LSK, this is for you. LOL. Troop Surge and Somalia Airstrike Coincidental? Is it just me or is that air strike in Somalia on Monday timed way too coincidentally close to the Bush speech Wednesday night, announcing the troop surge in Iraq? You know, to remind us all about the 'global war on terror'. Us against them. With us or against us. Is it me? Am I that jaded? Probably. Source

^No one has attempted to spin this yet. There's nothing to spin. There are also many casualties reported. Here's more info (with video): The AC-130 gunship is capable of firing thousands of rounds per second, and sources say a lot of bodies were seen on the ground after the strike, but there is as yet, no confirmation of the identities. CBS Video

^ Specially now that in a couple of days 20,000 more troops to Iraq will be announced. Who knows? You're spot on, however, Somalia is indeed feeble and "unfriendly".

^ If you work that head of yours just a little more, walaahi you'd come across much better than a simple person. I guarantee it atheer. Try it. Originally posted by mystic: They have killed 200 people, and they were only looking for 'THREE'. May they all rest in peace. I don't think any casualty figures were known or released. Though AC-130's are not known for precision bombing of any sort. May Allah forgive the sins of the dead and ease the pain of the living.

^ Waar haaye ninku magaca xaguu ka keeney?

^ Ayaan darro indeed. And here I was thinking Pi was a level-headed young man. What could have happened to poison him so? Did he catch the Shiekh Fiqikhayre syndrome?

More details about the US operation. It seems they missed their target. U.S. moves against Al-Qaida suspects in Somalia By Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writer 6:42 PM PST, January 8, 2007 Washington -- Under cover of the Ethiopian move into Somalia, U.S. officials launched an intensive effort to capture or kill three key suspects in the bombings of U.S. embassies in African more than eight years ago that killed 224 people. Monday, a U.S. Air Force Special Operations gunship struck a location in southern Somalia where the suspects were believed to be hiding, a U.S. defense official said. U.S. military and counter-terrorism officials said they did not yet know whether any of the three fugitives had been killed. "It's not clear what the outcome is at this point," said the counter-terrorism official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the operation was classified. U.S. officials have secretly been negotiating with Somalian clans who are believed to have sheltered the three men, hoping to obtain information about their locations. It could not be determined Monday whether the airstrike was based on information provided by the clans. The U.S. AC-130 gunship that carried out the strike was based in Djibouti, just north of Somalia. The strike was first reported by CBS News and independently confirmed by the Los Angeles Times. CIA, FBI and military teams have been tracking the men, particularly their alleged leader, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, for years, but they have proved elusive. U.S. officials and their African and European allies in the negotiations believe that one Somalian sub-clan in particular has been harboring Mohammed and his associates, whom the U.S. describes as the leaders of an East Africa al-Qaida cell. Mohammed, a native of the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros, faces terrorism charges in the United States that could bring a death penalty if he is captured and convicted. Intelligence gathered over the past week indicates that Mohammed and aides Abu Talha al Sudani and Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan recently fled their haven in Mogadishu and headed for the Kenyan border as Ethiopian troops entered the capital and routed the Islamic militias which controlled it. The three men might be trying to sneak across the border with false identification papers or by sea on one of the hundreds of fishing dhows that ply the coastal waters. But U.S. officials believe the suspects might also be staying put somewhere in Somalia, hoping to disappear into the lawless and ungoverned expanses of territory where they could still receive protection from clan leaders. In any case, U.S. officials believe that influential members of the Ayr sub-clan, which they say has sheltered the three, are in touch with the fugitives and could exert some pull in getting them turned over to authorities. At the very least, clan members could provide their pursuers with detailed intelligence about where the men might go and who else within their network of extremists might be hiding them, according to several U.S. counter-terrorism and diplomatic officials familiar with the negotiations. "We are working through the clans to get at these people," one U.S. diplomatic official said. "That's a political reality in Somalia. The clan is the biggest institution, as much as there are any institutions." A senior U.S. counter-terrorism official said U.S. teams or even Ethiopian troops would not be successful in finding or apprehending the suspects without the assistance of the clan protecting them -- at least not without a bloody fight. But negotiations with the militant Ayr sub-clan could raise questions about whether the Bush administration is bargaining with terrorists or those harboring them. The U.S. diplomatic official denied that, saying that engaging the groups, either directly or through intermediaries, was the only realistic way of gathering useful intelligence on the men. Mohammed, who has a $5-million U.S. bounty on his head, was indicted in 1998 by a federal grand jury along with Osama bin Laden and others for his alleged role in the embassy bombings. U.S. officials also accuse the three fugitives of involvement in the 2002 bombing of a Kenyan hotel in which 15 people were killed and an attempt to shoot down an Israeli civilian airliner in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. It remains unclear whether U.S. authorities would take them into custody if they are captured, because Kenya and some other countries also have expressed an interest in trying them. Officials said they could not discuss the details of the negotiations, saying they are extremely sensitive and being conducted at a particularly delicate time, as the International Contact Group on Somalia works to disarm the various Somali factions and provide foreign aid. U.S. officials described the hunt for the al-Qaida operatives as confounding, as they try to figure out who can speak for the clan, whom to trust and who can deliver intelligence on the al- Qaida men or actually hand them over to authorities. One of those intermediaries is apparently Somalian Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, who held a closed-door meeting Jan. 2 with leaders of the Ayr sub-clan at a Mogadishu hotel and requested that they hand over their weapons and support the transitional government that has received support from the international community. John Prendergast, a former Africa policy official in the Clinton National Security Council and State Department, said he was skeptical of the behind-the-scenes negotiations. Prendergast, who visits Somalia frequently as a senior adviser at the nonprofit International Crisis Group, said the Somali clans are deeply mistrustful of the Bush administration, particularly because of clandestine efforts by the CIA to fund some warlords and undermine the authority of others. Also, Prendergast said, while clan members might support the al-Qaida operatives, they don't control them and are extremely unlikely to engage in any kind of betrayal of them unless other powerful Somali clans and political leaders promised them a significant prize in return. LA Times

