Saturday, July 16, 2011

Somalia: The Ethiopian Factor part # 3


Greater Somalia

Part # 1Somalia: The Ethiopian Factor Continued from: Part #2  Continued from ‘Somalia: The Ethiopian Factor’


The Nationalists:
The wave of nationalism that had engulfed the Somali population during the 1977-78 Ogaden war has now somewhat diminished. Despondency and the inability to regain the Western Somalia have, to some extent, extinguished the flame of pan-Somalism. Vicious clan rivalries paved the way towards the speedy erosion of unity and peace. Tribalism, cronyism, nepotism and all sorts of ill-feelings engendered by the poor performance of the Somali regime soon brought about the implosion of the government. Now decades later, that flame has been rekindled. The notion of a Greater Somalia that had remained dormant over the years has now been resuscitated back to life with the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006. As in the Ogaden war, almost three decades earlier, hundreds of thousands of Somalis contributed men and money in order to expel the invading forces. Sentiments ran high in the capital city and even many estranged Somali youth in the Diaspora returned home to take part in the battle for the liberation of Somalia.
The nationalists harbour a profound dislike for the Ethiopian government because of the latter’s repeated incursions into the Somali territory. The nationalists wish to wage war against the Ethiopians, provided that they have the means and a leader strong enough to muster popular support, in order to liberate the Western regions of Somalia. But despite their vehemence and zeal, the young Nationalists often lack the political profundity and the abstruse knowledge that defines the dynamics of the centuries-old Somali-Ethiopian conflict. In addition to that, they are not yet fully prepared to sacrifice their lives for the cause, or a handful of them are – and this is the differentiating factor between them and the Islamists. And where the Nationalists are propelled by patriotic sentiments, the Islamists march forth with a spiritual strength and are obliged by a religious conviction – that the Islamic Caliphate must dominate the land.
The Islamists:

Al-Shabab Soldier

The Islamists, Al-Shabab in particular, pose one of the greatest dangers to the existence of Ethiopia’s current geographical boundaries. Like the Nationalists, the Islamists, whose underlying religious ideology dictates that the world is divided only into Land of Belief and Land of Disbelief, do not recognise the invisible geographical boundaries that separate Somalia from Ethiopia or Kenya for that matter. But while the Nationalists desire to recapture their ‘rightful’ territory, the Islamists objective is to conquer far beyond the Ethiopian highlands. With their goal of Islam’s supremacy and global domination, Al-Shabab, much like their ideological relatives in the mountains of Afghanistan, Iraq or the Arabian Peninsula, are pursuing the establishment of Shariah Law on earth.
Since the establishment of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in 2006, the Ethiopian engagement with Somalia took a sinister turn. Pockets of Ethiopian troops were quickly dotted around the border regions and as the Islamists captured almost the entire Southern Somalia with little effort, the Ethiopian government began beating the drums of war. Recognizing the implications of an Islamic State as its neighbour, Ethiopia invaded Somalia in December 2006, in what it called a ‘self-defensive counter-attack’ measure to curb the Islamist expansion. Within a short period of time, the Ethiopian troops conquered the capital of Somalia as the ICU forces purposefully pulled out from the city, but soon realised that holding Mogadishu was not as effortless as they had imagined.
With the dissolution of the core Islamists in the ICU make-up and its members dispersed into the towns and cities, a small group of soldiers, mainly youth that formed the military wing of the ICU, remained behind and staged a deadly guerrilla warfare that rendered the Ethiopian troops restless. The little-known youth, went by the name Al-Shabab and followed the fundamental tenets of Islam and pledged to rule, though it was thought to be an ambitious dream at the time, the entire Somali regions according to these fundamental teachings. And unlike the Nationalists, the Islamists are willing to shed every drop of blood for the sustenance and supremacy of their ideology – believing that for the branches of Islam to attain global domination, its roots must first be watered with blood.
Today, nearly four years later, the youth are a force to contend and they control almost the entire Southern and Central Somalia according to Shariah Law. Ethiopia’s haughty effrontery of yesterday has now given way to a grave concern that threatens to shake the pillars of the old empire. It is a fight for survival now, for the Ethiopian regime is certain that if not stopped, these youth would surely reach the gates of Addis Ababa one day and conquer not only the Ogaden but also the entire Shoa and Adal Kingdoms.
Thus the border regions of Gedo, Galguduud, Hiiran and Bakool have particularly seen intense skirmishes between the Islamists and the Ethiopians; and only a few days ago the Islamists executed two Ethiopian spies in Mogadishu. It will a very long time before the battle is concluded or before we see the Horn of Africa free of the geographical/ethnic disputes that revolve around the colonial borders sketched by the Europeans. In the mean time, however, the battle rages on, and as long as Ethiopia can find a collaborating Abdullahi Yusuf or a docile Sheikh Sharif to hinder the popular Somali irredentism, it has achieved its goal of dismembering Somalia, thereby putting an end to the hopes of Somalia’s stability and/or the political amalgamation of the two states.
Ethiopia fears that a strong Somali state or an Islamist- run Somalia would greatly endanger its territory and add to its existing security woes. But while the Ethiopian ambition seems to revolve largely around preventing this from happening, the prevailing opinion among the general Somali population of today still remains no different than that pioneered by their fore-fathers: ‘Western Somalia stops only where the camel stops!’

Secessionist Somaliland is becoming Africa's 'terrorism secret'

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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 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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