Uganda, Nigeria, and Malawi have pledged 2,500 peacekeeping troops, but most member nations remain silent.
By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - As African leaders met for the second and last day of the African Union (AU) Summit Tuesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, there were many questions about unfinished business and what they have actually accomplished.
Chief among them is the shaky AU peacekeeping force planned for war-ravaged Somalia. While a few African countries – Uganda, Nigeria, and Malawi – have pledged 2,500 of the 8,000 requested troops, most remain silent.
South Africa, a regional power normally willing and able to send peacekeepers, gave a definite "no" this week, citing its own overstretched military, the lack of Western donor support, and the lack of a workable peace plan.
Its concerns underscore the stumbling blocks for the AU as a whole. And with multiple peacekeeping missions throughout the continent, the AU may be reaching the limits of its capacity to handle more conflicts.
"I get a sense that troop-contributing countries want a better understanding of the situation in [Somalia] before sending their troops," says Matt Bryden, an analyst for the International Crisis Group in Nairobi. Even if countries do soon commit to sending 8,000 troops, Mr. Bryden says that may not be enough. "With 8,000 peacekeepers, they'll be hard-pressed to provide airport and VIP protection, let alone protecting the cities," he says. "It's not realistic."
Top AU diplomat Alpha Konare chastised African countries Monday. "We cannot simply wait for others to do the work in our place," he said, warning of chaos in Somalia if peacekeepers aren't deployed soon.
In theory, the AU should behave like the European Union (EU), with common policies on trade, development, and defense. African nations should come to each other's aid, to help sort out conflicts, and to provide peacekeeping forces as needed by their fellow governments. But the AU already has missions in Ivory Coast, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to name a few.
"I think it's like the electricity here, at some point the demand is greater than the supply, and it just runs out," says Tom Wheeler, a former South African ambassador, and now a research fellow at the South African Institute for International Affairs in Johannesburg. "It's not an unwillingness on South Africa's part; we simply don't have people to send. I believe the US is also finding itself in that same situation."
As AU leaders at the summit scrambled Tuesday to convince member nations to send more troops, Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf agreed under intense pressure from the US, the EU, and the UN to start a reconciliation conference with all religious and clan leaders, including moderates among Somalia's Islamists, who were overthrown by Somalian and Ethiopian troops earlier this month.
Willingness to include moderate Islamist leaders in talks could pave the way to a peace plan that analysts say is key to getting African countries and Western donors to contribute enough troops and money for an effective peacekeeping force. The EU reacted to Mr. Yusuf's announcement by pledging to donate $20 million for the peacekeeping force.
Still, many experts believe that the mission will depend on how events unfold in the next few weeks.
Tuesday, Somalia's Islamists posted a videotape on their official Web site warning that any African peacekeepers would be seen as invaders, highlighting the dangers of the mission. But if Somalia's weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG) acts on its announcement to reach out and share power with a broad section of Somali society, then attacks on remaining Ethiopian troops may diminish.
"I think you may well see a staggered deployment, with limited numbers going in doing the most limited tasks, protecting the TFG, and providing escorts for VIPs," say Bryden. "A lot depends on what happens with the first group of peacekeepers. If they find themselves facing attacks the way the Ethiopians and TFG are, you're not going to see a lot of appetite for expansion."
As attacks on Ethiopian troops intensified this week, Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi announced that his country would withdraw one-third of its troops.
Mr. Zenawi said last week that Ethiopia had accomplished its mission, and now the future of Somalia rests in the hands of its new leaders and Western donors.
"The problem might be those who have resources may be reluctant to provide the necessary resources," he said. "If the international community chips in that is fine. If they don't it will be up to them," he added.
AU peacekeeping planners estimate that the AU will need $160 million for the first six months of its mission. Besides the EU announcement to contribute $20 million, the US has promised $40 million.
But, perhaps most important, the AU needs a peace plan to enforce, says Richard Cromwell, a senior analyst at the Institute for Security Studies in Tshwane (as the South African capital city of Pretoria is now called.)
"There is no peace plan, and no political or diplomatic framework on which to hang a mission," says Mr. Cromwell. "If one looks at the context of the AU summit, it's nice to say you are going to send troops, but it's another thing to actually send them. Why would you devote rare African troops to a quagmire when you might need them for future conflicts?"
The Christian Science Monitor
January 30, 2007
Ethiopia Opens Pandora's Box
Bob Astles says Ethiopia has opened a grave Pandora's box in Africa by siding with US in attacking Somalia
By Bob Astles
We learned that General John Abizaid, the commander of the United States forces overseeing American military operations in a 27-country region, from the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, to South and Central Asia, covering much of the Middle East, arrived in Addis Ababa on December 4th to meet the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi.
Officially, the trip was a courtesy call to an ally. Three weeks later, however, Ethiopian forces crossed into Somalia.
As I see it, the meeting between General John Abizaid and Meles Zenawi was just the final handshake for things more sinister to come. This has already been proved correct with the American air strikes, logistic support, and military co-operation between the president of Ethiopia and America, fuelled by mutual concern about the rise of the Islamists in Somalia—so-called “suspected al-Qaida operatives”.
The United States also made available satellite information and intelligence which they had received from friendly Somali clans. We then saw the entry into the waters of Somalia the massive aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower. This has to be the world’s greatest example yet of a sledge hammer to crack a walnut.
America's renewed interest in the Horn of Africa dates from November 2002 when the United States military established its joint task force in Djibouti, now the base for several thousand troops, including the crack special operations forces. What is now called “under-the-radar approach” was necessitated by the State Department's opposition to any type of military intervention in Somalia.
Until the middle of last year, diplomats remained hopeful of negotiations between the Somali government and the Islamic Courts Union-inside Sudan. It is pretty certain that Meles Zenawi invaded Somalia, with United States connivance, to divert attention at home from the consequences of last year's election rigging in Ethiopia.
We well remember the high number of protesters killed by the Ethiopian army in Addis Ababa and elsewhere in the country with not a murmur of protest from Washington where leadership is more dedicated to overthrowing the government of Sudan.
Can’t Zenawi see that by invading Somalia with American assistance, he’s giving respectability to the arbitrary actions of a country that no longer recognizes any restraints to its single minded pursuit of its own self interest? We have already seen the arrogant deception of the United Nations with the famous barefaced lies intended to give authenticity to its intention to invade Iraq, and then when the UN refused to authorize such an invasion, it went ahead anyway.
Later, to deflect attention from the unimaginable failure to plan for the wholly foreseeable post war tensions, the attention of the world media was directed at Darfur where what was needed was some prompting of African diplomatic negotiations not a huge American inspired hostile public relations exercise involving their own banking and pension funds organizations, internationally known retired old pop singers and, self interest again, their oil barons supporting the lethal dollar the rebel leaders fighting a legitimate sovereign government.
Today at the assembly in Addis Ababa of all the African leaders we shall soon see which ones are in the pay of various world powers seeking mineral rights and oil. Which one of these leaders speaks on behalf of their African citizens?
It is important for the African Union not to be fooled into sending troops to Somalia, because such a peacekeeping force will ultimately legitimize the American Ethiopian invasion. Of course, it is necessary to restore peace and order to Somalia. But the African Union will be wise to acknowledge that the Somalis are fearless fighters, who often call other Black non-Muslim Africans “adon” or slave.
During my time serving in Africa we were never able to change them. In 1994 they disarmed an entire battalion of Zimbabwean blue helmets, looted their weapons and sent them walking back to Mogadishu in their underpants. Most of us who worked in Africa recalled this and if I remember rightly, the Pakistanis got similar treatment and this was at a time when a force of 30,000 strong American-lead UN blue helmets were there. Never underestimate a Somali.
The Ethiopian invasion of a foreign country and the United States air strikes have made heroes of the Somali militants among the Jihadis across the world, and probably endangers once again the cities and citizens of those governments supporting the invasion. The Pentagon will have its own reasons, no doubt, and a long term plan with an eye on China and its increasing interest in the developing world’s mineral and oil wealth. In the Horn of Africa in October 2002 the United States dispatched troops to its newly established military base at camp Le Monier, a former French Foreign Legion outpost in neighboring Djibouti, which has become its centre of operations in the area, transferred from the Marine Corps to the American Navy. Last July, the Djibouti's government announced a lease agreement to expand their camp from 88 acres to some 500 acres—we can expect that they are there for ever.
In January 2006 the Fifth Fleet’s guided missile destroyer Winston S. Churchill, in a symbolic show of force, seized a pirate ship off the coast but also let us know that their missiles covered a vast region of the east coast. Meanwhile Washington cultivated the transitional government of Somalia then in quarrelsome existence which even had its own American citizen – Hussein Mohamed Aideed, son of the late Mohamed Farah Aideed of “Blackhawk Down” fame–as a war lord. It was a government that had been formed in exile yet it was quick to award a $50 million contract approved between it and a private United States security company to patrol the coast.
Now we have seen in recent days Washington working with the invading mainly Christian Ethiopian army to topple the Somali government headed by the successful Islamic Courts Union. Last year the Islamic Courts Union took over most of Somalia from the corrupt gun-toting warlords and brought some order and the restoration of commerce to Mogadishu, Kismayo and other cities and implemented harsh Sharia law.
It certainly received considerable support, especially from the business community as an alternative to feuding warlords. It seems unlikely that America can do much better—but then in this century is it still the America we once loved and believed we could trust?
We all should take an interest in the Addis Ababa Summit and to see if Africa is still a proud free continent. My personal feeling is that the great Pan-African hero, Kwame Nkrumah, will turn over in horror within his grave.
Astles, once an advisor in the Idi Amin regime in Uganda, lives in Portugal.
Black Star News(New York’s leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper)
January 29, 2007
Conflict in Somalia far from over
MAX BOOT*
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jan 29, 2007
Little more than a month ago, the situation in Somalia seemed hopeless.
The Islamic Courts Union was consolidating its Taliban-style hold on the country, foreign jihadists were pouring in and a new terrorist haven appeared to be emerging. The CIA's attempts to finance a coalition of secular warlords had failed, and the moderate transitional government was under siege in the provisional capital of Baidoa.
Then, on the day before Christmas, the armed forces of Ethiopia -- a Christian state threatened by the ultra-Islamists next door -- crossed the frontier. Ethiopia maintains the most formidable military in the region, thanks in part to American arms, aid and advisers.
Not only did the United States share intelligence with the Ethiopians, there have been reports that a small number of U.S. Special Operations troops were on the ground.
Within days the seemingly invincible Islamists had been routed. As the jihadists fled south, an American AC-130 gunship based in Djibouti got into the act, strafing suspects linked to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. U.S. intelligence agencies had been tracking these terrorists for years, but it was only when they were flushed out of their sanctuary that they became vulnerable to attack.
Although most of the foreign policy debate in the U.S. has been rivetted on Iraq, some within the Pentagon have been touting recent events in Somalia as an alternative model of how to fight Islamo-fascists. Everyone recognizes that there will be scant appetite in the near term for sending huge numbers of U.S. troops to occupy any more Middle Eastern countries.
Might not the U.S. be able to achieve its goals by taking advantage of local allies backed by American air power and small numbers of commandos and intelligence agents?
Such a low-intensity approach -- used to overthrow the Taliban in the fall of 2001 -- has much to recommend it. But a few caveats are in order.
First, indigenous allies are not always reliable. They are often pursuing agendas different from the Americans. Remember how Afghan fighters allowed Osama bin Laden and his followers to escape from Tora Bora in 2001? Or look at the difficulties the U.S. is now having in working with the al-Maliki government in Iraq.
Second, it's easier to play offence than defence. It doesn't take that many troops to rout the Taliban, the Iraqi Republican Guard or the Islamic Courts Union, but successfully holding a country as large as Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia is a much more labour-intensive task.
If the U.S. or its allies don't provide those soldiers, where will they come from? Ideally, they'll be locals trained and armed by the U.S., but, as we've seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, standing up effective security forces is a laborious, long-term process. It's a race against time: Can the government consolidate control before the Islamists launch an effective guerrilla campaign?
This danger is particularly acute in Somalia, where the Ethiopians have made clear that they have no interest in a long-term occupation. Once they leave, Somalia is likely to sink back into the clan warfare that has predominated since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
There is a moment of opportunity now for the international community to step in and stabilize Somalia.
What's needed is an effective foreign peacekeeping force along with a large influx of aid to the transitional government. If that's not forthcoming -- and odds are it won't be -- the Islamists will find it easy to stage a resurgence.
A third caveat: In fighting terrorists, the U.S. won't always have the freedom of action it enjoys in Somalia. Terrorists find shelter not only in ungoverned spaces like Somalia but in anti-American countries like Iran and Syria, in ambivalent countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and even in pro-American countries like Germany and Britain. For various political reasons, the potential for swashbuckling, Jack Bauer-style counter-terrorism in such states is less than in non-states like Somalia or Afghanistan, where anything goes. Indeed, a team of CIA officers faces indictment in Italy for snatching a terrorist suspect off a Milan street in 2003.
So, by all means celebrate the achievements in Somalia, even while recognizing the likelihood that the U.S. has not heard the last of the Islamic Courts Union.
In contrast to setbacks in Iraq, Somalia shows that jihadist insurgents are eminently defeatable. But realize that the "Somalia model'' is not easily exportable elsewhere. Different approaches must be tailored to different theatres of this global counter-insurgency.
This is not a one-size-fits-all war.
*Max Boot is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of War Made New: Technology, Warfare, and the Course of History, 1500 to Today.
www.therecord.com
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jan 29, 2007
Little more than a month ago, the situation in Somalia seemed hopeless.
The Islamic Courts Union was consolidating its Taliban-style hold on the country, foreign jihadists were pouring in and a new terrorist haven appeared to be emerging. The CIA's attempts to finance a coalition of secular warlords had failed, and the moderate transitional government was under siege in the provisional capital of Baidoa.
Then, on the day before Christmas, the armed forces of Ethiopia -- a Christian state threatened by the ultra-Islamists next door -- crossed the frontier. Ethiopia maintains the most formidable military in the region, thanks in part to American arms, aid and advisers.
Not only did the United States share intelligence with the Ethiopians, there have been reports that a small number of U.S. Special Operations troops were on the ground.
Within days the seemingly invincible Islamists had been routed. As the jihadists fled south, an American AC-130 gunship based in Djibouti got into the act, strafing suspects linked to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. U.S. intelligence agencies had been tracking these terrorists for years, but it was only when they were flushed out of their sanctuary that they became vulnerable to attack.
Although most of the foreign policy debate in the U.S. has been rivetted on Iraq, some within the Pentagon have been touting recent events in Somalia as an alternative model of how to fight Islamo-fascists. Everyone recognizes that there will be scant appetite in the near term for sending huge numbers of U.S. troops to occupy any more Middle Eastern countries.
Might not the U.S. be able to achieve its goals by taking advantage of local allies backed by American air power and small numbers of commandos and intelligence agents?
Such a low-intensity approach -- used to overthrow the Taliban in the fall of 2001 -- has much to recommend it. But a few caveats are in order.
First, indigenous allies are not always reliable. They are often pursuing agendas different from the Americans. Remember how Afghan fighters allowed Osama bin Laden and his followers to escape from Tora Bora in 2001? Or look at the difficulties the U.S. is now having in working with the al-Maliki government in Iraq.
Second, it's easier to play offence than defence. It doesn't take that many troops to rout the Taliban, the Iraqi Republican Guard or the Islamic Courts Union, but successfully holding a country as large as Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia is a much more labour-intensive task.
If the U.S. or its allies don't provide those soldiers, where will they come from? Ideally, they'll be locals trained and armed by the U.S., but, as we've seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, standing up effective security forces is a laborious, long-term process. It's a race against time: Can the government consolidate control before the Islamists launch an effective guerrilla campaign?
This danger is particularly acute in Somalia, where the Ethiopians have made clear that they have no interest in a long-term occupation. Once they leave, Somalia is likely to sink back into the clan warfare that has predominated since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
There is a moment of opportunity now for the international community to step in and stabilize Somalia.