You know what I like about you, Mystic? You take the time to explain the same thing to the same guys over and over and over. Does your patience have no limits? Mine ran out in 2005. Do you ever wonder the students might never understand what you're preaching? Don't give up. What you're doing is a great service to the 1000's of silent readers on this site.

^ Governments are different than people Alle-ubaahnow. Look at Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan. Over 100 million Muslims in those 3 countries but their governments foreign policies are more hawkish than some European countries. Governments hardly ever represent their populations. America and Ethiopia are no different. Just look at Yeey. Does he represent the Somalis? If so, let him walk down the street without an army of protection. Saaxib emotions aside, peoples of most countries have zero influence over their governments who tend to cater to the elite of the society.

I guess one can't rely on those Africans, eh? ------------------------ UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief, suggested on Monday that U.N. peacekeepers go into Somalia after the first batch of Africa Union troops is deployed. "The force for now is a Ugandan force," Solana told reporters after meeting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "But it is likely that the United Nations will have to take some decisions on the follow-up." Solana said he did not think the African Union could handle another large operation in addition to its deployment of troops in Sudan's Darfur region. "I put that on the table," Solana said of his talks with Ban, adding he had not expected an immediate response and that peacekeeping officials had to analyze the situation in the northeast African country. "But this is something we have to think about," said Solana, a former secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The United Nations and the United States failed a decade ago to restore order in Somalia, which has been in chaos since warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre in 1991 and then fought each other. Islamists ruled the capital, Mogadishu, for six months until they were ousted by Ethiopia before the new year. Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf entered the city on Monday for the first time since his election in 2004, protected by his soldiers and those from Ethiopia, whose leaders say they will withdraw as soon as possible. Still, a U.N. peacekeeping force may be difficult to muster as the world body is fielding close to 100,000 troops in 18 missions. Memories are also strong of the failed operation in Somalia from 1992 to 1995. "We face an unprecedented demand for peacekeeping as well as a range of growing demands for preventive diplomacy, good offices, peace-building and efforts in conflict management," Ban told the U.N. Security Council on Monday. Ethiopian troops are expected to pull out of Somalia in a matter of weeks, while an African peacekeeping force is cobbled together to fill the anticipated vacuum in security that the government admits it cannot handle on its own. Uganda has agreed to send troops, subject to approval by parliament, which is not due to be in session until the end of the month. Diplomats say South Africa and Nigeria have spoken of contributing troops but have not made any commitments. The United States has offered $14 million and the European Union $15 million to help with the deployment, Solana said. (Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed in Mogadishu) Reuters

