Friday, June 6, 2014

Time for Better Coordination Against al Shabaab

Ugandan peacekeeping troops stand during a ceremony at Mogadishu airport in Somalia, May 18, 2014. (Feisal Omar/Courtesy Reuters)

Last month, in the wake of the kidnapping of the schoolgirls from Chibok in Nigeria by the Islamist organization Boko Haram, President Francois Hollande of France convened a security summit in Paris. Heads of state from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger attended. The main result was the creation of a “central intelligence platform,” which will serve as a place for West African nations to coordinate their responses to Boko Haram. The United States and its partners in the Horn of Africa should endeavor to copy a form of this strategy to counter al Shabaab in the Horn.
Despite some insinuations to the contrary, al Shabaab remains a serious threat to stability in the Horn, and it has started to undertake a more international campaign, employing shocking attacks. These attacks began with the 2010 bombings in Uganda, continued with attempted bombings in Ethiopia, peaked with the audacious Westgate Mall attack in Kenya, and recently included a well-planned attack on the Somali Parliament building. Sensationalist attacks are likely to continue and will extend beyond Somalia, as they did to Djibouti last week. As previous al Shabaab strongholds in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region are continually lost to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces’ advance, the group will likely become even more desperate.
The fight against al Shabaab is already an international effort, which includes AMISOM, the United Nations (UN), and U.S. assistance to the Somali Federal Government. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which is the Eastern Africa trading bloc, sent troops into Somalia in 2006 before a UN Security Council resolution replaced the IGAD force. The United Kingdom has also held several conferences focused on discussing stability in Somalia.
But in its present form this international response to al Shabaab has been ineffective. Theconflict continues to leak out of the operational jurisdiction of AMISOM, and into countries that will rightfully protect themselves. After a series of attacks by al Shabaab, Kenya started a draconian counterterrorism campaign called “Operation Usalama.” It includes forced internment, mass deportations, and other human rights abuses against Somali refugees and Kenyans that are ethnically Somali. At best this is counterproductive, and at worst it creates new recruits for al Shabaab within Kenya and Somalia. Similarly, Ethiopia has repeatedly intervened in Somalia to eradicate al Shabaab, which has exacerbated resentment among Somalis.
The problem is that these countries’ domestic counterterrorism strategies are reactionary, nearsighted, and counterproductive to what is needed regionally to defeat what has become an international terror group. These countries do not operate in a vacuum, and should recognize that their domestic actions have consequences across the region. A new platform is needed to better coordinate responses and share intelligence.
This is not a novel concept. Kenya and Somalia agreed to start sharing intelligence more effectively after the attack on Westgate, but the agreement didn’t include any of the other international partners involved in Somalia. Also, for whatever reason, it currently isn’t working.
To assist, the United States might lead an international cooperation effort in East Africa to create a platform for intelligence sharing and the dissemination of best practices in tactics, similar to what was proposed to counter Boko Haram. Moreover, there should be greater emphasis on ensuring that domestic counterterrorism strategies are not driving greater support to al Shabaab. U.S. involvement would give the platform legitimacy and would allow the United States to share its own intelligence. It would also allow for increased cooperation across all actors currently operating in Somalia.
This is, indeed, a tall order, and one that none of the countries are likely to enjoy as each have their own interests in Somalia. But the United States and Somalia’s neighbors should keep this in mind: large amounts of troops and material are not currently designated to counter al Shabaab, and the threat isn’t going away. To effectively counter al Shabaab, there needs to be better coordination and use of the resources currently available.
by Alex Dick-Godfrey, program coordinator, Studies administration for the Council on Foreign Relations Studies Program

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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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