| Guest Writers |
| Written by Yusuf Serunkuma |
| Wednesday, 17 November 2010 19:45 |
 The story is one of tremendous success on the part of the peacekeepers, and of course we are made to believe that peace can be externally imposed on a country. Walusimbi brings us the UPDF/AMISOM story, but it would have been naturally fairer to get the other side of this story too. \ What do the majority native Somalis think of this war? Meeting members from the UN on October 5, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni asked for a no-fly zone over Somalia; a change of mission from peacekeeping to peace enforcement; and asked for more funding to increase the size of his troops serving under AMISOM. But the question that goes begging is whether or not peace enforcement will really solve the Somalia problem. But maybe it would be better to ask what the problem is with Somalia. Many will tell you Somalia’s problem is war. That the Somalis are addicted to war and that we need to help them. As President Museveni told his UN visitors in his October 5 remarks, “it is the duty of the international community to help Somalia regain its sovereignty” (whatever he meant by sovereignty). So, if it be war, then it is wrong for any external force to interfere. War is not a natural disaster. It is a product of forces at play in a given geopolitical context. Writing in Foreign Policy magazine in 1999, Edward Luttwark observed, “An unpleasant truth often overlooked is that although war is a great evil, it does have a great virtue: it can resolve political conflicts and lead to peace. This can happen when all belligerents become exhausted or when one wins decisively.” Why not give the Al-Shabaab a chance to win this war then? It is after all, far stronger than the government that Uganda wants to keep in power. Currently the lead exporter of piracy, Somalia has been denied a chance to grow itself, or even have its war run a complete natural course that would inevitably end in peace. The Al-Shabaab, a group of young, radical Islam patriots, has had their history wrongly told to the world, gathering a bunch of haters in the process. They are portrayed as veritable killing machines who find pleasure in abduction and mass killings. It is said that they are the big oppressors of the world who only want to enrich themselves by extorting ransom money from oil-carrying vessels on the Indian Ocean. Why are we not told that the men in the Al-Shabaab ranks constituted the military wing for the outfit (Islamic Courts) of Sheikh Sharif, the current president, until Ethiopia and America flushed them out in 2006? But just like people elsewhere with rich cultures and religions, Somalis wouldn’t want to be pushed around. Their women are well curved and simple faced—giving them all the necessary ingredients of pride. In addition, the civilization of Islam, to which over 85% of them profess, gives a profound addition to their sense of responsibility and self worth, and would not easily give in to 21st Century colonialism. We have been so blind to the fact that the Al-Shabaab militia has popular support from the peasants. And the media such as NTV can only get us the alleged peacekeepers’ story. Just the way Americans have been blind to the support that Osama bin Laden enjoys in Pakistan and Afghanistan! The Al-Shabaab could be a ragtag force, but could also be extremely difficult to defeat even if the mission changed from peacekeeping to enforcement. In an insurgency, fighting groups can only win when people from within have sympathy with its cause. It’s the people who provide food, intelligence and manpower. And as Samuel Huntington, the jurist, statesman and patriot during the American Revolution once argued, guerrillas are like fish in water (water being the people); to win a war against them, you first have to drain the water. Is Uganda and Burundi ready to drain Somalia so as to defeat the Al-Shabaab? Many well intentioned aid or peace activists continue to treat Africa as a disaster area. Yes, there’s war in Somalia, like there was in northern Uganda, or has been in Congo — but not a humanitarian crisis. We need a winner for this war. The author is an editor at Fountain Publishers. kajurasy@yahoo.com |
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Give Somalia war a winning chance
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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir
Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979
Sultan Kenadid
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Sultanate of Obbia
President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,
Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan
Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli
Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )
MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen
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
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)
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.
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
Somalia
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