What's needed is an effective foreign peacekeeping force along with a large influx of aid to the transitional government. If that's not forthcoming -- and odds are it won't be -- the Islamists will find it easy to stage a resurgence.
A third caveat: In fighting terrorists, the U.S. won't always have the freedom of action it enjoys in Somalia. Terrorists find shelter not only in ungoverned spaces like Somalia but in anti-American countries like Iran and Syria, in ambivalent countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and even in pro-American countries like Germany and Britain. For various political reasons, the potential for swashbuckling, Jack Bauer-style counter-terrorism in such states is less than in non-states like Somalia or Afghanistan, where anything goes. Indeed, a team of CIA officers faces indictment in Italy for snatching a terrorist suspect off a Milan street in 2003.
So, by all means celebrate the achievements in Somalia, even while recognizing the likelihood that the U.S. has not heard the last of the Islamic Courts Union.
In contrast to setbacks in Iraq, Somalia shows that jihadist insurgents are eminently defeatable. But realize that the "Somalia model'' is not easily exportable elsewhere. Different approaches must be tailored to different theatres of this global counter-insurgency.
This is not a one-size-fits-all war.
*Max Boot is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of War Made New: Technology, Warfare, and the Course of History, 1500 to Today.
www.therecord.com
Somali police convoy attacked
The Islamic Courts promised to continue a guerrilla war against the government and its Ethiopian backers
Three people have been killed after armed men attacked a convoy transporting Mogadishu's police chief, according to residents.
On Sunday, fighters opened fire on the convoy as it drove through the Somali capital, witnesses said.
Mohamed Hussein, a local shopkeeper, said: "I heard a big explosion ... I saw uniformed police exchanging fire with gunmen in civilian clothes."
Jama Nour, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Mogadishu, said it had not been confirmed that the armed men were from the Islamic Courts Union.
Witnesses told Nour that the armed men were young people from the local neighbourhood and that government and Ethiopian troops were regularly attacked there.
Nour said: "We found a dead young man who was killed during the clashes. Some youngsters were dragging him, saying he is a policeman but ... a spokesman for the government affirmed that one policeman was injured.
"Witnesses at the scene affirmed that seven people have been injured during the fighting and another three, including the policeman, have been killed."
The ambush is the latest in a series on Somali government and Ethiopian forces and follows an attack on two police stations in Mogadishu.
Grenade attack
Seven people were injured when gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades at two police stations in Mogadishu and fired machine-guns at officers stationed outside.
"In Howlwadag, two policemen and three civilians were wounded while in Wardigley, a civilian and a policeman were injured," said Ali Nur, a Somali police officer.
The Somali government blames the attacks on fighters from the Islamic Courts Union, which was forced from Mogadishu in December last year and promised to continue a guerrilla war against the government and its Ethiopian backers.
Islamic Courts fighters have pulled back from Mogadishu further into the south of Somalia, where they have been attacked by Ethiopian and US air raids.
Abdirahman Dinari, a government spokesman, said: "We will make sure such individuals are filtered from society and apprehended."
"Cheap propaganda"
Leaflets allegedly from the Islamic Courts were circulated in Mogadishu over the weekend, saying residents should avoid collaborating with Ethiopian forces or face "losing lives and property".
Dinari called the leaflets "cheap propaganda".
He said: "It will not work. I urge the people to work with the government, and in particular the police, in order to protect their lives."
He also said that Islamic Courts fighters were regrouping and that the Somali government lacked the troops, training and weapons to deal with them.
"We need the support of the international community to deploy forces and assist us in securing the country," said Dinari.
"I urge the people to work with the government, and in particular the police, in order to protect their lives" Abdirahman Dinari, government spokesman
Although the government claimed Mogadishu from the Islamic Courts, the government faces opposition from other groups including various clan militias.
In Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian prime minister, has said Ethiopia will pull a third of its troops out of Somalia in the next two days.
But although international diplomats agree Somalia will need a peacekeeping force, it is unclear where the troops will come from.
As Ethiopian forces began to pull back from Somalia, Zenawi said that the Islamic Courts were no longer a military threat but that they could regroup unless there was reconciliation among Somali clans.
He said: "If the politics are not right, then they can in the future rebuild their capacity."
"Power vacuum"
US military officials in Doha, Qatar, said Somalia could return to chaos in just four months if international peacekeepers are not quickly deployed to replace the departing Ethiopian troops.
They said a "power vacuum" was developing in Somalia with the departure of the Ethiopian troops and reports that the army is being weakened by malaria.
The US military said it stationed a US Navy carrier battle group off the coast of Somalia and mounted an air raid in the campaign against the Islamic Courts last year, but it has no plans to increase its role in the country.
"When Ethiopia pulls out, we'll reduce our presence there", US officials said.
Aljazeera
January 28, 2007
Tirunesh Dibaba broke her own world record in the 5,000 meters
Associated Press
BOSTON: Olympic bronze medalist Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia broke her own world record in the 5,000 meters at the Boston Indoor Games on Saturday to claim a $25,000 bonus and family bragging rights, beating big sister Ejegayeh by 42 seconds.
Tirunesh Dibaba, who was third in the 5,000 at the 2004 Athens Games, finished in 14 minutes, 27.42 seconds — 5 1/2 seconds less than she needed to set the world mark at the Reggie Lewis track two years ago. Her sister won silver in Athens in the 10,000.
"I'm happy to run with my sister because she helps me a lot," said Tirunesh Dibaba, who in 2005 was the first athlete ever to win the world championships at both 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. "Today, she was really under the weather, but she did her best."
Fellow Ethiopian Meseret Defar, the reigning outdoor world record holder and Olympic champion at 5,000 meters, was also sick Saturday. But it didn't stop her from outkicking local favorite Shalane Flanagan to win the 3,000 in 8:30.31.
Flanagan, who was running for just the second time since undergoing foot surgery following the 2005 world championships, ran on Defar's heels before the Ethiopian started putting some distance between them in the last two laps. Flanagan finished in 8:33.25 to break the American record by almost 6 seconds.
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Defar lay on the track floor after the race, while a race official covered her with windbreakers. After about 10 minutes, she rolled over to cough violently, while Flanagan spoke to reporters nearby.
"Defar is really sick," Flanagan said. "She really helped me today. I have to say, if it weren't for her I don't think I would have broken the record because I wouldn't have run so aggressively."
Alan Webb, who broke Jim Ryun's schoolboy record in 2001, won the mile in 3:55.18, taking the lead early and never relinquishing it.
"Everybody knew the pace was going to go fast. I mean, we talked about it beforehand," Webb said. "So I don't know how I surprised anybody by going out fast. By the time I got to 250 meters, I was alone already. So I was kind of like, 'all right.'"
American Shawn Crawford, the Olympic gold medalist in the 200 meters in Athens, won the 60 in 6.55 seconds.
BOSTON: Olympic bronze medalist Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia broke her own world record in the 5,000 meters at the Boston Indoor Games on Saturday to claim a $25,000 bonus and family bragging rights, beating big sister Ejegayeh by 42 seconds.
Tirunesh Dibaba, who was third in the 5,000 at the 2004 Athens Games, finished in 14 minutes, 27.42 seconds — 5 1/2 seconds less than she needed to set the world mark at the Reggie Lewis track two years ago. Her sister won silver in Athens in the 10,000.
"I'm happy to run with my sister because she helps me a lot," said Tirunesh Dibaba, who in 2005 was the first athlete ever to win the world championships at both 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. "Today, she was really under the weather, but she did her best."
Fellow Ethiopian Meseret Defar, the reigning outdoor world record holder and Olympic champion at 5,000 meters, was also sick Saturday. But it didn't stop her from outkicking local favorite Shalane Flanagan to win the 3,000 in 8:30.31.
Flanagan, who was running for just the second time since undergoing foot surgery following the 2005 world championships, ran on Defar's heels before the Ethiopian started putting some distance between them in the last two laps. Flanagan finished in 8:33.25 to break the American record by almost 6 seconds.
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Defar lay on the track floor after the race, while a race official covered her with windbreakers. After about 10 minutes, she rolled over to cough violently, while Flanagan spoke to reporters nearby.
"Defar is really sick," Flanagan said. "She really helped me today. I have to say, if it weren't for her I don't think I would have broken the record because I wouldn't have run so aggressively."
Alan Webb, who broke Jim Ryun's schoolboy record in 2001, won the mile in 3:55.18, taking the lead early and never relinquishing it.
"Everybody knew the pace was going to go fast. I mean, we talked about it beforehand," Webb said. "So I don't know how I surprised anybody by going out fast. By the time I got to 250 meters, I was alone already. So I was kind of like, 'all right.'"
American Shawn Crawford, the Olympic gold medalist in the 200 meters in Athens, won the 60 in 6.55 seconds.
INTERVIEW- Ethiopia to pull out third of Somalia troops
By Barry Moody
Reuters
ADDIS ABABA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - A third of the Ethiopian troops who led a war to crush Islamist forces in Somalia late last month are expected to have withdrawn by Sunday, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said.
In an interview with Reuters on Saturday, Meles also revealed that up to five U.S. forensic experts entered Somalia to identify some of those killed in a lightning two-week war to oust the Islamists.
Meles did not say who the bodies were, but he had previously said forensic techniques were used to identify eight people killed in a U.S. air raid more than two weeks ago. Washington said they were al Qaeda-affiliated fighters.
U.S. officials have never publicly confirmed persistent reports that their ground forces have operated inside Somalia.
"We are reducing troop numbers by about a third ... that process should be completed today or tomorrow," Meles said.
He refused to say how many of his troops had been in the country during a war in which Ethiopian air power and armour swept aside Islamists who ruled southern Somalia for six months.
Security experts estimated before the conflict that Ethiopia had sent between 5,000 and 10,000 troops into Somalia to back forces of the weak transitional government.
Meles said he hoped to withdraw the rest of his troops "within weeks".
Asked if he was confident that could be done, Meles said: "Yes, because ... as far as our own mission is concerned it has been completed as far as supporting the transitional government."
He said Ethiopian troops would continue backing the government "as long as we can sustain it but we cannot sustain it indefinitely, obviously, and therefore we can only assist to the extent of our capabilities".
AFRICAN PEACEKEEPERS
Meles spoke before an African Union summit on Monday and Tuesday which is expected to discuss deploying almost 8,000 African peacekeeping troops after Ethiopia withdraws.
Without a strong military force, many residents and analysts fear the Horn of Africa country will slide back into the anarchy it has suffered for nearly 16 years.
In a sign of impatience with the pace of African Union efforts to raise peacekeepers, Meles said the AU was suggesting deploying its troops by early March, but added: "We see no reason why the first African Union troops could not be deployed significantly earlier, let's say by mid-February."
AU Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnit has said that the first three battalions could be deployed in a matter of weeks if logistical and financial barriers could be overcome.
Uganda, Nigeria and Malawi have so far promised soldiers and others are mulling joining the force. Rwanda and South Africa have ruled it out.
In a draft resolution prepared on Saturday by foreign ministers working ahead of the AU summit, Meles' intervention was praised as having "created an unprecedented opportunity for lasting peace in the country".
Meles said the decisive element in pacifying Somalia would be reconciliation among its many clans, creation of viable police and military and the deployment of AU troops.
"If we can get all of these three together in time we should be home and dry."
'NO LONGER WITH US'
If this was not achieved, Meles said, "We will have to withdraw because we cannot sustain it financially."
Asked if he would withdraw even if the AU did not deploy peacekeepers, Meles said: "We would but we do not expect that to happen. We expect at least some of the AU troops to be deployed in time before the last phase of our withdrawal."
Meles said as far as he knew there had never been U.S. ground forces in Somalia but "at one stage there were U.S. technical people who were brought in to help in the identification of documents and dead bodies ... experts in genetic identification and so on".
Asked if the experts were from the U.S. military, Meles said: "I would not be surprised if in some fashion they were associated with the Pentagon but the expertise we requested was identification of personalities who were no longer with us."
He said the operation was carried out after the major combat phase of the war was over and his forces were "tracking down bits and pieces" of the Islamist forces who fled to the south of the country.
Reuters
ADDIS ABABA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - A third of the Ethiopian troops who led a war to crush Islamist forces in Somalia late last month are expected to have withdrawn by Sunday, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said.
In an interview with Reuters on Saturday, Meles also revealed that up to five U.S. forensic experts entered Somalia to identify some of those killed in a lightning two-week war to oust the Islamists.
Meles did not say who the bodies were, but he had previously said forensic techniques were used to identify eight people killed in a U.S. air raid more than two weeks ago. Washington said they were al Qaeda-affiliated fighters.
U.S. officials have never publicly confirmed persistent reports that their ground forces have operated inside Somalia.
"We are reducing troop numbers by about a third ... that process should be completed today or tomorrow," Meles said.
He refused to say how many of his troops had been in the country during a war in which Ethiopian air power and armour swept aside Islamists who ruled southern Somalia for six months.
Security experts estimated before the conflict that Ethiopia had sent between 5,000 and 10,000 troops into Somalia to back forces of the weak transitional government.
Meles said he hoped to withdraw the rest of his troops "within weeks".
Asked if he was confident that could be done, Meles said: "Yes, because ... as far as our own mission is concerned it has been completed as far as supporting the transitional government."
He said Ethiopian troops would continue backing the government "as long as we can sustain it but we cannot sustain it indefinitely, obviously, and therefore we can only assist to the extent of our capabilities".
AFRICAN PEACEKEEPERS
Meles spoke before an African Union summit on Monday and Tuesday which is expected to discuss deploying almost 8,000 African peacekeeping troops after Ethiopia withdraws.
Without a strong military force, many residents and analysts fear the Horn of Africa country will slide back into the anarchy it has suffered for nearly 16 years.
In a sign of impatience with the pace of African Union efforts to raise peacekeepers, Meles said the AU was suggesting deploying its troops by early March, but added: "We see no reason why the first African Union troops could not be deployed significantly earlier, let's say by mid-February."
AU Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnit has said that the first three battalions could be deployed in a matter of weeks if logistical and financial barriers could be overcome.
Uganda, Nigeria and Malawi have so far promised soldiers and others are mulling joining the force. Rwanda and South Africa have ruled it out.
In a draft resolution prepared on Saturday by foreign ministers working ahead of the AU summit, Meles' intervention was praised as having "created an unprecedented opportunity for lasting peace in the country".
Meles said the decisive element in pacifying Somalia would be reconciliation among its many clans, creation of viable police and military and the deployment of AU troops.
"If we can get all of these three together in time we should be home and dry."
'NO LONGER WITH US'
If this was not achieved, Meles said, "We will have to withdraw because we cannot sustain it financially."
Asked if he would withdraw even if the AU did not deploy peacekeepers, Meles said: "We would but we do not expect that to happen. We expect at least some of the AU troops to be deployed in time before the last phase of our withdrawal."
Meles said as far as he knew there had never been U.S. ground forces in Somalia but "at one stage there were U.S. technical people who were brought in to help in the identification of documents and dead bodies ... experts in genetic identification and so on".
Asked if the experts were from the U.S. military, Meles said: "I would not be surprised if in some fashion they were associated with the Pentagon but the expertise we requested was identification of personalities who were no longer with us."
He said the operation was carried out after the major combat phase of the war was over and his forces were "tracking down bits and pieces" of the Islamist forces who fled to the south of the country.
January 27, 2007
Are There US Soldiers Missing in Somalia?
Posted By: By Scott A Morgan
Jan 27, 2007
Reports are emerging that the US Air Strikes in Southern Somalia have
a new wrinkle. According to an Arab Language Newspaper published in the Gulf State of Qatar they have received reports from both Arab and Western Diplomats that US troops are currently missing in the southern part of Somalia.
Late last year US Special Forces and Marines were known to have been training in Northeastern Kenya. It should be noted that the Muslim Population in that part of the country were highly suspicious of US goals and agenda while there. While in the region US forces sought to repair schools and provide Medical Care to the destitute. Muslim tribesmen felt that the US was conducting an intel OP to see who was trying to cross the border into Somalia.
