Friday, July 2, 2010

The Most Dysfunctional Area On The Planet

July 2, 2010: On paper, the Transitional Government (TG) should be able to wipe out the Islamic radical groups. The TG "army" and their clan militia allies add up to about 15,000 gunmen (including 5,300 peacekeepers, the only professional troops in the country). The Islamic radical groups have about 5,000 armed men. The difference is dedication to their cause. The TG force is more in it for traditional reasons (money, tribal obligation). The Islamic radicals are on a mission from God, and more enthusiastic. They don't pay as much, but they do so more consistently. All this gives them an edge in combat. But most of the time, the Islamic radicals are more feared than popular. Islamic radicalism is not alien to Somalia. Such movements come along every few generations. The strict enforcement of lifestyle rules eventually makes the radicals so unpopular that the people violently rebel. Most Somalis are waiting for the backlash to do its magic. For the third year in a row, Somalia has topped most "failed states" lists. Most of the top ten failed states are in Africa. And most African states can blame it on ethnic diversity. But Somalia is ethnically homogeneous, and relies largely on character flaws to maintain its status as the most dysfunctional area on the planet.
Another example of the endemic dysfunction is the way the government has treated its recent alliance with the Sufi (moderate Moslem) militias. The Sufis took up arms and organized militias two years ago, when it became clear that al Shabaab was following through on its threat to kill Sufis for their heretical (according to Sunni Moslem extremists) religious ways. The government promised senior government positions and cash for the Sufi militia leaders, and have not delivered yet. Most Somali leaders are better at making promises than delivering on them. Theft is very common among senior officials, and foreign aid money rarely gets to where it was intended.
In the last week, there have been several hundred casualties in the Mogadishu fighting. One of the two hospitals in the city, despite treating everyone, is under fire. Someone, apparently an Islamic radical group, has been firing mortar shells at Keysaney hospital (which has treated over 1,400 patients so far this year), probably as a follow on to some Islamic radicals complaining about "infidel medicine" being un-Islamic.
One big advantage al Shabaab has is better PR. Al Shabaab gets its message out to the mass media, even if it is absurd (all the things that are un-Islamic) or simply false (the degree to which al Shabaab controls southern Somalia.)
Islamic radicals are having a harder time getting into and out of Somalia. The most convenient route, via Kenya, is more strictly controlled now. Not just at the border, but also at the airports. There's a lot of illegal flights in and out of Somalia, but this is much more expensive, and still won't guarantee to get you past the Kenyan airport security (which has been augmented by the Americans). Flights to Eritrea are less frequent and more expensive, but commercial flights from Eritrea are more carefully scrutinized wherever they land (even in Iran, the destination of choice for many Islamic terrorists.)
July 1, 2010: Al Shabaab has been campaigning to warn people not to attend celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the founding of Somalia today. Al Shabaab considers that event as un-Islamic, as it was arranged by infidels (Britain and Italy). But they needn't have bothered, because Britain and Italy created a Somalia that the Somalis could not hold together. What passed for a commemoration was an increase in fighting by everyone, a very Somali way to recognize the half century milestone. There had never been a Somalia before, and the 1960 Somalia quickly went downhill, with the help of military takeovers, invasions of more powerful neighbors (Ethiopia) and rampant corruption and tribalism internally. The 1960 Somalia fell apart in 1991, and no one has been able to put it back together.
Somaliland announced the results of its presidential election last weekend. Opposition leader Ahmed Mohamud Silanyo won a three way race, with 49 percent of the vote. Incumbent president Dahir Riyale Kahin acknowledged defeat and repeated his promise to abide by the results of the election, even if he lost. Al Shabaab had urged Somaliland residents to boycott the vote, and threatened violence against those who voted anyway. But al Shabaab has more enemies than friends in Somaliland, and was not much of a factor in the voting.
June 28, 2010: A Chinese chemical tanker was seized in the Gulf of Aden, despite using one of the patrolled corridors. The 14,000 ton ship is carrying glycol ethylene, a noxious chemical used in antifreeze.
June 27, 2010: In Somaliland, Puntland troops attacked a polling station set up in a disputed bit of land on the border, Four people died, and the voting continued.

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.

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We Are Winning the War on Terrorism in Horn of Africa

The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

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