Generale, why don't you stick with posting pictures of Villa Somalia. I can't believe you guys let the 40-year historical moment pass by like that. Did no one have a digital camera? A phone camera? They even had one of those when Saddam was being lynched. Surely some stills were taken. Mise there were too many bullet holes in the background on the Villa Somalia walls for it to be a decent picture? Originally posted by General Duke: I thoought this was an occupation by the Tigray, has it now turned into a US show? Even if you tried, you couldn't understand the nexus here.

Notice how this news breaks hours after Jendayi Frazer leaves the area heading home. Ain't nobody gonna ask her fat behind now what she knows about this US invasion.

All of these countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, etc..) are being coerced by the US. For all intents and purposes, Somalia is at war with the United States.

US launches strike United States forces in Somalia have launched a strike against suspected terrorists thought to have been behind attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania eight years ago. More than 200 people are thought to have died in the attacks, though the bodies are yet to be identified. An American air force AC-130 gunship conducted the strike, which targeted the senior al Qaeda leader in east Africa, and an operative of the organisation wanted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings. The craft, which is capable of firing thousands of rounds a second, flew from its base in Djibouti to southern tip of Somalia for the attack. The al Qaeda operatives were hiding in the area after being chased from the capital Mogadishu by Ethiopian troops backed by the US. They re-took the capital, which had been under the control of warlords for 15 years, on behalf of the Somalian government. Sky News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. helicopter gunship conducted a strike against two suspected al Qaeda operatives in southern Somalia, but it was not known whether the mission was successful, CBS News reported on Monday. The U.S. Air Force helicopter, operated by the Special Operations Command, flew from its base in Djibouti to the southern tip of Somalia, where the al Qaeda suspects were believed to have fled from the capital Mogadishu, the U.S. network reported. A Pentagon spokesman said he had no information on the report. The al Qaeda operatives, who were not named, included a suspect in the car bomb attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, the report said. Reuters

A U.S. Air Force gunship has conducted a strike against suspected members of al Qaeda in Somalia, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports exclusively. The targets included the senior al Qaeda leader in East Africa and an al Qaeda operative wanted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in Africa, Martin reports. The AC-130 gunship is capable of firing thousands of rounds per second, and sources say a lot of bodies were seen on the ground after the strike, but there is as yet, no confirmation of the identities. The gunship flew from its base in Dijibouti down to the southern tip of Somalia, Martin reports, where the al Qaeda operatives had fled after being chased out of the capital of Mogadishu by Ethiopian troops backed by the United States. Once they started moving, the al Qaeda operatives became easier to track, and the U.S. military started preparing for an air strike, using unmanned aerial drones to keep them under surveillance and moving the aircraft carrier Eisenhower out of the Persian Gulf toward Somalia. But when the order was given, the mission was assigned to the AC-130 gunship operated by the U.S. Special Operations command. If the attack got the operatives it was aimed at, reports Martin, it would deal a major blow to al Qaeda in East Africa. Meanwhile, a jungle hideout used by Islamic militants that is believed to be an al Qaeda base was on the verge of falling to Ethiopian and Somali troops, the defense minister said Monday. While a lawmaker had earlier told The Associated Press that the base was captured, Somalia's Defense Minister Col. Barre "Hirale" Aden Shire said troops had yet to enter it and that limited skirmishes were still ongoing, though troops were poised to take the base. Ethiopian soldiers, tanks and warplanes were involved in the two-day attack, a government military commander told the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Shire said there had been heavy fighting with high numbers of casualties. "There are a lot of casualties from both sides," he said, declining to give details. Residents in the coastal seaport of Kismayo, some 90 miles northeast of Ras Kamboni, said they saw wounded Ethiopian soldiers being loaded onto military helicopters for evacuation. "I have seen about 50 injured Ethiopian troops being loaded onto a military chopper," said Farhiya Yusuf. She said 12 Ethiopian helicopters were stationed at the Kismayo airport. Somali officials said the Islamic movement's main force is bottled up at Ras Kamboni, the southernmost tip of the country, cut off from escape at sea by patrolling U.S. warships and across the Kenyan border by the Kenyan military. In Mogadishu, Somalia's president made his first visit to the capital since taking office in 2004. During the unannounced visit, President Abdullahi Yusuf was expected to meet with traditional Somali elders and stay at the former presidential palace that has been occupied by warlords for 15 years, government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said. U.S. officials warned after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that extremists with ties to al Qaeda operated a training camp at Ras Kamboni and that al Qaeda members are believed to have visited it. Three al Qaeda suspects wanted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa are believed to be leaders of the Islamic movement. The Islamists deny having any links to al Qaeda. Somalia's government had struggled to survive since forming with backing from the United Nations two years ago, and was under attack by the Islamic militia when Ethiopia's military intervened on Dec. 24 and turned the tide. But many in predominantly Muslim Somalia resent the presence of troops from neighboring Ethiopia, which has a large Christian population. The countries fought two brutal wars, the last in 1977. On Sunday, gunmen attacked Ethiopian troops, witnesses said, sparking a firefight in the second straight day of violence in the capital, Mogadishu. CBS News