When the Somali Transitional National Government along with Ethiopian Assistance put the Union of Islamic Courts to flight there were several movements by the US Military. Two warships moved close to the Somali coastline to interdict any attempt by the UIC to flee the region by sea. They were later augmented by the Eisenhower Battle Group. It was also reported that US Special Forces also assisted Kenyan Forces in closing the land crossings with Somalia.
So far this month the US has launched two air strikes on purported terrorist sites in Somalia. Oxfam stated that at least 70 nomads were killed in one air strike. This report has not been confirmed however by either Central Command or the Pentagon. So the question that they have been taken hostage in revenge of the Air Strikes cannot at this time be discounted as a revenge mission by angry and distraught people.
Recently the US Ambassador to Kenya met with the leader of the defeated mission. The purpose was to ascertain both the status and the whereabouts of the missing American Soldiers. It was also urged that the leader of the UIC return to Somalia to take part in a Unity Government.
Right now the US Government should not only be concerned with restoring a legitimate Government in Somalia but also in locating our missing soldiers and defeating the terrorists. Lets hope that this doesn’t reopen old wounds.
http://www.kenyanewsnetwork.com
Jan 27, 2007
Reports are emerging that the US Air Strikes in Southern Somalia have
a new wrinkle. According to an Arab Language Newspaper published in the Gulf State of Qatar they have received reports from both Arab and Western Diplomats that US troops are currently missing in the southern part of Somalia.
Late last year US Special Forces and Marines were known to have been training in Northeastern Kenya. It should be noted that the Muslim Population in that part of the country were highly suspicious of US goals and agenda while there. While in the region US forces sought to repair schools and provide Medical Care to the destitute. Muslim tribesmen felt that the US was conducting an intel OP to see who was trying to cross the border into Somalia.
When the Somali Transitional National Government along with Ethiopian Assistance put the Union of Islamic Courts to flight there were several movements by the US Military. Two warships moved close to the Somali coastline to interdict any attempt by the UIC to flee the region by sea. They were later augmented by the Eisenhower Battle Group. It was also reported that US Special Forces also assisted Kenyan Forces in closing the land crossings with Somalia.
So far this month the US has launched two air strikes on purported terrorist sites in Somalia. Oxfam stated that at least 70 nomads were killed in one air strike. This report has not been confirmed however by either Central Command or the Pentagon. So the question that they have been taken hostage in revenge of the Air Strikes cannot at this time be discounted as a revenge mission by angry and distraught people.
Recently the US Ambassador to Kenya met with the leader of the defeated mission. The purpose was to ascertain both the status and the whereabouts of the missing American Soldiers. It was also urged that the leader of the UIC return to Somalia to take part in a Unity Government.
Right now the US Government should not only be concerned with restoring a legitimate Government in Somalia but also in locating our missing soldiers and defeating the terrorists. Lets hope that this doesn’t reopen old wounds.
http://www.kenyanewsnetwork.com
Mortars fired at Ethiopian military base in north of Mogadishu
Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu 27, Jan.07 ( Sh.M.Network)
Huge explosions occurred in El-arfid, a settlement on the edge of north of the capital Mogadishu, on Friday night.
Unknown assailants have targeted the Ethiopian military barracks that lie between El-arfid and Darmoley, settlements, about 10 km south of the capital. The noisy mortar explosions could be heard in Mogadishu overnight.
Artillery explosions aimed at the government and Ethiopian military positions in and around the capital have risen since the government settled Mogadishu late December last year.
The Somali government said more then 3,000 remnants of Islamists are in Mogadishu alone.
The number of casualties is yet to be known.
Meanwhile gunmen riding in a casual car have shot dead unidentified man in Mogadishu Deyniile district. Witnesses told Shabelle that the gunmen put the victim in the back car trunk and speedily drove away after they shot him dead.
At least three people were assassinated separately in Mogadishu in the past two nights. Residents in the capital voice great anxieties over the increase of picking civilians from their homes and having them shot dead by unknown gunmen.
The frequent attacks against the Ethiopian troops came as they began withdrawing form Somalia.
Many people doubt if the Somali government troops that could only flex their muscles with the help o the Ethiopian forces would be able to fill in the security vacuum in the country, the volatile city of Mogadishu in particular.
Ali Saed, the commander of the police force for Banadir (Mogadishu) province, has told Shabelle on Saturday that they knew the perpetrators who were to blame for last night mortar attacks against the Ethiopians and that the police would truck them down.
Shabelle Media Network
Mogadishu 27, Jan.07 ( Sh.M.Network)
Huge explosions occurred in El-arfid, a settlement on the edge of north of the capital Mogadishu, on Friday night.
Unknown assailants have targeted the Ethiopian military barracks that lie between El-arfid and Darmoley, settlements, about 10 km south of the capital. The noisy mortar explosions could be heard in Mogadishu overnight.
Artillery explosions aimed at the government and Ethiopian military positions in and around the capital have risen since the government settled Mogadishu late December last year.
The Somali government said more then 3,000 remnants of Islamists are in Mogadishu alone.
The number of casualties is yet to be known.
Meanwhile gunmen riding in a casual car have shot dead unidentified man in Mogadishu Deyniile district. Witnesses told Shabelle that the gunmen put the victim in the back car trunk and speedily drove away after they shot him dead.
At least three people were assassinated separately in Mogadishu in the past two nights. Residents in the capital voice great anxieties over the increase of picking civilians from their homes and having them shot dead by unknown gunmen.
The frequent attacks against the Ethiopian troops came as they began withdrawing form Somalia.
Many people doubt if the Somali government troops that could only flex their muscles with the help o the Ethiopian forces would be able to fill in the security vacuum in the country, the volatile city of Mogadishu in particular.
Ali Saed, the commander of the police force for Banadir (Mogadishu) province, has told Shabelle on Saturday that they knew the perpetrators who were to blame for last night mortar attacks against the Ethiopians and that the police would truck them down.
Shabelle Media Network
American soldiers seized in southern Somalia, Arab and Western diplomats say
Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu ( Sh.M.Network)
There have been mounting reports that number of American soldiers was missing in southern Somalia following the recent US air operations on the Islamist and al-Qaeda hideouts in southern jungles of the country, alsharqa, an Arabic newspaper based in Qatar reported on Friday.
US Soldiers in horn of africa
The paper also reported that Kenyan police have seized armed Asians crossing from Somalia into the Kenyan border. The Kenyan police believe the foreigners were fighting alongside with Somalia’s defeated Islamists.
According to the paper, Arab diplomats, who have asked anonymity, confirmed that unspecified number of US foot soldiers was seized in southern Somalia where Islamists are believed to be hiding after their loss of the capital Mogadishu to the UN and internationally backed transitional government of Somalia and the Ethiopian troops in the country.
Western diplomats, who have not been named, also affirmed that US soldiers were missing in southern Somalia, Alsharqa reported.
It added that Michael Ranneberger, the US ambassador to Kenya, who met with Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the defeated Islamist leader under the Kenyan custody, has asked Ahmed to explain where the missing Americans are lingering.
Ranneburger has reportedly made the efforts to convince Ahmed to go back to Somalia and take part in a unity government election, which he said, would be held in Somalia next year. He said Sharif could achieve a high government post in the upcoming government election.
Meanwhile Kenyan police, who asked to remain anonymous, have confirmed to Alsharqa that they caught two foreign fighters armed AK47s between the Kenyan and Somalia border.
The date of the capture was not specified, however.
Kenyan security forces are stationed at the Kenyan border along with Somalia to clutch the escaping Islamists and al-Qaeda operatives given a safe heaven in Somalia by the Islamic Courts Union.
US ambassador Ranneburger, who spoke to Shabelle on 20 January, said the Islamists were harboring al-Qaeda operatives who were exerting control of the Islamic Courts.
Islamists always denied they had al-Qaeda operatives in their Islamic party while in control of the strife-torn country.
According to Kenyan Times, Kenyan authorities have arrested five people, including a U.S. citizen and a French citizen suspected to be fighters for Somalia's outdone Islamist movement, on Friday.
Shabelle Media Network
Mogadishu ( Sh.M.Network)
There have been mounting reports that number of American soldiers was missing in southern Somalia following the recent US air operations on the Islamist and al-Qaeda hideouts in southern jungles of the country, alsharqa, an Arabic newspaper based in Qatar reported on Friday.
US Soldiers in horn of africa
The paper also reported that Kenyan police have seized armed Asians crossing from Somalia into the Kenyan border. The Kenyan police believe the foreigners were fighting alongside with Somalia’s defeated Islamists.
According to the paper, Arab diplomats, who have asked anonymity, confirmed that unspecified number of US foot soldiers was seized in southern Somalia where Islamists are believed to be hiding after their loss of the capital Mogadishu to the UN and internationally backed transitional government of Somalia and the Ethiopian troops in the country.
Western diplomats, who have not been named, also affirmed that US soldiers were missing in southern Somalia, Alsharqa reported.
It added that Michael Ranneberger, the US ambassador to Kenya, who met with Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the defeated Islamist leader under the Kenyan custody, has asked Ahmed to explain where the missing Americans are lingering.
Ranneburger has reportedly made the efforts to convince Ahmed to go back to Somalia and take part in a unity government election, which he said, would be held in Somalia next year. He said Sharif could achieve a high government post in the upcoming government election.
Meanwhile Kenyan police, who asked to remain anonymous, have confirmed to Alsharqa that they caught two foreign fighters armed AK47s between the Kenyan and Somalia border.
The date of the capture was not specified, however.
Kenyan security forces are stationed at the Kenyan border along with Somalia to clutch the escaping Islamists and al-Qaeda operatives given a safe heaven in Somalia by the Islamic Courts Union.
US ambassador Ranneburger, who spoke to Shabelle on 20 January, said the Islamists were harboring al-Qaeda operatives who were exerting control of the Islamic Courts.
Islamists always denied they had al-Qaeda operatives in their Islamic party while in control of the strife-torn country.
According to Kenyan Times, Kenyan authorities have arrested five people, including a U.S. citizen and a French citizen suspected to be fighters for Somalia's outdone Islamist movement, on Friday.
Shabelle Media Network
Mortars fired at Ethiopian troops in Somalia
By Guled Mohamed
MOGADISHU, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Attackers fired four mortar bombs at an Ethiopian camp near Mogadishu overnight, in the latest attack on the newly victorious government's strongest allies.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed in the attack, which took place in Darmoley, 10 km (6 miles) north of the seaside capital.
The strike follows a series of guerrilla-style assaults on government and Ethiopian troops since they routed Islamist fighters in a two-week war over Christmas and New Year, and seized Mogadishu and the rest of south Somalia.
"An unknown gunmen carried out four mortar attacks aimed at an Ethiopian base in Darmoley. I have no information of any wounded or dead," a government source told Reuters by telephone.
Meanwhile, police were interrogating a man over a mortar strike on Mogadishu international airport on Wednesday that injured five people.
"The police have arrested a man suspected to have been behind the attack on the airport. They are questioning him," government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said.
Many suspect hardcore remnants of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) are behind the attacks, but there are many enemies of the government including warlord and clan militias plus criminals -- all armed with military-class weapons.
Dinari also said 23 people, including senior Islamist officials he did not identify, were flown into Mogadishu after having been over to the government by Kenyan authorities, who arrested them attempting to cross the border.
Many fear a slide back to the anarchy Somalia has suffered since warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim government, formed at peace talks in Kenya in late 2004, is the 14th attempt to end the mayhem since 1991.
But it only set foot in the capital on Dec. 29, with Ethiopian air power and armour at its back, and faces a huge task to tame the city.
It has asked for peacekeeping troops, and the African Union has backed a force of almost 8,000 to replace the withdrawing Ethiopian soldiers -- hated by many Somalis because the two nations have been rivals in the Horn of Africa for a millennium.
Uganda, Malawi and Nigeria have pledged troops, while South Africa and Rwanda have ruled out deploying. Mozambique and others are considering contributing.
AlertNet news/ Reuters
MOGADISHU, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Attackers fired four mortar bombs at an Ethiopian camp near Mogadishu overnight, in the latest attack on the newly victorious government's strongest allies.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed in the attack, which took place in Darmoley, 10 km (6 miles) north of the seaside capital.
The strike follows a series of guerrilla-style assaults on government and Ethiopian troops since they routed Islamist fighters in a two-week war over Christmas and New Year, and seized Mogadishu and the rest of south Somalia.
"An unknown gunmen carried out four mortar attacks aimed at an Ethiopian base in Darmoley. I have no information of any wounded or dead," a government source told Reuters by telephone.
Meanwhile, police were interrogating a man over a mortar strike on Mogadishu international airport on Wednesday that injured five people.
"The police have arrested a man suspected to have been behind the attack on the airport. They are questioning him," government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said.
Many suspect hardcore remnants of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) are behind the attacks, but there are many enemies of the government including warlord and clan militias plus criminals -- all armed with military-class weapons.
Dinari also said 23 people, including senior Islamist officials he did not identify, were flown into Mogadishu after having been over to the government by Kenyan authorities, who arrested them attempting to cross the border.
Many fear a slide back to the anarchy Somalia has suffered since warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim government, formed at peace talks in Kenya in late 2004, is the 14th attempt to end the mayhem since 1991.
But it only set foot in the capital on Dec. 29, with Ethiopian air power and armour at its back, and faces a huge task to tame the city.
It has asked for peacekeeping troops, and the African Union has backed a force of almost 8,000 to replace the withdrawing Ethiopian soldiers -- hated by many Somalis because the two nations have been rivals in the Horn of Africa for a millennium.
Uganda, Malawi and Nigeria have pledged troops, while South Africa and Rwanda have ruled out deploying. Mozambique and others are considering contributing.
AlertNet news/ Reuters
Mohammed Dhere’s secretary rebuffs replacement of Jawhar administration
Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu 27, Jan.07 ( Sh.M.Network) Abdullahi Wehliye Aadle, the secretary of Middle Shabelle provincial chairman, Mohammed Dhere, has intercepted the new appointed government officials for the province to enter Jawhar headquarter building.
Wehliye along with heavily armed militias alleged that he and Dhere would not accept any replacement unless the government sends an official letter over the replacement.
The news comes hours after the Somali federal government has today appointed a new administration for Middle Shabelle region in southeast Somalia.
Mohammed Omar Belle was appointed as the government management for the province to replace Mohammed Omar Habeb known as Mohammed Dhere, a former warlord.
A decree issued at the prime minister’s office in the capital Mogadishu has revealed that Mohammed Dhere, the chairman of Jawhar was ousted and replaced with Mohammed Omar Bille as the new chair.
The pismire’s decree read to the press by the government spokesperson Abdirahman Dinari, has also nominated Hussein Dhere as the acting chair of Middle Shabelle province.
In an early interview with Mohammed Dhere by Shabelle Radio in Mogadishu, Dhere said that interim government had no right to replace the management of Jawhar “The people of Middle Shabelle province have the right to choose whom they want as their chairman for Jawhar”, he said.
Shabelle Media
Mogadishu 27, Jan.07 ( Sh.M.Network) Abdullahi Wehliye Aadle, the secretary of Middle Shabelle provincial chairman, Mohammed Dhere, has intercepted the new appointed government officials for the province to enter Jawhar headquarter building.
Wehliye along with heavily armed militias alleged that he and Dhere would not accept any replacement unless the government sends an official letter over the replacement.
The news comes hours after the Somali federal government has today appointed a new administration for Middle Shabelle region in southeast Somalia.
Mohammed Omar Belle was appointed as the government management for the province to replace Mohammed Omar Habeb known as Mohammed Dhere, a former warlord.
A decree issued at the prime minister’s office in the capital Mogadishu has revealed that Mohammed Dhere, the chairman of Jawhar was ousted and replaced with Mohammed Omar Bille as the new chair.
The pismire’s decree read to the press by the government spokesperson Abdirahman Dinari, has also nominated Hussein Dhere as the acting chair of Middle Shabelle province.
In an early interview with Mohammed Dhere by Shabelle Radio in Mogadishu, Dhere said that interim government had no right to replace the management of Jawhar “The people of Middle Shabelle province have the right to choose whom they want as their chairman for Jawhar”, he said.
Shabelle Media
What Next for Somalia?
by Emerson J. Sykes
NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (AScribe Newswire)
The following commentary is by Emerson J. Sykes of The Century Foundation.
