The great somalian U-TurnFollow

What the hell is going on in Somalia?

Back in 1993, there was a failed intervention by the US/UN that led to the so called 'Black Hawk Down' event. It began with what was prolly the most televised 'invasion' ever, where the US troops coming ashore outside Mogadishu were pretty much outnumbered by the journalists camped out on the beach to cover the event, dubbed "Operation Restore Hope". The plan at the time was to disarm, capture and kill the warlords who were causing havoc.

After that 'triumphant' entrance, it wasn't long before the US decided that 60% casualty rates amongst its special forces was a price not worth paying to try and defeat the warring parties. They withdrew, leaving Somalia to turn into a place that made the Mad Max movies look like a fun place to live. The country as a whole, and the capital in particular degenerated into a landscape of small territories, that were controlled by 'warlords' who commanded their own private armies, and ruled by force, extracting taxes from the local population, raping pillaging and plundering and murdering with no mercy.

There was no government, no public services of any kind. A failed anarchic state. In response to this situation, a movement calling itself the Islamic Courts emerged to try and bring some order. the IC are NOT on the whole Islamic Fundamentalists. they are moderate muslims, who decided that there needed to be an end to the factional clan fighting, and Islam was the one thing that they could all agree on. The business and local communities supported the IC, and the situation tho far from perfect, improved to the point where the Intl airport was re- opened and there was some tentative foreign investment, garbage was being collected and basic services were being restored. Tourism was even being talked about. (Not sure I'd be up for it, but the surf can be quite good..) Life seemed to be improving for the people.

There was a so-called govt. installed, that was supposedly recognised by the intl. community, but they had no influence amongst the population, and other than the town they were based in, no territory to call there own.

Fast forward to today. The warlords have been flooded with weapons and cash by the US. The Ethiopean army under the direction of that countries dictator (GWB's staunchest ally in the Horn of Africa) has invaded Somalia, and been militarily supported by the US, they have routed the IC, and are now crowing about having liberated the Somali people from the 'terrorists'. The Somali people are historical enemies of the Ethiopeans and most see their actions as aggressive and huliating in the extreme.

Now that the US has thrown its hat in the ring with the warlords that they had previously vowed to destroy, aided and abbetted by the Ethiopeans, who are ruled by a thoroughly nasty dictator, and removed the Islamic Courts movement, who had bought some semblance of normality back to a truly fu'cked up country, all in the name of fighting The War Against Terror I would hazard a guess that muslims all around the world are having their suspicions confirmed that the US is out to kill muslims.

The IC has been 'linked', in the west, to Al Qaeda. If the reversal of the anarchy in Somalia was credited to the Islamic courts movement, and there is a perception that the US is now allied to the very warlords who inflicted that anarchy, I would assume that somewhere in a cave in asia, theres a very happy OBL laughing into his beard at the ineptitude of the latest efforts of US foreign policy. No doubt there are already new recruits for the movement beating a path to his hideout.


/golf clap

There over there and we're over here. so waht?

I've heard people from there being very very upset that the warlords are being brought back to power... not in deference to the Islamists.. but out of fear and hatred of the warlords.
messed up all around I'd say.



I'd say donuts.

Edited, Jan 9th 2007 3:37pm by Kelvyquayo

Actually things are starting to develope here. In Parma, Ohio they are holding a support ralley for a man who hid his ties to a terrorist organization and the U.S. allegidly Deported him. Which it is turning out to be more that they extradited him to the Israelis.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/000704.php

You know how they always show those starving etheopians? I figured out why they are all starving. I ate at an etheopian restaraunt down in houston once. Gah, the taste will haunt my deepest nightmares until my grave. If I lived there and had to eat that ****, i'd be starving too. Rancid meat and butter on sour sour sour "bread" (not to be confused with delicious sourdough) all topped off with just about the hottest chilli pepper i've ever encountered.

Not fun.

Mmmm. I love ethiopian.

You can have mine if I ever go eat there again. I'll bring a sandwich.

Someone with a low post count, duh!

The US has a fine record of recruiting extremists and fundamentalists to the cause of Al Qaeda and its affiliates. It backed Israel’s disastrous war with Hezbollah last summer. It has never accepted the Palestinians’ election of a Hamas Government. It cold-shouldered Iran even when the relatively moderate Mohammed Khatami was President. In each case it succeeded only in boosting the extremists.

The foreign policy dept. of the US govt is not only incompetant. Policy is made not only with imperfect knowledge but with a complete disdain for knowledge.

Its decisions are seemingly knee-jerk reactions, with little or no thought for the outcome. The latest US assistance to the (christian) Ethiopeans, in their incursion into (Muslim) Somalia, to remove the one faction that was bringing some sort of stability to the country, is idiotic in the extreme.

That is what’s really frightening about U.S. foreign policy and the decision-makers who have such an adverse impact on the lives of people around the world. These guys are wandering around in the dark, utterly clueless, and seemingly resistant to all advice that doesn't fit there own personal view of reality. Look at Bush's 'plan to send more troops (targets) to Iraq. Against the advice of pretty much everyone, he seems to think that, by digging the hole just a bit deeper, all will work out. Against all the advice and evidence, he cant see the futility of it.

Washington backed military intervention by Ethiopia’s barbaric govt. because it regarded the courts as a new Taleban, and accused them of harbouring al-Qaeda terrorists. It would have done better to try engaging the courts. But no! Islam = Terrorist. And because 'terrorists' hate your 'freedoms', then they need to be killed.

As Terry Jones (Monty Python) said in an article yesterday...



But 'talking' and 'negotiating' and other sorts of civilised behaviour are things that the paranoid, greedy selfish old men in the Whitehouse find completely alien. They would rather "keep that ball bouncing". (thanx Kelv)

Edited, Jan 9th 2007 4:27pm by paulsol

Fair comment Joph.

Bombing people into the stone age is an expensive business tho. And doesn't appear to be a very constructive way of solving problems.

I wonder how much it would have cost to pay Sadaam to f'uck off to retire somewhere. Would have saved a lot of trouble.

But on the other hand, TV viewers worldwide wouldn't have had the satisfaction of seeing the New Democratic Iraqi Justice system in action.

Worth $500 billion plus? Not so sure myself....

So once again we **** up trying to undo out past mistakes.

We are not the first "Super Power" to mess up trying to fix our mistakes around the world, but we do seem to bring our own brand of stupidity to foreign policy.

At least the Brits got Gin and Tonics, while I am stuck with empty bottles, trying to not remember that Bush is going try to explain his new Iraq policy to the Nation at 9 tonight, so I have an excuse not to listen to him again.

I'm diggin' that Spooky lit up some skinnies. Nothing like the Finger of God to put the fear of SpecOps in yas.

Totem

They're gonna kill all the Jedi next I tell you. It will restore the balance.