Khartoum was a farce. The war was coming no matter what happened. To say the ICU asked for this war is like saying Hizbollah asked for the war in Lebanon last summer. Invasions are not impromptu events. They're meticulously planned for months if not years. Now that the invasion has turned into an occupation, the planning of the second phase is not as good as the first. "Now what?" the Ethiopians ask the puppet regime. "What do you mean?" is the response they get.

One of the best tactics the US has given to its client states is the use of death squads to eliminate their opposition. Perfected in the war against the leftists in El Salvador, it's now being reintroduced in Iraq. I wouldn't be surprised if these types of killings would increase in number and frequency.

^ I dunno if that's possible. Yeey has been better restrained than the other goons that work for him. There's no more traveling around now or sitting with Jendayi Frazer drinking bottled water. She's heading home and he'll have to wake up in Villa Somalia to the sound of distant (or nearby) gunfire every morning wondering if this is his last. What a prize, eh? The west will do its best to find peace-keepers but the peace to keep is essentially protecting the lives of the puppet regime and to protect them from the angry public. No one really gives a damn about the public. Sometime after their arrival, frictions will increase and one or more of them will be killed. They in turn will retaliate to send a message. The predictability of it is remarkable. There. I just took a peek in my crystal ball.

It's remarkable how the Ugandans quoted above are well aware of the geopolitical struggle occurring here and how much the west is involved in it. Ask any of our Yeeyers here and they got two words for you: VILLA SOMALIA!

LePoint, why do you insist on separating the aspiration for a better Somalia from rejecting those who are telling us they'll take us there. The two ideas can co-exist but you insist they're mutually exclusive. I don't believe the messengers bringing us this message. And giving them the benefit of the doubt is not an option for if Somalis do, they'll be held hostage to these natural-born-killers for decades to come. What is wrong with you?

^ And we're supposed to applaud that? What is wrong with you?

Imploded? How very convenient to have your enemy implode. I don't buy it atheer. Enemies don't implode, they get defeated in a myriad of ways. Ma calayna, they're history now. At least in the "Courts" form for even if they return, they won't be practicing any judicial duties. Originally posted by ThePoint: Adeer - everything is relative. At this point in Somali history - the corrupt, mismanaged countries of Kenya and Ethiopia have some semblance of government that we in Somalia are lacking in much of the country. If we can get to their level that will be a step up. Indeed it would be several steps up. But look who's doing the lifting for us? An orgy of warlords, occupiers, imperialists and plain old criminals. Hardly a group to inspire confidence and cheer.

^ She said president, not a door knob.

^ Therein lies the problem. I disagree this is the "most noteworthy" attempt at rebuilding. In fact, this is not rebuilding at all. This is a continuation of the status quo. A collapsed state being fed upon by NGO's, the West and Ethiopia using a puppet regime. We had a most noteworthy attempt a few months ago and that has been first infiltrated then disbanded. Classic imperial modus operandi. There's nothing in recent or past history that indicates this puppet regime can rebuild anything. Of course, speculations about the future are open to everyone.