The United States cannot afford to get it wrong in Somalia again. Though Wednesday’s reported U.S. airstrike against fleeing Somali Islamists may seem like a success in the war on terror, it runs the real risk of aggravating an already tense situation. The airstrike may well prove to be another misstep in a string of misguided and incoherent American policies towards Somalia. As they did during the fiasco of the short-lived U.S. and United Nations intervention in Somalia in 1993, American policy makers understand the strategic importance of Somalia, but they seem incapable of formulating and committing to a feasible plan.
Last year, the Central Intelligence Agency not so secretly supported “secular” Mogadishu warlords in hopes that they might neutralize their Islamist counterparts, but this makeshift strategy backfired. In fact, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), essentially a coalition of Islamist warlords, enjoyed a popularity boost after the CIA mission became public. The U.S. continues to grasp desperately in search of a new plan.
The situation on the ground in Mogadishu, and elsewhere in the country, is bewilderingly complex and constantly shifting, but United States policy should no longer be so reactive. American interests in Somalia are two-fold: first, to ensure the long-term stability and viability of the Somali state; and second, to apprehend suspected terrorists who have been hiding in the lawless territory. These objectives are distinct and require complementary strategies.
United Nations officials have called the present moment the best opportunity for peace and stability in Somalia since 1991. In mid-2006, the authority of the extremely weak U.N.- and U.S.-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was confined to the small town of Baidoa, and the UIC gained control of most of southern Somalia. In December, when the UIC attacked the TFG’s last enclave in Baidoa, the Ethiopian army invervened with overwhelming force. Now, the TFG is nominally in control of the country, propped up by Ethiopian troops, and there is relative calm and order. But this window of opportunity will close quickly.
The African Union has authorized an 8,000-soldier peacekeeping force, towards which 3,500 soldiers have already been pledged by three African countries. The United States should join the European Union in promising to help finance the A.U. mission, perhaps through U.N. assessments. Peacekeepers will be necessary to avoid a power vacuum as Ethiopian troops begin to withdraw from Somali territory. Heavily-armed, clan-based militias have battled for control of Somalia for the last 16 years and thousands of combatants remain equipped and ready to pick up the fight at any moment throughout the country. But as grave as the security situation continues to be, only a political solution will bring about long-term stability.
Yemen reportedly has offered to host talks between the TFG and the deposed UIC. These talks would include neighboring states that have become deeply involved in the Somali conflict, including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya. Such a conference would be an ideal venue to reconstitute the Somali government, integrating warlords, clan elders and reputedly moderate Islamist leaders like Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed who recently surrendered to Kenyan authorities. The United States should offer financial and technical support for these meetings, but its role should be strictly behind-the-scenes: The U.S. is not considered an unbiased party, in contrast to Yemen.
The TFG has claimed that a political solution cannot be achieved until the security situation is more stable, but discerning warlords will have little incentive to disarm until they have some assurances that anarchy will not soon return. Therefore, the political solution should be pursued in conjunction with security measures, with disarmament serving as a trust-building mechanism.
For Americans, the second objective - counterterrorism - is equally urgent. The United States should continue to seek suspected al Qaeda terrorists who may be in Somalia or Kenya. Bombing packs of fleeing Islamists, however, is counterproductive. Airstrikes have proven once again, in this case, to be ineffective methods of targeted killing. And the more innocent people that die from American bombs, the more support insurgent movements - Islamic and secular - will enjoy in Somalia.
American strategists are understandably wary of putting American troops on the ground, but U.S. strikes on January 8 killed approximately 20 people and all indications are that none of the four key al Qaeda suspects were among them. The fact is that, Special Operations troops or Somali government forces on the ground are necessary.
The UIC was, even at its zenith, a loose association of leaders with a wide variety of ideological, political and economic interests. Since its defeat, moderate Islamists as well as opportunistic warlords have denounced the UIC and only the most hardcore elements remain with it.
But the UIC and al Qaeda should not be confused. Certain UIC leaders may have relationships with al Qaeda operatives, but the two groups are fundamentally distinct. Bombing UIC encampments in search of al Qaeda suspects is yet another instance of poor understanding of the complexity of the “enemy” leading to a misguided strategy.
If the United States does not immediately commit to a more comprehensive and forward-looking strategy towards Somalia, this last, best chance for peace and stability will be missed and Somalia will remain a failed state and potential terrorist haven.
Emerson J. Sykes is a Program Assistant in International Affairs at The Century Foundation.
CONTACT: Laurie Ahlrich, ahlrich@tcf.org
NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (AScribe Newswire)
The following commentary is by Emerson J. Sykes of The Century Foundation.
The United States cannot afford to get it wrong in Somalia again. Though Wednesday’s reported U.S. airstrike against fleeing Somali Islamists may seem like a success in the war on terror, it runs the real risk of aggravating an already tense situation. The airstrike may well prove to be another misstep in a string of misguided and incoherent American policies towards Somalia. As they did during the fiasco of the short-lived U.S. and United Nations intervention in Somalia in 1993, American policy makers understand the strategic importance of Somalia, but they seem incapable of formulating and committing to a feasible plan.
Last year, the Central Intelligence Agency not so secretly supported “secular” Mogadishu warlords in hopes that they might neutralize their Islamist counterparts, but this makeshift strategy backfired. In fact, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), essentially a coalition of Islamist warlords, enjoyed a popularity boost after the CIA mission became public. The U.S. continues to grasp desperately in search of a new plan.
The situation on the ground in Mogadishu, and elsewhere in the country, is bewilderingly complex and constantly shifting, but United States policy should no longer be so reactive. American interests in Somalia are two-fold: first, to ensure the long-term stability and viability of the Somali state; and second, to apprehend suspected terrorists who have been hiding in the lawless territory. These objectives are distinct and require complementary strategies.
United Nations officials have called the present moment the best opportunity for peace and stability in Somalia since 1991. In mid-2006, the authority of the extremely weak U.N.- and U.S.-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was confined to the small town of Baidoa, and the UIC gained control of most of southern Somalia. In December, when the UIC attacked the TFG’s last enclave in Baidoa, the Ethiopian army invervened with overwhelming force. Now, the TFG is nominally in control of the country, propped up by Ethiopian troops, and there is relative calm and order. But this window of opportunity will close quickly.
The African Union has authorized an 8,000-soldier peacekeeping force, towards which 3,500 soldiers have already been pledged by three African countries. The United States should join the European Union in promising to help finance the A.U. mission, perhaps through U.N. assessments. Peacekeepers will be necessary to avoid a power vacuum as Ethiopian troops begin to withdraw from Somali territory. Heavily-armed, clan-based militias have battled for control of Somalia for the last 16 years and thousands of combatants remain equipped and ready to pick up the fight at any moment throughout the country. But as grave as the security situation continues to be, only a political solution will bring about long-term stability.
Yemen reportedly has offered to host talks between the TFG and the deposed UIC. These talks would include neighboring states that have become deeply involved in the Somali conflict, including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya. Such a conference would be an ideal venue to reconstitute the Somali government, integrating warlords, clan elders and reputedly moderate Islamist leaders like Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed who recently surrendered to Kenyan authorities. The United States should offer financial and technical support for these meetings, but its role should be strictly behind-the-scenes: The U.S. is not considered an unbiased party, in contrast to Yemen.
The TFG has claimed that a political solution cannot be achieved until the security situation is more stable, but discerning warlords will have little incentive to disarm until they have some assurances that anarchy will not soon return. Therefore, the political solution should be pursued in conjunction with security measures, with disarmament serving as a trust-building mechanism.
For Americans, the second objective - counterterrorism - is equally urgent. The United States should continue to seek suspected al Qaeda terrorists who may be in Somalia or Kenya. Bombing packs of fleeing Islamists, however, is counterproductive. Airstrikes have proven once again, in this case, to be ineffective methods of targeted killing. And the more innocent people that die from American bombs, the more support insurgent movements - Islamic and secular - will enjoy in Somalia.
American strategists are understandably wary of putting American troops on the ground, but U.S. strikes on January 8 killed approximately 20 people and all indications are that none of the four key al Qaeda suspects were among them. The fact is that, Special Operations troops or Somali government forces on the ground are necessary.
The UIC was, even at its zenith, a loose association of leaders with a wide variety of ideological, political and economic interests. Since its defeat, moderate Islamists as well as opportunistic warlords have denounced the UIC and only the most hardcore elements remain with it.
But the UIC and al Qaeda should not be confused. Certain UIC leaders may have relationships with al Qaeda operatives, but the two groups are fundamentally distinct. Bombing UIC encampments in search of al Qaeda suspects is yet another instance of poor understanding of the complexity of the “enemy” leading to a misguided strategy.
If the United States does not immediately commit to a more comprehensive and forward-looking strategy towards Somalia, this last, best chance for peace and stability will be missed and Somalia will remain a failed state and potential terrorist haven.
Emerson J. Sykes is a Program Assistant in International Affairs at The Century Foundation.
CONTACT: Laurie Ahlrich, ahlrich@tcf.org
Five killed in Mogadishu attacks
Unknown gunmen have killed five people in a series of attacks in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, witnesses say.
A BBC correspondent saw three bodies with gunshot wounds lying in waste ground and reliable witnesses have seen two more bodies elsewhere in the city.
Four people were also injured in mortar attacks. Insecurity has increased since the ousting of Islamists last month.
Meanwhile, South Africa says it does not have the troops to contribute to an African Union peacekeeping force.
Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said it might try to support the mission in other ways, such as technical support.
The AU force would replace Ethiopian troops, who have started to withdraw after helping the interim government drive out the Union of Islamic Courts from Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia.
Some UIC leaders have said they would stage a guerrilla war and it is believed that some 3,000 Islamist fighters remain in Mogadishu.
There have been several attacks on Ethiopian and government troops but those killed overnight were civilians.
Four were killed in at least two attacks in south Mogadishu, the other body was found in the north of the city.
Police Commissioner Ali Mohamed Hassan Loyan said the attackers were "hell-bent on undermining the security of the country. The police will track them down."
This week, an Ethiopian soldier was killed in the southern city of Kismayo, while mortars were fired at Mogadishu's main airport.
After 15 years of lawlessness in Somalia, the UIC had restored some security to the capital after taking control of the city last June.
But they were accused of sheltering al-Qaeda militants responsible for the 1998 attacks on US embassies in East Africa.
They denied the charges.
On Thursday, AU chairman Alpha Oumar Konare appealed to countries across the continent to help get troops deployed to Somalia.
He said troops, funding and other resources like aircraft were needed to ensure peacekeepers could be deployed soon to avert a tragedy.
He said Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana and Malawi had now offered to send peacekeeping troops.
BBC News
A BBC correspondent saw three bodies with gunshot wounds lying in waste ground and reliable witnesses have seen two more bodies elsewhere in the city.
Four people were also injured in mortar attacks. Insecurity has increased since the ousting of Islamists last month.
Meanwhile, South Africa says it does not have the troops to contribute to an African Union peacekeeping force.
Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said it might try to support the mission in other ways, such as technical support.
The AU force would replace Ethiopian troops, who have started to withdraw after helping the interim government drive out the Union of Islamic Courts from Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia.
Some UIC leaders have said they would stage a guerrilla war and it is believed that some 3,000 Islamist fighters remain in Mogadishu.
There have been several attacks on Ethiopian and government troops but those killed overnight were civilians.
Four were killed in at least two attacks in south Mogadishu, the other body was found in the north of the city.
Police Commissioner Ali Mohamed Hassan Loyan said the attackers were "hell-bent on undermining the security of the country. The police will track them down."
This week, an Ethiopian soldier was killed in the southern city of Kismayo, while mortars were fired at Mogadishu's main airport.
After 15 years of lawlessness in Somalia, the UIC had restored some security to the capital after taking control of the city last June.
But they were accused of sheltering al-Qaeda militants responsible for the 1998 attacks on US embassies in East Africa.
They denied the charges.
On Thursday, AU chairman Alpha Oumar Konare appealed to countries across the continent to help get troops deployed to Somalia.
He said troops, funding and other resources like aircraft were needed to ensure peacekeepers could be deployed soon to avert a tragedy.
He said Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana and Malawi had now offered to send peacekeeping troops.
BBC News
Old problems rising anew in Sudan and Ethiopia?
Scott A. Morgan
January 26, 2007
As the situation within Somalia stabilizes the eyes of the World turn towards two past crises that have the chance to flare up again. Sadly both of these situations are in Africa again.
The first potential flashpoint is the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Both countries have a violent history since Eritrea won its Independence in 1993. Both countries fought a border war that ended in December of 2000. The Border Dispute then went to an Arbitrer which then drew a new border. The UN has a monitoring force watching the situation. The mission is up for renewal this month.
The crisis almost erupted into conflict over Somalia. The Ethiopians supported the Transitional National Government in Baidoa. Eritrea had links to the Union of Islamic Courts which was in the Capital of Mogadishu. When the drive towards the Capital began there were fears that there could be a border incident to divert attention away from assisting the TNG. But no fighting broke out this time although the possibility still exists.
The other area of concern is Sudan. We all heard President Bush during the State of the Union Address. He talked about assisting those in Darfur who have been victims of war for several years now. But there is another region within Sudan where the World should pay attention too.
The Situation in Southern Sudan has been overshadowed by events in Darfur. The area has been in the past plagued by a rebellion that has seen a Peace Accord signed. The region was also used as a base by Ugandan Insurgents. Currently Peace Talks are underway in Juba. The Ugandan Government and the Lords Resistance Army have been talking for several months now. A Cease-Fire is in Place now but it is tenous at best.
The Sudanese want the LRA to leave Sudan. The Ugandans do not want them there. Therein lies the current problem. A Peace Deal is crucial for the restoration of Peace not only in Southern Sudan but also in Northern Uganda. The GOSS has asked for four African States: South Africa,Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania to join the talks and ensure that any accord reached is followed through. After decades of war the people of Northern Uganda probably wish a deal to be reached.
These are two areas that have been scenes of war in the past. IF noone pays attention it could happen again. These people have suffered enough and the US has sent Special Envoys and Congressional Investigators. Maybe assisting in recovery and in Medical Care would be money well spent as well. Don't You think?
American Chronicles
January 26, 2007
As the situation within Somalia stabilizes the eyes of the World turn towards two past crises that have the chance to flare up again. Sadly both of these situations are in Africa again.
The first potential flashpoint is the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Both countries have a violent history since Eritrea won its Independence in 1993. Both countries fought a border war that ended in December of 2000. The Border Dispute then went to an Arbitrer which then drew a new border. The UN has a monitoring force watching the situation. The mission is up for renewal this month.
The crisis almost erupted into conflict over Somalia. The Ethiopians supported the Transitional National Government in Baidoa. Eritrea had links to the Union of Islamic Courts which was in the Capital of Mogadishu. When the drive towards the Capital began there were fears that there could be a border incident to divert attention away from assisting the TNG. But no fighting broke out this time although the possibility still exists.
The other area of concern is Sudan. We all heard President Bush during the State of the Union Address. He talked about assisting those in Darfur who have been victims of war for several years now. But there is another region within Sudan where the World should pay attention too.
The Situation in Southern Sudan has been overshadowed by events in Darfur. The area has been in the past plagued by a rebellion that has seen a Peace Accord signed. The region was also used as a base by Ugandan Insurgents. Currently Peace Talks are underway in Juba. The Ugandan Government and the Lords Resistance Army have been talking for several months now. A Cease-Fire is in Place now but it is tenous at best.
The Sudanese want the LRA to leave Sudan. The Ugandans do not want them there. Therein lies the current problem. A Peace Deal is crucial for the restoration of Peace not only in Southern Sudan but also in Northern Uganda. The GOSS has asked for four African States: South Africa,Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania to join the talks and ensure that any accord reached is followed through. After decades of war the people of Northern Uganda probably wish a deal to be reached.
These are two areas that have been scenes of war in the past. IF noone pays attention it could happen again. These people have suffered enough and the US has sent Special Envoys and Congressional Investigators. Maybe assisting in recovery and in Medical Care would be money well spent as well. Don't You think?
