significant blow to Al Qaeda, its extremist allies and its operations in East Africa. It is a just end for a terrorist who brought so much death and pain to so many innocents.” At its facilities in Mogadishu, the CIA and its Somali NSA agents continue to pore over the materials recovered from Fazul’s car, which served as a mobile headquarters. Some deleted and encrypted files were recovered and decoded by US agents. The senior Somali intelligence official said that the intelligence may prove more valuable on a tactical level than the cache found in Osama bin Laden’s house in Pakistan, especially in light of the increasing US focus on East Africa. The Americans, he said, were “unbelievably grateful”; he hopes it means they will take Somalia’s forces more seriously and provide more support. But the United States continues to wage its campaign against the Shabab primarily by funding the AMISOM forces, which are not conducting their mission with anything resembling surgical precision. Instead, over the past several months the AMISOM forces in Mogadishu have waged a merciless campaign of indiscriminate shelling of Shabab areas, some of which are heavily populated by civilians. While AMISOM regularly puts out press releases boasting of gains against the Shabab and the retaking of territory, the reality paints a far more complicated picture. Throughout the areas AMISOM has retaken is a honeycomb of underground tunnels once used by Shabab fighters to move from building to building. By some accounts, the tunnels stretch continuously for miles. Leftover food, blankets and ammo cartridges lay scattered near “pop-up” positions once used by Shabab snipers and guarded by sandbags—all that remain of guerrilla warfare positions. Not only have the Shabab fighters been cleared from the aboveground areas; the civilians that once resided there have been cleared too. On several occasions in late June, AMISOM forces fired artillery from their airport base at the Bakaara market, where whole neighborhoods are totally abandoned. Houses lie in ruins and animals wander aimlessly, chewing trash. In some areas, bodies have been hastily buried in trenches with dirt barely masking the remains. On the side of the road in one former Shabab neighborhood, a decapitated corpse lay just meters from a new government checkpoint. In late June the Pentagon approved plans to send $45 million worth of military equipment to Uganda and Burundi, the two major forces in the AMISOM operation. Among the new items are four small Raven surveillance drones, night-vision and communications equipment and other surveillance gear, all of which augur a more targeted campaign. Combined with the attempt to build an indigenous counterterrorism force at the Somali NSA, a new US counterterrorism strategy is emerging. But according to the senior Somali intelligence official, who works directly with the US agents, the CIA-led program in Mogadishu has brought few tangible gains. “So far what we have not seen is the results in terms of the capacity of the [somali] agency,” says the official. He conceded that neither US nor Somali forces have been able to conduct a single successful targeted mission in the Shabab’s areas in the capital. In late 2010, according to the official, US-trained Somali agents conducted an operation in a Shabab area that failed terribly and resulted in several of them being killed. “There was an attempt, but it was a haphazard one,” he recalls. They have not tried another targeted operation in Shabab-controlled territory since. Source:thenation.com

In an interview with The Nation in Mogadishu, Abdulkadir Moallin Noor, the minister of state for the presidency, confirmed that US agents “are working with our intelligence” and “giving them training.” Regarding the US counterterrorism effort, Noor said bluntly, “We need more; otherwise, the terrorists will take over the country.” It is unclear how much control, if any, Somalia’s internationally recognized president, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, has over this counterterrorism force or if he is even fully briefed on its operations. The CIA personnel and other US intelligence agents “do not bother to be in touch with the political leadership of the country. And that says a lot about the intentions,” says Aynte. “Essentially, the CIA seems to be operating, doing the foreign policy of the United States. You should have had State Department people doing foreign policy, but the CIA seems to be doing it across the country.” While the Somali officials interviewed for this story said the CIA is the lead US agency coordinating the Mogadishu counterterrorism program, they also indicated that US military intelligence agents are at times involved. When asked if they are from JSOC or the Defense Intelligence Agency, the senior Somali intelligence official responded, “We don’t know. They don’t tell us.” In April Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali man the United States alleged had links to the Shabab, was captured by JSOC forces in the Gulf of Aden. He was held incommunicado on a US Navy vessel for more than two months; in July he was transferred to New York and indicted on terrorism charges. Warsame’s case ignited a legal debate over the Obama administration’s policies on capturing and detaining terror suspects, particularly in light of the widening counterterrorism campaigns in Somalia and Yemen. On June 23 the United States reportedly carried out a drone strike against alleged Shabab members near Kismayo, 300 miles from the Somali capital. As with the Nabhan operation, a JSOC team swooped in on helicopters and reportedly snatched the bodies of those killed and wounded. The men were taken to an undisclosed location. On July 6 three more US strikes reportedly targeted Shabab training camps in the same area. Somali analysts warned that if the US bombings cause civilian deaths, as they have in the past, they could increase support for the Shabab. Asked in an interview with The Nation in Mogadishu if US drone strikes strengthen or weaken his government, President Sharif replied, “Both at the same time. For our sovereignty, it’s not good to attack a sovereign country. That’s the negative part. The positive part is you’re targeting individuals who are criminals.” A week after the June 23 strike, President Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, described an emerging US strategy that would focus not on “deploying large armies abroad but delivering targeted, surgical pressure to the groups that threaten us.” Brennan singled out the Shabab, saying, “From the territory it controls in Somalia, Al Shabab continues to call for strikes against the United States,” adding, “We cannot and we will not let down our guard. We will continue to pummel Al Qaeda and its ilk.” While the United States appears to be ratcheting up both its rhetoric and its drone strikes against the Shabab, it has thus far been able to strike only in rural areas outside Mogadishu. These operations have been isolated and infrequent, and Somali analysts say they have failed to disrupt the Shabab’s core leadership, particularly in Mogadishu. * * *