American Chronicles
January 26, 2007
Mortars, killings shake Mogadishu as violence unabated
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi addresses a news conference in his Palace in Addis Ababa, January 24, 2007, where he confirmed that Ethiopian troops had started to withdraw from Somalia.
REUTERS/ANDREW HEAVENS
By Guled Mohamed
MOGADISHU, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Mortars hit a Mogadishu residential area and two men were shot dead overnight in the latest violence in a city the Somali government is struggling to pacify after the ouster of hardline Islamists.
In neighbouring Kenya -- where some defeated Islamist fighters have fled -- five young men of Somali origin carrying U.S., French, Tunisian and Syrian passports were arrested at the border, local newspapers reported.
In what looked like a targeted killing in the lawless Somali capital, a man was blindfolded and shot dead late on Thursday in Mogadishu's Tarbuunka Square, witnesses said.
"Three men came out of a vehicle holding a blindfolded man. They shot him then drove away," said a resident who saw the assassination. The other man was shot in Bakara market, residents said. Details of both incidents were murky.
But they added to tensions in a city hit by a string of attacks in recent days aimed at the Somali government and its Ethiopian military allies who helped them topple the Islamists in a two-week offensive over Christmas and New Year.
Two mortars bombs fired by unknown assailants hit the northern Madina neighbourhood overnight.
"One of the mortars hit a house totally destroying a room. ... The family members were lucky to survive. The second mortar fell on a road seriously injuring a pedestrian," said a resident, who gave his name as Abdirahman.
Many suspect hardcore remnants of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) are behind such attacks, but there are many enemies of the government including warlord and clan militias plus criminals.
Many residents and analysts fear a slide back to the anarchy Somalia has suffered for the last 16 years.
AFRICAN MISSION
To prevent that, the African Union (AU) wants to send in nearly 8,000 peacekeepers. Its foreign ministers were discussing that at AU headquarters in Ethiopia on Friday.
With Ethiopia anxious to withdraw its troops, diplomats see an AU mission as the only way to prevent a dangerous vacuum.
But it is not yet clear who will provide all the troops or funds, or how the AU thinks a Somalia mission could be more successful than its shaky force in Sudan's Darfur region.
Uganda, Nigeria and Malawi have so far promised soldiers for Somalia, while Mozambique and others are mulling it. South Africa said on Friday it would not give troops because it was over-stretched but will study other ways to help.
The government of President Abdullahi Yusuf was set up in 2004 in a 14th attempt to restore central rule to Somalia since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre's ouster in 1991.
But having just reached Mogadishu for the first time since then, it now faces a massive challenge to establish its authority and pacify one of the world's most anarchic nations.
Kenyan newspapers said five men arrested at Kiunga on the Indian Ocean coast at the Somali border were caught carrying AK-47 rifles, and were now being interrogated by police.
Neither Kenyan officials nor diplomats in Nairobi could confirm the Standard and Nation reports that the five included U.S., French, Tunisian and Syrian passport-holders.
If confirmed, they would be among various foreign passport-holders of Somali origin believed arrested by both Kenya and Ethiopia in the aftermath of the war.
"It is not surprising that many Somalis have foreign passports. After the Barre regime collapsed, many people (Somalis) were relocated to different countries," said Harun Ndubi, a lawyer for some Islamist suspects in Kenya. (Additional reporting by Sahal Abdulle in Mogadishu, Wangui Kanina in Nairobi and Andrew Quinn in Johannesburg)
AlertNet news is provided by Reuters
Terrorism no excuse for denying stability to Somalia
Liz Stoever
Reporter
lstoever@northernstar.info
Somalia is a place where chaos and fear thrive. With no real government since 1991, it is no surprise conditions in Somalia continue to approach a level of violence as terrible as anywhere else in the world. According to the BBC, life expectancy in Somalia is close to 48 years and for every 100,000 births, 1,100 women die. The economy and Somalia's medical care still have yet to better themselves. Even as charities in the United States continue to give food to Somalia, the warlords typically steal it.
It has always been U.S. policy to come into situations like these, lend a hand, donate some money and save the day. What else could be more important than giving a nation the peace, security and stability it so desperately needs? According to our political leaders, terrorism - even the mere suspicion of terrorism- is worth compromising any hope for saving a nation.
The Bush administration has long believed the conditions in Somalia make it a perfect place for terrorists. Where there is a lack of government, there is much crime. It wasn't until the creation of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), reportedly funded by businessmen in Mogadishu, that most crime finally ceased. But it is the UIC, Somalia's only hope for security, that the Bush administration believes is linked with terrorism, despite its denials.
Again and again, Americans are fed this rhetoric of terror to commit more acts of violence and to cover their own use of terrorism. The act of terrorism affects innocent civilians. The U.S. so far has carried out at least two air strikes in southern Somalia. In a country where violence is already the norm, how can we contribute to it with only allegations of terrorism? These air raids provide no solution and only end the lives of many innocent civilians.
The only hope for security and peace is already diminished by constant clan warfare. The militias of the different clans - Hawiye, Darod, Rahanwein and Dir - cause insecurity in the capital, preventing any government from installing itself there. Somalia's problems are clearly due to a lack of government, which in turn can be attributed to the constant warfare. Therefore, introducing more violence to Somalia would make the terrible living conditions much worse. Every person deserves the right to live a life free of fear and oppression and while we, as Americans, stand for just that; we have done nothing to achieve that for the victims of Somalia.
Most international involvement with Somalia has centered on military action - action often devoid of motives to keep peace. The U.S. and Ethiopia contribute to the violence in Somalia. Terrorists in Somalia may pose a threat to U.S. security, but Somalia's security has been an issue for years. The U.S. has narrowly focused on allegations of terrorism in Somalia rather than defeating the anarchy that makes Somalia a perfect haven for said terrorists.
Somalia needs international peace keepers. While world leaders of the U.N. Security Council have spoken of plans to establish an 8,000-strong African peacekeeping force, putting such a force together has yet to happen.
The Ethiopian force of 15,000 soldiers is strongly resented by most Somalis and does little to keep peace. The Ethiopians hope to prevent the spread of Islamic fundamentals in Africa due to the belief shared by the United States that the UIC is linked with al-Qaida.
Security needs to be renewed in the capital with the removal of the warlords and their militias. Only then can a government be established. If we remove the UIC, Somalia's only hope for security, then crime will only worsen in Somalia. Thus making the country an even better haven for terrorists.
Terrorism is a strategy used too often in our world today by all types of governments. Somalia's citizens are no more than a third party in this war of fighting terrorism with more terrorism. Despite the motives behind attacks on Somalia, more conflicts will arise because of it. After it's over and only rubble is left, is that when we will decide to save the people of Somalia?
Northern Star
Reporter
lstoever@northernstar.info
Somalia is a place where chaos and fear thrive. With no real government since 1991, it is no surprise conditions in Somalia continue to approach a level of violence as terrible as anywhere else in the world. According to the BBC, life expectancy in Somalia is close to 48 years and for every 100,000 births, 1,100 women die. The economy and Somalia's medical care still have yet to better themselves. Even as charities in the United States continue to give food to Somalia, the warlords typically steal it.
It has always been U.S. policy to come into situations like these, lend a hand, donate some money and save the day. What else could be more important than giving a nation the peace, security and stability it so desperately needs? According to our political leaders, terrorism - even the mere suspicion of terrorism- is worth compromising any hope for saving a nation.
The Bush administration has long believed the conditions in Somalia make it a perfect place for terrorists. Where there is a lack of government, there is much crime. It wasn't until the creation of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), reportedly funded by businessmen in Mogadishu, that most crime finally ceased. But it is the UIC, Somalia's only hope for security, that the Bush administration believes is linked with terrorism, despite its denials.
Again and again, Americans are fed this rhetoric of terror to commit more acts of violence and to cover their own use of terrorism. The act of terrorism affects innocent civilians. The U.S. so far has carried out at least two air strikes in southern Somalia. In a country where violence is already the norm, how can we contribute to it with only allegations of terrorism? These air raids provide no solution and only end the lives of many innocent civilians.
The only hope for security and peace is already diminished by constant clan warfare. The militias of the different clans - Hawiye, Darod, Rahanwein and Dir - cause insecurity in the capital, preventing any government from installing itself there. Somalia's problems are clearly due to a lack of government, which in turn can be attributed to the constant warfare. Therefore, introducing more violence to Somalia would make the terrible living conditions much worse. Every person deserves the right to live a life free of fear and oppression and while we, as Americans, stand for just that; we have done nothing to achieve that for the victims of Somalia.
Most international involvement with Somalia has centered on military action - action often devoid of motives to keep peace. The U.S. and Ethiopia contribute to the violence in Somalia. Terrorists in Somalia may pose a threat to U.S. security, but Somalia's security has been an issue for years. The U.S. has narrowly focused on allegations of terrorism in Somalia rather than defeating the anarchy that makes Somalia a perfect haven for said terrorists.
Somalia needs international peace keepers. While world leaders of the U.N. Security Council have spoken of plans to establish an 8,000-strong African peacekeeping force, putting such a force together has yet to happen.
The Ethiopian force of 15,000 soldiers is strongly resented by most Somalis and does little to keep peace. The Ethiopians hope to prevent the spread of Islamic fundamentals in Africa due to the belief shared by the United States that the UIC is linked with al-Qaida.
Security needs to be renewed in the capital with the removal of the warlords and their militias. Only then can a government be established. If we remove the UIC, Somalia's only hope for security, then crime will only worsen in Somalia. Thus making the country an even better haven for terrorists.
Terrorism is a strategy used too often in our world today by all types of governments. Somalia's citizens are no more than a third party in this war of fighting terrorism with more terrorism. Despite the motives behind attacks on Somalia, more conflicts will arise because of it. After it's over and only rubble is left, is that when we will decide to save the people of Somalia?
Northern Star
January 25, 2007
Ethiopian soldier killed in southern Somalia
MOGADISHU, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Attackers killed one Ethiopian soldier and wounded another in the southern Somali port of Kismayu on Thursday, in the latest assault on the interim government's ally in a war to oust rival Islamists.
The shootout happened in the main market in Kismayu, the last city the Islamists held before joint Ethiopian-Somali government forces ran them into the nearby bush of Somalia's southern tip over the New Year.
"One Ethiopian soldier got killed and another one was wounded when gunmen opened fire at them. We do not know who was behind this act, but we are investigating," lawmaker Abdirashid Mohamed Hidig, who is also the regional government administrator, told Reuters by telephone from Kismayu.
Kismayu's police chief, Mohamed Abdi, said 36 people were arrested and were being interrogated.
Reuters
The gunfight was the first against Ethiopians in Kismayu, but the latest in a spate of attacks against Ethiopian and government troops across the country -- most of them in the chaotic capital Mogadishu.
The allies ran the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) out of the seaside capital and most of southern Somalia in a lighting assault with Ethiopian jets and tanks, that ended the Islamist movement's six-month rule under strict sharia law.
Many suspect hardcore Islamist remnants from the two-week war are behind the attacks, but there are many enemies of the government including clan militias and criminals.
Besides, Ethiopia for at least a millennium has been a rival of its Horn of Africa neighbour Somalia, and many Somalis are furious that a foe in two wars in the last 50 years is patrolling the streets and propping up the government.
OPEN DOOR?
The Ethiopians on Tuesday pulled out at least 200 soldiers as part of a drawdown to make way for an African Union-backed peacekeeping contingent of nearly 8,000 troops.
Uganda, Nigeria and Malawi have promised soldiers, while South Africa and Mozambique are deciding whether to take part in a mission still being assembled.
Somalia's government, tasting victory for the first time since it was established at peace talks in Kenya in late 2004, on Thursday gave the first sign it might talk with Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, a former leader of the SICC seen as a moderate.
He turned himself in to police along the Kenyan border on Sunday.
"The government ... will accommodate all political actors, including Sheikh Sharif Ahmed," government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said. "But he has to renounce violence and must ask for forgiveness to the Somali people."
U.S. ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger, also responsible for Somalia, on Wednesday met with Ahmed in Nairobi, where he is under the watch of Kenya's intelligence arm.
Washington has said it believes Ahmed could play a constructive role in reconciliation if he renounces extremism and violence, and urges his followers to do the same.
"We saw a window of opportunity for peace in Somalia and we are asking the Somalis to lead a politically inclusive dialogue," the U.S. ambassador to the AU, Cindy Courville, told a press conference in Addis Ababa.
Diplomats say Kenya and the United States want the government to talk to Ahmed to encourage moderate SICC backers to join Somalia's 14th attempt at a government since anarchy broke out in 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted.
In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, one of the chief financiers of the SICC, wealthy businessman Abukar Omar Adan, 72, late on Wednesday pleaded guilty to entering Kenya illegally. His son also appeared, but said he was not guilty because he had a visa.
But their lawyer said they are refugees and that Adan would fight deportation on those grounds.
"My clients were running away from Somalia's conflict in fear of their lives," lawyer James Orengo told Reuters on Thursday. "They are entitled to protection." (Additional reporting by Sahal Abdulle in Mogadishu, Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa and Robert Hummy in Nairobi)
The shootout happened in the main market in Kismayu, the last city the Islamists held before joint Ethiopian-Somali government forces ran them into the nearby bush of Somalia's southern tip over the New Year.
"One Ethiopian soldier got killed and another one was wounded when gunmen opened fire at them. We do not know who was behind this act, but we are investigating," lawmaker Abdirashid Mohamed Hidig, who is also the regional government administrator, told Reuters by telephone from Kismayu.
Kismayu's police chief, Mohamed Abdi, said 36 people were arrested and were being interrogated.
Reuters
The gunfight was the first against Ethiopians in Kismayu, but the latest in a spate of attacks against Ethiopian and government troops across the country -- most of them in the chaotic capital Mogadishu.
The allies ran the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) out of the seaside capital and most of southern Somalia in a lighting assault with Ethiopian jets and tanks, that ended the Islamist movement's six-month rule under strict sharia law.
Many suspect hardcore Islamist remnants from the two-week war are behind the attacks, but there are many enemies of the government including clan militias and criminals.
Besides, Ethiopia for at least a millennium has been a rival of its Horn of Africa neighbour Somalia, and many Somalis are furious that a foe in two wars in the last 50 years is patrolling the streets and propping up the government.
OPEN DOOR?
The Ethiopians on Tuesday pulled out at least 200 soldiers as part of a drawdown to make way for an African Union-backed peacekeeping contingent of nearly 8,000 troops.
Uganda, Nigeria and Malawi have promised soldiers, while South Africa and Mozambique are deciding whether to take part in a mission still being assembled.
Somalia's government, tasting victory for the first time since it was established at peace talks in Kenya in late 2004, on Thursday gave the first sign it might talk with Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, a former leader of the SICC seen as a moderate.
He turned himself in to police along the Kenyan border on Sunday.
"The government ... will accommodate all political actors, including Sheikh Sharif Ahmed," government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said. "But he has to renounce violence and must ask for forgiveness to the Somali people."
U.S. ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger, also responsible for Somalia, on Wednesday met with Ahmed in Nairobi, where he is under the watch of Kenya's intelligence arm.
Washington has said it believes Ahmed could play a constructive role in reconciliation if he renounces extremism and violence, and urges his followers to do the same.
"We saw a window of opportunity for peace in Somalia and we are asking the Somalis to lead a politically inclusive dialogue," the U.S. ambassador to the AU, Cindy Courville, told a press conference in Addis Ababa.
Diplomats say Kenya and the United States want the government to talk to Ahmed to encourage moderate SICC backers to join Somalia's 14th attempt at a government since anarchy broke out in 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted.
In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, one of the chief financiers of the SICC, wealthy businessman Abukar Omar Adan, 72, late on Wednesday pleaded guilty to entering Kenya illegally. His son also appeared, but said he was not guilty because he had a visa.
But their lawyer said they are refugees and that Adan would fight deportation on those grounds.
"My clients were running away from Somalia's conflict in fear of their lives," lawyer James Orengo told Reuters on Thursday. "They are entitled to protection." (Additional reporting by Sahal Abdulle in Mogadishu, Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa and Robert Hummy in Nairobi)
Ethiopian Soldier Exposes Direct Involvement of US Mechanized Force in Somalia's Invasion
A soldier of the TPLF regime who arrived in Eritrea along with eight others fleeing the war during Somalia's invasion has exposed the direct involvement of the US mechanized force on top of providing information and advice to the invaders.
He stated that the mechanized force had stayed for 9 months in Somalia since April 2006. Besides, the invading Ethiopian forces came across a garrison of US Army officers in the border area named Gojiland, the soldier added. He further pointed out that US soldiers took direct participation in the tank and heavy armaments units at the time the invasion was launched.
Moreover, the Ethiopian soldier also revealed that clandestine meetings were held in which directives were passed by one of the TPLF regime's senior officers, Gen. Syoum Hagos, to kill Somali soldiers resembling Eritreans in a bid to justify the regime's false accusation alleging Eritrean involvement in the Somali war and present this concocted information to the Americans posted in Somalia.
The defecting Ethiopian soldiers are Shiferaw Mekonnen Kassa; Tewfik Mucha Omar, Mogos Demise Woldetsadik and Awel Yemamu Yassin, all three from the Oromo ethnic group; Geteye Wubetu Setaregie from the Amhara ethnic group; Berhane Negash, Girmai Desta Haile and Teshale Atsebeha Berhe, as well as Zeresenay Gebreselasie Gebrehiwet, all four from the Tigray ethnic group.
Shabait
He stated that the mechanized force had stayed for 9 months in Somalia since April 2006. Besides, the invading Ethiopian forces came across a garrison of US Army officers in the border area named Gojiland, the soldier added. He further pointed out that US soldiers took direct participation in the tank and heavy armaments units at the time the invasion was launched.
Moreover, the Ethiopian soldier also revealed that clandestine meetings were held in which directives were passed by one of the TPLF regime's senior officers, Gen. Syoum Hagos, to kill Somali soldiers resembling Eritreans in a bid to justify the regime's false accusation alleging Eritrean involvement in the Somali war and present this concocted information to the Americans posted in Somalia.
The defecting Ethiopian soldiers are Shiferaw Mekonnen Kassa; Tewfik Mucha Omar, Mogos Demise Woldetsadik and Awel Yemamu Yassin, all three from the Oromo ethnic group; Geteye Wubetu Setaregie from the Amhara ethnic group; Berhane Negash, Girmai Desta Haile and Teshale Atsebeha Berhe, as well as Zeresenay Gebreselasie Gebrehiwet, all four from the Tigray ethnic group.
Shabait
Ethiopia-Eritrea impasse could lead to new war - UN
By Irwin Arieff
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The stalemate between Horn of Africa neighbors Ethiopia and Eritrea is a major threat to stability that could trigger renewed war in the volatile region, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday.
"Not only does the overall situation remain unsettled, but it has also continued to worsen over the last month," Ban said in his latest progress report to the U.N. Security Council on the long-stalled Ethiopia-Eritrea peace process.
"The potential for this situation to deteriorate further or even to lead to renewed hostilities is real, especially if it is allowed to continue indefinitely."
Ban's warning as the 15-nation Security Council heads for a vote at the end of the month on a resolution expected to cut the peacekeeping mission to 1,700 U.N. troops from 2,300.
Last May the council trimmed the peacekeeping force to 2,300 troops from 3,300.
Ban's report recommends that the council extend the mission's mandate for another six months but is silent on whether it should further reduce the number of troops. Without a council vote, the mandate would expire January 31.
U.N. troops were first sent to Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000 to enforce a cease-fire ending a 1998-2000 border war that killed 70,000 people.
As part of the peace agreement, both countries pledged to accept a new border as set out by an international commission.
But the new border was never marked out after Ethiopia rejected part of it and Eritrea objected that Ethiopia was not being held to its word, leading to a four-year impasse.
More recently, Eritrea has piled restrictions on the U.N. force, arbitrarily arrested U.N. staff, ordered some humanitarian relief groups to leave the country, and sent armed personnel into a buffer zone set up by the United Nations between the two countries, Ban said.
"The current impasse is a serious source of instability for the two countries as well as the wider region," Ban said, pointing to the recent brief war in neighboring Somalia pitting government forces reinforced by the Ethiopian military against Islamist troops backed by Eritrea.
"The two governments need to take the political decision to put the conflict behind them, for the sake of their own people," Ban said.
© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The stalemate between Horn of Africa neighbors Ethiopia and Eritrea is a major threat to stability that could trigger renewed war in the volatile region, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday.
"Not only does the overall situation remain unsettled, but it has also continued to worsen over the last month," Ban said in his latest progress report to the U.N. Security Council on the long-stalled Ethiopia-Eritrea peace process.
"The potential for this situation to deteriorate further or even to lead to renewed hostilities is real, especially if it is allowed to continue indefinitely."
Ban's warning as the 15-nation Security Council heads for a vote at the end of the month on a resolution expected to cut the peacekeeping mission to 1,700 U.N. troops from 2,300.
Last May the council trimmed the peacekeeping force to 2,300 troops from 3,300.
Ban's report recommends that the council extend the mission's mandate for another six months but is silent on whether it should further reduce the number of troops. Without a council vote, the mandate would expire January 31.
U.N. troops were first sent to Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000 to enforce a cease-fire ending a 1998-2000 border war that killed 70,000 people.
As part of the peace agreement, both countries pledged to accept a new border as set out by an international commission.
But the new border was never marked out after Ethiopia rejected part of it and Eritrea objected that Ethiopia was not being held to its word, leading to a four-year impasse.
More recently, Eritrea has piled restrictions on the U.N. force, arbitrarily arrested U.N. staff, ordered some humanitarian relief groups to leave the country, and sent armed personnel into a buffer zone set up by the United Nations between the two countries, Ban said.
"The current impasse is a serious source of instability for the two countries as well as the wider region," Ban said, pointing to the recent brief war in neighboring Somalia pitting government forces reinforced by the Ethiopian military against Islamist troops backed by Eritrea.
"The two governments need to take the political decision to put the conflict behind them, for the sake of their own people," Ban said.
© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Gunmen shoot dead an Ethiopian soldier in southern Somalia
Gunmen shoot dead an Ethiopian soldier in southern Somalia
Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu 25, Jan.07 ( Sh.M.Network) Unknown gunmen have shot dead an Ethiopian soldier and wounded another at a shopping market in the port city of Kismayu, about 500 km (310 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu on Thursday.
Farhan Lfole, Shabelle correspondent in Kismayu, reported that government and Ethiopian troops in the area cordoned off the market, tracking down the unidentified assailants.
The attack that seemed a kind of a hit and run assault was the first one to take place in Kismayu since government and Ethiopian forces reached the port town late last month.
He said a number of civilians were soon arrested from the area where the incident occurred.
The ambush attack came as the Ethiopian troops began withdrawing from Somalia on Tuesday.
Ethiopian prime minister Males Zenawi said in a press conference in Addis Ababa that his troops in Somalia would not fully be withdrawn from war-torn country until the replacement African peacekeepers that are due to reach Somalia in two weeks arrive.
The premier pointed out in earlier speeches about Somalia that nearly 500 Ethiopian military troops were killed in Somalia’s war between the defunct Islamic Courts Union and the Ethiopian and government forces in the country.
The government was not available for comments over the killing.
Islamist caught
Meanwhile unconfirmed reports indicate the Ethiopian and government troops have seized the former Islamist leader for Jubba provinces, southern Somalia. The government soldiers caught the Islamist near the Kenyan border. He is under Ethiopian and government custody in Kismayu.
Sources told Shabelle that he was wounded in the war between Islamists and the Ethiopian and government troops.
Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu 25, Jan.07 ( Sh.M.Network) Unknown gunmen have shot dead an Ethiopian soldier and wounded another at a shopping market in the port city of Kismayu, about 500 km (310 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu on Thursday.
Farhan Lfole, Shabelle correspondent in Kismayu, reported that government and Ethiopian troops in the area cordoned off the market, tracking down the unidentified assailants.
The attack that seemed a kind of a hit and run assault was the first one to take place in Kismayu since government and Ethiopian forces reached the port town late last month.
He said a number of civilians were soon arrested from the area where the incident occurred.
The ambush attack came as the Ethiopian troops began withdrawing from Somalia on Tuesday.
Ethiopian prime minister Males Zenawi said in a press conference in Addis Ababa that his troops in Somalia would not fully be withdrawn from war-torn country until the replacement African peacekeepers that are due to reach Somalia in two weeks arrive.
The premier pointed out in earlier speeches about Somalia that nearly 500 Ethiopian military troops were killed in Somalia’s war between the defunct Islamic Courts Union and the Ethiopian and government forces in the country.
The government was not available for comments over the killing.
Islamist caught
Meanwhile unconfirmed reports indicate the Ethiopian and government troops have seized the former Islamist leader for Jubba provinces, southern Somalia. The government soldiers caught the Islamist near the Kenyan border. He is under Ethiopian and government custody in Kismayu.
Sources told Shabelle that he was wounded in the war between Islamists and the Ethiopian and government troops.
At least 2 killed when mortars hit Somalia's international airport
By Salad Duhul
Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Gunmen launched mortars Wednesday on Mogadishu International Airport, killing at least two people a day after troops from neighboring Ethiopia began withdrawing from this chaotic nation.
Also Wednesday, U.S. defense officials said the United States launched an airstrike earlier this week in Somalia against suspected terrorist targets -- the second such attack this month.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the strike was carried out in secret by an Air Force AC-130 gunship earlier this week, provided few details and were uncertain whether the intended target was killed.
Wednesday's mortar attack in Mogadishu came as Ethiopian troops began pulling out after helping the Somali government drive a radical Islamic militia out of the capital and much of southern Somalia.
Without Ethiopia's tanks and fighter jets, the government could barely assert control outside one town and couldn't enter the capital, which was ruled by the Council of Islamic Courts. The U.S. accused the group of having ties to al-Qaida.
Abdilkabir Salad, who was at the gate of the airport when the mortars fell, said he saw two corpses. Another witness, Abdi Mohamed, said he saw three wounded men who had been hit with shrapnel.
"Two mortars landed inside the airport and the other outside," Mohamed said. "There were three planes on the runway when the attack happened." The runway was not damaged.
In Washington, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to confirm any strike earlier this week against suspected terrorist targets but said that in general, the United States is "going to go after al-Qaida in the global war on terrorism, wherever it takes us."
He said the nature of some military operations requires that they be kept secret to preserve an advantage in future missions.
Earlier this month, Ethiopian and U.S. forces were pursuing three top al-Qaida suspects but failed to capture or kill them in an AC-130 strike in the southern part of Somalia.
Copyright 2006 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved
Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Gunmen launched mortars Wednesday on Mogadishu International Airport, killing at least two people a day after troops from neighboring Ethiopia began withdrawing from this chaotic nation.
Also Wednesday, U.S. defense officials said the United States launched an airstrike earlier this week in Somalia against suspected terrorist targets -- the second such attack this month.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the strike was carried out in secret by an Air Force AC-130 gunship earlier this week, provided few details and were uncertain whether the intended target was killed.
Wednesday's mortar attack in Mogadishu came as Ethiopian troops began pulling out after helping the Somali government drive a radical Islamic militia out of the capital and much of southern Somalia.
Without Ethiopia's tanks and fighter jets, the government could barely assert control outside one town and couldn't enter the capital, which was ruled by the Council of Islamic Courts. The U.S. accused the group of having ties to al-Qaida.
Abdilkabir Salad, who was at the gate of the airport when the mortars fell, said he saw two corpses. Another witness, Abdi Mohamed, said he saw three wounded men who had been hit with shrapnel.
"Two mortars landed inside the airport and the other outside," Mohamed said. "There were three planes on the runway when the attack happened." The runway was not damaged.
In Washington, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to confirm any strike earlier this week against suspected terrorist targets but said that in general, the United States is "going to go after al-Qaida in the global war on terrorism, wherever it takes us."
He said the nature of some military operations requires that they be kept secret to preserve an advantage in future missions.
Earlier this month, Ethiopian and U.S. forces were pursuing three top al-Qaida suspects but failed to capture or kill them in an AC-130 strike in the southern part of Somalia.
Copyright 2006 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved
Ban says Eritrea-Ethiopia war possible
New York - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned in a report released on Wednesday that another war could break out between feuding neighbours Ethiopia and Eritrea if progress is not urgently made on a stalled peace process.
Ban urged the Security Council to extend the UN peacekeeping mission monitoring a tense 992km-long buffer zone between the countries for another six months. Given the precarious security situation in neighboring Somalia, if fighting resumes it could destabilise the entire region, he said.
"The potential for this situation to deteriorate further or even to lead to renewed hostilities is real, especially if it is allowed to continue indefinitely," Ban said in the report.
The Security Council has until the end of the month to decide whether to extend the mandate of the 2 300-strong force monitoring the buffer zone under a December 2000 peace agreement that ended a
two-and-a-half-year border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
'Considerable frustration'
Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council presidency this month, said last week many council members favour reducing the mission to 1 700 soldiers. He said there was "considerable frustration" at the lack of progress in stabilising a border between the countries.
A Russian diplomat said on Wednesday the mission's six-month extension would likely be adopted, but discussions were still taking place on the force's size. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing.
The UN missions for Eritrea and Ethiopia did not return calls seeking comment.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war, but the border between the countries was never officially demarcated. Ties have remained strained since the
2000 truce.
Sapa-AP
Ban urged the Security Council to extend the UN peacekeeping mission monitoring a tense 992km-long buffer zone between the countries for another six months. Given the precarious security situation in neighboring Somalia, if fighting resumes it could destabilise the entire region, he said.
"The potential for this situation to deteriorate further or even to lead to renewed hostilities is real, especially if it is allowed to continue indefinitely," Ban said in the report.
The Security Council has until the end of the month to decide whether to extend the mandate of the 2 300-strong force monitoring the buffer zone under a December 2000 peace agreement that ended a
two-and-a-half-year border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
'Considerable frustration'
Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council presidency this month, said last week many council members favour reducing the mission to 1 700 soldiers. He said there was "considerable frustration" at the lack of progress in stabilising a border between the countries.
A Russian diplomat said on Wednesday the mission's six-month extension would likely be adopted, but discussions were still taking place on the force's size. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing.
The UN missions for Eritrea and Ethiopia did not return calls seeking comment.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war, but the border between the countries was never officially demarcated. Ties have remained strained since the
2000 truce.
Sapa-AP
January 24, 2007
Poland's Best Known Writer (Ryszard Kapuściński) dies
Poland's best known writer dies
Listen
The internationally-renowned Polish journalist and writer Ryszard Kapuscinski has died in a Warsaw hospital at the age of 74.
Report by Michal Kubicki
24.01.07
He was probably Poland’s best-known living author. His books, translated into thirty languages, can be described as a chronicle of the parts of world ravaged by war and conflict.
Foreign travels took Kapuscinski to many hotbeds of tension and scenes of upheavals. He witnessed 27 revolutions, mostly in Africa where he was Poland’s only foreign correspondent in the 1960s and 70s. Hampered by the constraints of newspaper articles, he soon turned to writing books. One of the best-known of his 19 books, ‘The Emperor’, was an account of the downfall of Ethiopia’s dictator Haile Selassie. For Polish readers, it brought to mind their own totalitarian leaders. ‘The Shah of Shahs’ described the overthrow of the Shah of Iran. In his books, Kapuścinski explored the structure of power in today’s world.
“The most important problem is that we’re living in the world in which the fruits of progress and development are very unjustly divided, and people, thanks to the TV and the media, the poor people, who are the majority, are feeling very strongly, very deeply this injustice, this situation to be marginalized. And this has produced among them a very strong feeling of frustration, of unhappiness. Eventually of hate and revenge.”
Ryszard Kapuscinski is often described as a man who elevated the art of reportage to literature. For sociologist and writer Jadwiga Staniszkis, his books are indeed first-rate literature.
”He was an excellent writer, able to prepare pictures of very complicated events without being a judge. He was not taking sides. He was not a moralist in any way. He was trying to find solutions and was able to write about deep structures of the problems, not just about people.”
Kapuściński was born in Pinsk, a small town now in Belarus in 1932. It was overran by Soviet soldiers when he was a boy, and he later spoke on many occasions about his experiences with totalitarianism. In ‘Imperium’ he chronicled the break-up of the Soviet Union. Yet, he didn’t write a single book about Polish matters.
Jadwiga Staniszkis again:
”I think Kapuścinski was planning eventually to write a book on Poland, in a sense waiting to find a key, because usually he worked by finding some concrete event which was at the same time a sort of symbolic moment. Kapuscinski was looking for something like that in Poland. He was enthusiastic about Solidarity. For him it was not solidarity of intelligentsia. He was conscious of the deep moral transition inside the common people.”
Ryszard Kapuścinski was said to have been among the candidates for last year’s Nobel Prize for literature. He died two months before his 75th birthday.
Somalia's lesson -- don't always trust the locals
Oppionion
Max Boot
Send in foreign peacekeepers to the Horn of Africa, which has slipped into chaos each time forces have left.
January 24, 2007
LITTLE MORE THAN a month ago, the situation in Somalia seemed hopeless. The Islamic Courts Union was consolidating its Taliban-style hold on the country, foreign jihadists were pouring in and a new terrorist haven appeared to be emerging. The CIA's attempts to finance a coalition of secular warlords had failed, and the moderate transitional government was under siege in the provisional capital of Baidoa.
Then, on the day before Christmas, the armed forces of Ethiopia — a Christian state threatened by the ultra-Islamists next door — crossed the frontier. Ethiopia maintains the most formidable military in the region, thanks in part to American arms, aid and advisors. Not only did the United States share intelligence with the Ethiopians, there have been reports that a small number of U.S. Special Operations troops were on the ground.
Within days the seemingly invincible Islamists had been routed. As the jihadists fled south, an American AC-130 gunship based in Djibouti got into the act, strafing suspects linked to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. U.S. intelligence agencies had been tracking these terrorists for years, but it was only when they were flushed out of their sanctuary that they became vulnerable to attack.
Although most of the foreign policy debate in the U.S. has been riveted on Iraq, some within the Pentagon have been touting recent events in Somalia as an alternative model of how to fight Islamo-fascists. Everyone recognizes that there will be scant appetite in the near term for sending huge numbers of U.S. troops to occupy any more Middle Eastern countries. Might not the U.S. be able to achieve its goals by taking advantage of local allies backed by American airpower and small numbers of commandos and intelligence agents?
Such a low-intensity approach — used to overthrow the Taliban in the fall of 2001 — has much to recommend it. But a few caveats are in order.
First, indigenous allies are not always reliable. They are often pursuing agendas different from our own. Remember how Afghan gunmen allowed Osama bin Laden and his followers to escape from Tora Bora in 2001? Or look at the difficulties we are now having in working with the Maliki government in Iraq.
Second, it's easier to play offense than defense. It doesn't take that many troops to rout the Taliban, the Iraqi Republican Guard or the Islamic Courts Union, but successfully holding a country as large as Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia is a much more manpower-intensive task. If the U.S. or our allies don't provide those soldiers, where will they come from? Ideally, they'll be locals trained and armed by the U.S., but, as we've seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, standing up effective security forces is a laborious, long-term process. It's a race against time: Can the government consolidate control before the Islamists launch an effective guerrilla campaign?
This danger is particularly acute in Somalia, where the Ethiopians have made clear that they have no interest in a long-term occupation. Once they leave, Somalia is likely to sink back into the clan warfare that has predominated since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. There is a moment of opportunity now for the international community to step in and stabilize Somalia. What's needed is an effective foreign peacekeeping force along with a large influx of aid to the transitional government. If that's not forthcoming — and odds are it won't be — the Islamists will find it easy to stage a resurgence.
ATHIRD CAVEAT: In fighting terrorists, the U.S. won't always have the freedom of action it enjoys in Somalia. Terrorists find shelter not only in ungoverned spaces like Somalia but in anti-American countries like Iran and Syria, in ambivalent countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and even in pro-American countries like Germany and Britain. For various political reasons, the potential for swashbuckling, Jack Bauer-style counter-terrorism in such states is less than in non-states like Somalia or Afghanistan, where anything goes. Indeed, a team of CIA officers faces indictment in Italy for snatching a terrorist suspect off a Milan street in 2003.
So, by all means let us celebrate the achievements in Somalia, even while recognizing the likelihood that we have not heard the last of the Islamic Courts Union. In contrast to setbacks in Iraq, Somalia shows that jihadist insurgents are eminently defeatable. But realize that the "Somalia model" is not easily exportable elsewhere. We need to tailor different approaches to different theaters of this global counterinsurgency. This is not a one-size-fits-all war.
Los Angeles Times
Max Boot
Send in foreign peacekeepers to the Horn of Africa, which has slipped into chaos each time forces have left.
January 24, 2007
LITTLE MORE THAN a month ago, the situation in Somalia seemed hopeless. The Islamic Courts Union was consolidating its Taliban-style hold on the country, foreign jihadists were pouring in and a new terrorist haven appeared to be emerging. The CIA's attempts to finance a coalition of secular warlords had failed, and the moderate transitional government was under siege in the provisional capital of Baidoa.
Then, on the day before Christmas, the armed forces of Ethiopia — a Christian state threatened by the ultra-Islamists next door — crossed the frontier. Ethiopia maintains the most formidable military in the region, thanks in part to American arms, aid and advisors. Not only did the United States share intelligence with the Ethiopians, there have been reports that a small number of U.S. Special Operations troops were on the ground.
Within days the seemingly invincible Islamists had been routed. As the jihadists fled south, an American AC-130 gunship based in Djibouti got into the act, strafing suspects linked to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. U.S. intelligence agencies had been tracking these terrorists for years, but it was only when they were flushed out of their sanctuary that they became vulnerable to attack.
Although most of the foreign policy debate in the U.S. has been riveted on Iraq, some within the Pentagon have been touting recent events in Somalia as an alternative model of how to fight Islamo-fascists. Everyone recognizes that there will be scant appetite in the near term for sending huge numbers of U.S. troops to occupy any more Middle Eastern countries. Might not the U.S. be able to achieve its goals by taking advantage of local allies backed by American airpower and small numbers of commandos and intelligence agents?
Such a low-intensity approach — used to overthrow the Taliban in the fall of 2001 — has much to recommend it. But a few caveats are in order.
First, indigenous allies are not always reliable. They are often pursuing agendas different from our own. Remember how Afghan gunmen allowed Osama bin Laden and his followers to escape from Tora Bora in 2001? Or look at the difficulties we are now having in working with the Maliki government in Iraq.
Second, it's easier to play offense than defense. It doesn't take that many troops to rout the Taliban, the Iraqi Republican Guard or the Islamic Courts Union, but successfully holding a country as large as Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia is a much more manpower-intensive task. If the U.S. or our allies don't provide those soldiers, where will they come from? Ideally, they'll be locals trained and armed by the U.S., but, as we've seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, standing up effective security forces is a laborious, long-term process. It's a race against time: Can the government consolidate control before the Islamists launch an effective guerrilla campaign?
This danger is particularly acute in Somalia, where the Ethiopians have made clear that they have no interest in a long-term occupation. Once they leave, Somalia is likely to sink back into the clan warfare that has predominated since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. There is a moment of opportunity now for the international community to step in and stabilize Somalia. What's needed is an effective foreign peacekeeping force along with a large influx of aid to the transitional government. If that's not forthcoming — and odds are it won't be — the Islamists will find it easy to stage a resurgence.
ATHIRD CAVEAT: In fighting terrorists, the U.S. won't always have the freedom of action it enjoys in Somalia. Terrorists find shelter not only in ungoverned spaces like Somalia but in anti-American countries like Iran and Syria, in ambivalent countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and even in pro-American countries like Germany and Britain. For various political reasons, the potential for swashbuckling, Jack Bauer-style counter-terrorism in such states is less than in non-states like Somalia or Afghanistan, where anything goes. Indeed, a team of CIA officers faces indictment in Italy for snatching a terrorist suspect off a Milan street in 2003.
So, by all means let us celebrate the achievements in Somalia, even while recognizing the likelihood that we have not heard the last of the Islamic Courts Union. In contrast to setbacks in Iraq, Somalia shows that jihadist insurgents are eminently defeatable. But realize that the "Somalia model" is not easily exportable elsewhere. We need to tailor different approaches to different theaters of this global counterinsurgency. This is not a one-size-fits-all war.
Los Angeles Times
US launches new airstrike on Somalia: report
24 January 2007
Reuters
A US Air Force AC-130 gunship has launched a second air strike against suspected Al-Qaeda operatives in southern Somalia, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified US officials.
No confirmation of Monday's reported attack was immediately available in the region and a Pentagon spokesman declined to comment.
The newspaper said there was no information on the results or the specific targets of the strike.
An AC-130 gunship two weeks ago attacked what Washington said were Al-Qaeda agents fleeing with Islamist forces defeated by Somali government and Ethiopian troops late last month.
It was the first overt US action in Somalia since the end of a disastrous peacekeeping mission in 1994.
Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said he was not aware of a second US attack.
Washington believes Somali Islamists harbored Al-Qaeda members accused of bombing two U.S. embassies and an Israeli-owned hotel in east Africa.
Any prolonged US intervention in Somalia would be sure to inflame political passions there, joining the chorus of Muslims who see the "war on terror" as a crusade against Islam.
A freelance Somali journalist said on Sunday he had seen US troops on the ground in south Somalia working with Ethiopian forces hunting fugitive Islamists. Ethiopia vehemently denied the report.
Rumors have swirled for days that US personnel were inside Somalia since the January 8 strike but there has been no official confirmation of a US ground presence.
Mortars were fired at Mogadishu airport on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring another after a UN delegation arrived in the Somali capital, a government source said.
"A UN delegation just arrived and as soon as they left the plane, two mortar shells hit the airport," the source said.
"One person was killed while another was injured," the source said, adding the victims were Somalis. The UN Development Programme delegation was taken to an agency compound.
A spate of attacks, mainly against Ethiopian troops backing Somalia's interim government, have rocked the capital since they helped oust Islamists from Mogadishu and much of the south they had controlled for six months in a lightning December offensive.
The Islamists and some foreign supporters have vowed to wage guerrilla war against Ethiopian troops in the country, and many Somalis suspect their militants have been behind the attacks.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Wednesday some 200 soldiers had withdrawn from the chaotic nation
"We have organised that the last phase of withdrawal will coincide with deployment of AU forces," Meles told a news conference in Addis Ababa. "There will be no vacuum."
The African Union (AU) has approved a nearly 8,000-strong peacekeeping force for Somalia, but experts doubt its capacity to muster it, let alone tame a nation in anarchy since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The Islamists have been pushed into the remote southern tip near Kenya's border and Nairobi has in custody top Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
A Kenyan government official said on Wednesday Ahmed would not be deported to Somalia because he would be killed and that he has asked for refuge in Yemen.
http://www.hindustantimes.com
Reuters
A US Air Force AC-130 gunship has launched a second air strike against suspected Al-Qaeda operatives in southern Somalia, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified US officials.
No confirmation of Monday's reported attack was immediately available in the region and a Pentagon spokesman declined to comment.
The newspaper said there was no information on the results or the specific targets of the strike.
An AC-130 gunship two weeks ago attacked what Washington said were Al-Qaeda agents fleeing with Islamist forces defeated by Somali government and Ethiopian troops late last month.
It was the first overt US action in Somalia since the end of a disastrous peacekeeping mission in 1994.
Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said he was not aware of a second US attack.
Washington believes Somali Islamists harbored Al-Qaeda members accused of bombing two U.S. embassies and an Israeli-owned hotel in east Africa.
Any prolonged US intervention in Somalia would be sure to inflame political passions there, joining the chorus of Muslims who see the "war on terror" as a crusade against Islam.
A freelance Somali journalist said on Sunday he had seen US troops on the ground in south Somalia working with Ethiopian forces hunting fugitive Islamists. Ethiopia vehemently denied the report.
Rumors have swirled for days that US personnel were inside Somalia since the January 8 strike but there has been no official confirmation of a US ground presence.
Mortars were fired at Mogadishu airport on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring another after a UN delegation arrived in the Somali capital, a government source said.
"A UN delegation just arrived and as soon as they left the plane, two mortar shells hit the airport," the source said.
"One person was killed while another was injured," the source said, adding the victims were Somalis. The UN Development Programme delegation was taken to an agency compound.
A spate of attacks, mainly against Ethiopian troops backing Somalia's interim government, have rocked the capital since they helped oust Islamists from Mogadishu and much of the south they had controlled for six months in a lightning December offensive.
The Islamists and some foreign supporters have vowed to wage guerrilla war against Ethiopian troops in the country, and many Somalis suspect their militants have been behind the attacks.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Wednesday some 200 soldiers had withdrawn from the chaotic nation
"We have organised that the last phase of withdrawal will coincide with deployment of AU forces," Meles told a news conference in Addis Ababa. "There will be no vacuum."
The African Union (AU) has approved a nearly 8,000-strong peacekeeping force for Somalia, but experts doubt its capacity to muster it, let alone tame a nation in anarchy since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The Islamists have been pushed into the remote southern tip near Kenya's border and Nairobi has in custody top Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
A Kenyan government official said on Wednesday Ahmed would not be deported to Somalia because he would be killed and that he has asked for refuge in Yemen.
http://www.hindustantimes.com
January 23, 2007
Moderate Islamist leader seen as key to peace deal in Somalia
NAIROBI: The second-in-command of Somalia's defeated Islamist forces has surrendered to Kenyan authorities, and officials hope that he can help subdue a rising insurgency among the movement's supporters on the streets of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
Sharif Ahmed, the head of the executive council of the Islamic Courts Union, was among Islamist leaders being hunted by US and Ethiopian troops in southern Somalia. Described as a moderate and a potential peacemaker, he surfaced at the Kenya-Somalia border, Somali officials said on Monday.
Several Western diplomats said US officials, who have urged Somalia's newly empowered government to reconcile with moderate Islamist leaders, were instrumental in arranging Sheik Ahmed's safe passage to Kenya, although a US embassy official later denied this.
Western diplomats said Sheik Ahmed, 42, could help defuse the violence in Mogadishu. He has a big following among former Islamist fighters, suspected of being behind Somalia's growing insurgency.
European Union officials have made reconciliation with Islamic leaders in Somalia a condition of financing a proposal to send African Union peacekeepers to the country.
The United Nations said Sheik Ahmed could be granted political asylum in Kenya or another country in the region, possibly Yemen, so he could meet Somalia's new leaders on neutral soil and map a path for peace.
The New York Times/ The Washington Post
Sharif Ahmed, the head of the executive council of the Islamic Courts Union, was among Islamist leaders being hunted by US and Ethiopian troops in southern Somalia. Described as a moderate and a potential peacemaker, he surfaced at the Kenya-Somalia border, Somali officials said on Monday.
Several Western diplomats said US officials, who have urged Somalia's newly empowered government to reconcile with moderate Islamist leaders, were instrumental in arranging Sheik Ahmed's safe passage to Kenya, although a US embassy official later denied this.
Western diplomats said Sheik Ahmed, 42, could help defuse the violence in Mogadishu. He has a big following among former Islamist fighters, suspected of being behind Somalia's growing insurgency.
European Union officials have made reconciliation with Islamic leaders in Somalia a condition of financing a proposal to send African Union peacekeepers to the country.
The United Nations said Sheik Ahmed could be granted political asylum in Kenya or another country in the region, possibly Yemen, so he could meet Somalia's new leaders on neutral soil and map a path for peace.
The New York Times/ The Washington Post
Ethiopia begins pulling troops out of Somalia after driving out Islamists
Salad Duhul, Canadian Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Ethiopian troops who helped Somalia's government drive out a radical Islamic militia began withdrawing from this Horn of Africa country on Tuesday in military trucks and tanks.
Experts fear an Ethiopian withdrawal could leave a power vacuum and even lead to a return to the anarchy and warlord rule of the past unless a proposed African peacekeeping force arrives quickly. But Tuesday, the start of their withdrawal was portrayed as a positive step. Some in Somalia had resented the presence of troops from a traditional rival.
"As of today, the Ethiopian troops have started to withdraw from Somalia. We are grateful that they played an important role in the restoration of law and order in the country," Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said.
Nearly 200 people gathered at the former National University in Mogadishu, cheering as the Ethiopians moved out. "Leave us alone and let us solve our problems," the crowd chanted.
Many Somalis resent the presence of Ethiopian forces. Somalia, a Muslim country, and Ethiopia, which has a large Christian population, fought a brutal war in 1977.
The Islamic council has played on that traditional rivalry, saying the group would launch an Iraq-style guerrilla war on Ethiopian troops here. Sheik Ahmed Muumin, a member of the Islamic council who contacted The Associated Press by telephone, said Tuesday: "The withdrawal of Ethiopia will be the end of our ongoing insurgency."
It was not clear whether his views represented that of the Islamic leadership, which is largely in hiding.
One top leader of the ousted movement, apparently afraid for his life now that the once-powerful militia has been chased into hiding, surrendered to authorities and is in custody in neighbouring Kenya.
Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, considered a moderate who could contribute to rebuilding Somalia, went to a Kenyan police station along the Somali border Sunday and was flown to Nairobi, according to a police report seen by the AP. He is not believed to be wanted by the authorities, as are other members of the Islamic group.
Alfred Mutua, a Kenya government spokesman, confirmed that Ahmed was in police custody. "The police are talking to him. More details will be provided later," Mutua said.
U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger has said Ahmed is a moderate Islamic leader the United States believes should be part of a national reconciliation process in Somalia. Ahmed was the chairman of the Executive Council of Islamic Courts and shared the leadership with Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, who was chairman of the court's legislative council.
Aweys is on a U.S. list of people with suspected ties to al-Qaida, though he has repeatedly denied having ties to international terrorists.
According to a new al-Qaida videotape, al-Qaida's deputy leader vowed that mujahideen would "break (the) backs" of the Ethiopians in Somalia. The footage of Ayman al-Zawahri was released Monday by a U.S. group that tracks terror messages.
Somalia's government has been appealing for peacekeepers to help it stabilize this chaotic country. On Friday, the African Union Peace and Security Council approved a plan to send about 8,000 African peacekeepers, including nine infantry battalions, to Somalia for a six-month mission that would eventually be taken over by the UN. The council said the initial deployment should have at least three battalions.
Malawi's defence minister said Monday that that southern African country would contribute a full or half-battalion to a Somali peacekeeping mission, depending on other countries' contributions. Uganda's ruling party approved the deployment of 1,500 troops almost two battalions but parliament must approve the plan
© The Canadian Press 2007 (www.canada.com)
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Ethiopian troops who helped Somalia's government drive out a radical Islamic militia began withdrawing from this Horn of Africa country on Tuesday in military trucks and tanks.
Experts fear an Ethiopian withdrawal could leave a power vacuum and even lead to a return to the anarchy and warlord rule of the past unless a proposed African peacekeeping force arrives quickly. But Tuesday, the start of their withdrawal was portrayed as a positive step. Some in Somalia had resented the presence of troops from a traditional rival.
"As of today, the Ethiopian troops have started to withdraw from Somalia. We are grateful that they played an important role in the restoration of law and order in the country," Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said.
Nearly 200 people gathered at the former National University in Mogadishu, cheering as the Ethiopians moved out. "Leave us alone and let us solve our problems," the crowd chanted.
Many Somalis resent the presence of Ethiopian forces. Somalia, a Muslim country, and Ethiopia, which has a large Christian population, fought a brutal war in 1977.
The Islamic council has played on that traditional rivalry, saying the group would launch an Iraq-style guerrilla war on Ethiopian troops here. Sheik Ahmed Muumin, a member of the Islamic council who contacted The Associated Press by telephone, said Tuesday: "The withdrawal of Ethiopia will be the end of our ongoing insurgency."
It was not clear whether his views represented that of the Islamic leadership, which is largely in hiding.
One top leader of the ousted movement, apparently afraid for his life now that the once-powerful militia has been chased into hiding, surrendered to authorities and is in custody in neighbouring Kenya.
Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, considered a moderate who could contribute to rebuilding Somalia, went to a Kenyan police station along the Somali border Sunday and was flown to Nairobi, according to a police report seen by the AP. He is not believed to be wanted by the authorities, as are other members of the Islamic group.
Alfred Mutua, a Kenya government spokesman, confirmed that Ahmed was in police custody. "The police are talking to him. More details will be provided later," Mutua said.
U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger has said Ahmed is a moderate Islamic leader the United States believes should be part of a national reconciliation process in Somalia. Ahmed was the chairman of the Executive Council of Islamic Courts and shared the leadership with Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, who was chairman of the court's legislative council.
Aweys is on a U.S. list of people with suspected ties to al-Qaida, though he has repeatedly denied having ties to international terrorists.
According to a new al-Qaida videotape, al-Qaida's deputy leader vowed that mujahideen would "break (the) backs" of the Ethiopians in Somalia. The footage of Ayman al-Zawahri was released Monday by a U.S. group that tracks terror messages.
Somalia's government has been appealing for peacekeepers to help it stabilize this chaotic country. On Friday, the African Union Peace and Security Council approved a plan to send about 8,000 African peacekeepers, including nine infantry battalions, to Somalia for a six-month mission that would eventually be taken over by the UN. The council said the initial deployment should have at least three battalions.
Malawi's defence minister said Monday that that southern African country would contribute a full or half-battalion to a Somali peacekeeping mission, depending on other countries' contributions. Uganda's ruling party approved the deployment of 1,500 troops almost two battalions but parliament must approve the plan
© The Canadian Press 2007 (www.canada.com)
Ethiopundit on collateral damage
The Ethiopian-American, moderate-conservative blogger opines: "We've received a few communications recently about our 'inconsistency' in supporting the American effort in Iraq and Afghanistan or the Israeli one against Hezbollah while opposing a very real part of the War On Terror taking place in the form of the invasion of Somalia. Those seeming inconsistencies are best defined by the term 'collateral damage'....What is at stake in Ethiopia is the perception and reality of a deep American commitment to the survival of an Ethiopian dictatorship that has demonstrably never had the best interests of Ethiopians at heart in any way. Observers may assume that an alliance exists between Ethiopia and America but unlike the US government which can be assumed to speak for Americans, the Ethiopian government only speaks for itself. This logical dissonance will have long term implications for everyone concerned far beyond the current battlefields and news reports of Southern Somalia."
Ethiopundit continues: "The US has made great sacrifices in Iraq to see elections held and has put itself in the middle of significant armed civil strife for a vision of long term American interest that is breathtaking in scope. So there you have it - in Iraq, American policy has been based on the 'audacity of hope' that long term American interests would be served by the establishment of a democratic society in the middle of the Arab world. In Ethiopia, American policy has been based on 'low expectations' that hold that 'sure Meles is an S.O.B but he is our S.O.B.' This has included US government representatives approaching opposition leaders in prison to drop their struggle for democracy in concern for events in Somali politics. This is comparable to many other times in modern history where the blood of Ethiopians seemed cheap compared to those of others. Back in the same month in 1977 when Steve Biko was killed in South Africa, literally hundreds if not thousands of Ethiopian students were killed in every Ethiopian city by the Dergue. Does anyone besides the living relatives of those Ethiopian victims know their names? Probably not. To take the South African example further, imagine if Ethiopia's current regime was made up of ferenjis [foreigners]. The world would be angry about what was happening to those poor Ethiopians but since her tormentors look like their victims and since little is expected of Ethiopians anyway - none of it seems to matter very much."
And more: "For Americans, Somalia is a dirty little war where American interests are served as soldiers and diplomats hold their noses in the presence of their murderous new allies in Meles Inc. Ethiopians have been placed in the horrible position where the fate of their nation is in the hands of their very own despised government which is as determined to do them as much harm them as the Islamists are."
# posted by Shay on http://bookerrising.blogspot.com
Ethiopundit continues: "The US has made great sacrifices in Iraq to see elections held and has put itself in the middle of significant armed civil strife for a vision of long term American interest that is breathtaking in scope. So there you have it - in Iraq, American policy has been based on the 'audacity of hope' that long term American interests would be served by the establishment of a democratic society in the middle of the Arab world. In Ethiopia, American policy has been based on 'low expectations' that hold that 'sure Meles is an S.O.B but he is our S.O.B.' This has included US government representatives approaching opposition leaders in prison to drop their struggle for democracy in concern for events in Somali politics. This is comparable to many other times in modern history where the blood of Ethiopians seemed cheap compared to those of others. Back in the same month in 1977 when Steve Biko was killed in South Africa, literally hundreds if not thousands of Ethiopian students were killed in every Ethiopian city by the Dergue. Does anyone besides the living relatives of those Ethiopian victims know their names? Probably not. To take the South African example further, imagine if Ethiopia's current regime was made up of ferenjis [foreigners]. The world would be angry about what was happening to those poor Ethiopians but since her tormentors look like their victims and since little is expected of Ethiopians anyway - none of it seems to matter very much."
And more: "For Americans, Somalia is a dirty little war where American interests are served as soldiers and diplomats hold their noses in the presence of their murderous new allies in Meles Inc. Ethiopians have been placed in the horrible position where the fate of their nation is in the hands of their very own despised government which is as determined to do them as much harm them as the Islamists are."
# posted by Shay on http://bookerrising.blogspot.com
Top Somali Islamist 'surrenders'
The US says Somalia's government should talk to Mr Ahmed
One of Somalia's Islamist leaders has given himself up to the Kenyan authorities, a Kenyan police source has told the BBC.
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, seen as a moderate, surrendered in the north-eastern Kenyan town of Wajir, the policeman said.
The US and the UN have urged the Somali government to seek reconciliation with moderate Islamists, such as Mr Ahmed.
The Islamists were driven out of the capital, Mogadishu, last month.
Ethiopian forces helped the government oust the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), who had taken control of much of southern Somalia.
But the government says some 3,500 Islamist fighters remain in Mogadishu.
POSSIBLE PEACEKEEPERS
Nine battalions proposed - up to 9,000 troops:
Uganda: 1,500 troops offered, subject to parliamentary approval
Malawi: Up to 1,000 troops offered
Tanzania: Considering
Nigeria: Considering
Rwanda: Considering
South Africa: Considering but forces stretched
Mr Ahmed is the first Somali Islamist leader to be captured since the UIC was ousted in December. It is not clear whether he was on his own.
He has been flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where he is reportedly under police guard in a hotel.
It is understood that the Kenyan authorities are in discussions with the United States about what should happen to him now.
But the US denies it is questioning him.
"The US government is not holding or interrogating Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and was not involved in his capture or surrender," a US embassy official said, reading from a prepared statement.
The US accused Islamist hardliners of working with al-Qaeda - charges they denied.
The US supported the Ethiopian and Somali drive against the UIC.
Islamists arrested
At least two people were killed early on Monday morning in Mogadishu, after government and Ethiopian troops tried to arrest suspected Islamist militants.
They raided houses in northern Mogadishu, in an area where an Ethiopian convoy was attacked on Saturday, leaving four people dead.
Ethiopian soldiers in Mogadishu
Ethiopia has said its troops will not remain in Somalia
The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in the city says two suspected Islamists were arrested.
He says explosives had been used to blow the door off a house, where an Islamist suspect was believed to be hiding.
During the raid, locals threw stones and fired at the government and Ethiopian troops.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Friday told the BBC that he would start withdrawing his troops within "a few days".
Malawi has agreed to send contribute troops to a proposed African Union peacekeeping force to replace the Ethiopians.
Defence Minister Davies Katsonga told the BBC that Malawi was considering whether to send a whole battalion (about 1,000 troops) or half a battalion.
"This will depend on who else is contributing to the AU initiative," he said.
He said since the AU wants to move in "as soon as possible" to avoid a power vacuum when the Ethiopians withdraw.
Uganda is the only other country to have publicly offered to contribute to the proposed 8,000-strong force.
South Africa, Tanzania and Nigeria are considering whether to take part.
BBC News
One of Somalia's Islamist leaders has given himself up to the Kenyan authorities, a Kenyan police source has told the BBC.
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, seen as a moderate, surrendered in the north-eastern Kenyan town of Wajir, the policeman said.
The US and the UN have urged the Somali government to seek reconciliation with moderate Islamists, such as Mr Ahmed.
The Islamists were driven out of the capital, Mogadishu, last month.
Ethiopian forces helped the government oust the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), who had taken control of much of southern Somalia.
But the government says some 3,500 Islamist fighters remain in Mogadishu.
POSSIBLE PEACEKEEPERS
Nine battalions proposed - up to 9,000 troops:
Uganda: 1,500 troops offered, subject to parliamentary approval
Malawi: Up to 1,000 troops offered
Tanzania: Considering
Nigeria: Considering
Rwanda: Considering
South Africa: Considering but forces stretched
Mr Ahmed is the first Somali Islamist leader to be captured since the UIC was ousted in December. It is not clear whether he was on his own.
He has been flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where he is reportedly under police guard in a hotel.
It is understood that the Kenyan authorities are in discussions with the United States about what should happen to him now.
But the US denies it is questioning him.
"The US government is not holding or interrogating Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and was not involved in his capture or surrender," a US embassy official said, reading from a prepared statement.
The US accused Islamist hardliners of working with al-Qaeda - charges they denied.
The US supported the Ethiopian and Somali drive against the UIC.
Islamists arrested
At least two people were killed early on Monday morning in Mogadishu, after government and Ethiopian troops tried to arrest suspected Islamist militants.
They raided houses in northern Mogadishu, in an area where an Ethiopian convoy was attacked on Saturday, leaving four people dead.
Ethiopian soldiers in Mogadishu
Ethiopia has said its troops will not remain in Somalia
The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in the city says two suspected Islamists were arrested.
He says explosives had been used to blow the door off a house, where an Islamist suspect was believed to be hiding.
During the raid, locals threw stones and fired at the government and Ethiopian troops.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Friday told the BBC that he would start withdrawing his troops within "a few days".
Malawi has agreed to send contribute troops to a proposed African Union peacekeeping force to replace the Ethiopians.
Defence Minister Davies Katsonga told the BBC that Malawi was considering whether to send a whole battalion (about 1,000 troops) or half a battalion.
"This will depend on who else is contributing to the AU initiative," he said.
He said since the AU wants to move in "as soon as possible" to avoid a power vacuum when the Ethiopians withdraw.
Uganda is the only other country to have publicly offered to contribute to the proposed 8,000-strong force.
South Africa, Tanzania and Nigeria are considering whether to take part.
BBC News
January 22, 2007
This conflict will engulf the Horn
All-out war is about to erupt in the Horn of Africa following Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia. Thousands of people are reported to have fled their homes to escape the fighting,
The IUC, who emerged in June to capture huge swathes of southern Somalia, are an assemblage of former warlords …But support for the IUC (also known as the Council of Islamic Courts) is not in short supply … Eritrea, which has some unfinished business with Ethiopia over a disputed border that climaxed with bruising battles between 1998 and 2000, have allied themselves with the IUC.
Then there are the Arab states that have expressed a wish to spread Islam in the Horn and beyond, and who have supported the IUC cause. But the lifting of the arms embargo on Somalia places the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the United Nations in a precarious position as the Somali crisis threatens to escalate into a regional conflict.
Daily Nation,
Nairobi, Kenya
The IUC, who emerged in June to capture huge swathes of southern Somalia, are an assemblage of former warlords …But support for the IUC (also known as the Council of Islamic Courts) is not in short supply … Eritrea, which has some unfinished business with Ethiopia over a disputed border that climaxed with bruising battles between 1998 and 2000, have allied themselves with the IUC.
Then there are the Arab states that have expressed a wish to spread Islam in the Horn and beyond, and who have supported the IUC cause. But the lifting of the arms embargo on Somalia places the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the United Nations in a precarious position as the Somali crisis threatens to escalate into a regional conflict.
Daily Nation,
Nairobi, Kenya
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