G
Gandalf Grey
Guest
Bush as Global Menace: Somalia
By Barry Lando
Created Apr 24 2007 - 8:00am
As we approach the fourth anniversary of President Bush's 'victory" in Iraq,
it looks like-while everyone is talking about withdrawal dates and surges in
Baghdad- Dubya and his cohorts have been responsible for a similar horrific
disaster in Somalia, in the Horn of Africa.
Using the infinite resources of the Internet (to go beyond my previous
post), I've tried to cobble together an understanding of what lies behind
the current horrific images coming from what is probably the most failed of
all the globe's failed states.
It's an approximation. If substantially true, however, it indicates that
Somalia is another hornet's nest the Bush administration has stumbled
into-and is now obliterating-obsessed as it is with the "war against
terrorism." It's an obsession that so far has sewn only death and chaos and
strengthened rather than destroyed Al Qaeda and radical jihad.
----------------------
After the Black Hawk Down disaster in 1994, when 18 U.S. Army rangers died
in a disastrous attempt to capture a Somali warlord, the U.S. Congress
refused to fund any further military actions there. Over the following years
the war lords continued to rampage and terrorize the country. In reaction, a
group of relatively moderate Islamic clans joined together to form a loose
knit Union of Islamic Courts (UIC).
In 2002, radical jihadis attacked a hotel and Israel aircraft in Kenya.
Though the links of the UIC with Al Qaeda were far from clear, Washington
was concerned that muslim radicals-allies, if not members of Al Qaeda-were
being harbored in Somalia. It was time to open a new front in the war on
terror. The leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia were invited to a heart to heart
in the oval office. Despite Ethiopia's abysmal human rights record,
President Bush proclaimed the two leaders as "friends and allies of
America." Subseuqently, 1600 American troops were dispateched to Camp
Lemonier Djibouti. Their ostensible purpose: to train local regional armies
in counterterrorism.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Ethiopia were backing President Abudullahi Yusuf's
secular Transitional Federal Government, founded with UN backing in 2004,
and located in Baidoa.
But Washington wasn't just counting on U.N. backing to do the job. In
January, 2006, the U.S. began secretly funneling large stacks of cash to the
warlords in Somalia, including some of America's most vicious former
enemies-creating the hilariously misnamed "Alliance for the Restoration of
Peace and Counter-Terrorism." They might have been brutal thugs,but if they
were against the UJC and ready to help hunt down Al Qaeda, why not?
When news leaked of the CIA payments, things began to spiral out of control.
The UJC laid bloody siege to the capital, and after three months, the
CIA-backed war lords had been expelled from Mogadishu, by an Islamic
federation that was now far more extreme than it had originally been.
The UIC promised a government of national unity under "Sharia law." And
indeed, backed also by Somali businessmen weary of the chaos, the Iislamists
brought a desperately-needed respite to the crime and carnage that had
wracked the country.
But the U.S. battle against the Islamists was just getting started .
Last July, a highly respected British based magazine, Africa Confidential ,
published a series of leaked communications, dated June 2006, between U.S.
and British private military contractors that indicated they were planning
to run covert military operations inside Somalia-with the knowledge of the
CIA and in violation of a U.N. embargo at shipping arms into Somalia. Said
the London observer presciently "Evidence of foreign involvement in the
conflict would not only breach the UN arms embargo but could destabilize the
entire region."
Among the U.S. companies involved were the Florida-based ATS Worldwide.
According to the company's web site it employs former US and British special
operations personnel and 'can execute operations in support of host national
indigenous forces'. (A few more companies like this and Bush might even
consider scrapping the idea of a regular army as old-fashioned. Indeed,
that's
what Rumsfeld had in mind.)
Meanwhile UIC forces were now advancing on Baidoa, the last stronghold of
the "transitional" secular government, vowing to drive the Ethiopian backed
regime from Somalia. By now arms were secretly flooding into the region from
all sides-Ethiopia, Etriea, Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia. Somalia was to
become the focus of an incredibly bloody proxy battle.
To aid the effort, the U.S. closed its eyes to millions of dollars worth of
arms that the Ethiopians bought from North Korea-in blatant disregard of the
very economic embargo of North Korea that the U.S. had pushed for in the
first place. Nuclear menaces are one thing. Al Qaeda is another.
Finally, in December, backed by U.S. special forces units (and, one can
surmise, American and British "private contractors") the Ethiopian army
smashed its way into Mogadishu with tanks and battle helicopters and sent
the UIC forces scurrying into the mangrove swamps of southern Somalia.
Undoubtedly, as was the case when Bush launched the invasion of Iraq four
years ago, those proposing the operation in Washington promised a quick,
clean affair. The UIC would become history. Whatever radical Islamists they
had been sheltering would by picked up and/or eliminated. Order would
speedily be restored by an African peace keeping force. Al Qaeda would lose
an important sanctuary in East Africa.
At first the plans seemed to work: in coordination with the Ethiopian
military, Kenyan troops sealed off their border with Somalia, while US Navy
ships patrolled the coast to cut off escape by water. On January 8, 2007 the
U.S. followed up with a devastating airstrike by AC-130 gunships against
supposed Al Qaeda targets. According to U.S. Officials the strike killed
eight to 10 people with suspected terrorist ties but failed to kill any
"high-value targets."
Hundreds of other refugees fleeing Somalia were arrested in Kenya and flown
to secret prisons in Ethiopia, to be interrogated by Ethiopian and American
investigators. The state of human rights in Ethiopia is abysmal and tales of
torture in its prisons are common. But apparently the interrogators also
have failed to turn up any "high-value targets".
Indeed, the American adventure in Somalia, seems to have backfired,
tragically
Instead of 8000 African peace keepers showing up; only 1500 Ugandans have
arrived on the scene, with little interest in becoming involved in the
bloody strife.
High priced American "private contractors" have not been as reticent. The
State Department for instance has hired Dyn Corp International-an old Iraqi
hand-for $10 million to help equip and provide logistical support to
international peacekeepers in Somalia -assuming those peacekeepers ever show
up. This, of course, permits the U.S. to play a critical role in the
operation without actually assigning combat forces. (They'll just pay
American vets exhorbitant sums for the same work.).
Meanwhile, the brutal bombardments by rampaging Ethiopian
troops-traditionally disliked and distrusted by the Somalis -have provoked
exactly the violent nationalist reaction that many had predicted. Their
continued excesses have provided a rallying point for radical islamist
groups and several key clan leaders.
Thus, Mogadishu is awash in arms and carnage. Thousands have been killed;
bodies lie rotting in the streets; hundreds of of thousands have fled their
homeland. Sound familiar?
As I made clear at the start, this version of what's been going on in the
Horn of Africa is approximate.I would appreciate input from anyone familiar
withthe situation, but I suggest it would be most fertile ground for
investigators from the U.S. Congress and the media.
_______
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
By Barry Lando
Created Apr 24 2007 - 8:00am
As we approach the fourth anniversary of President Bush's 'victory" in Iraq,
it looks like-while everyone is talking about withdrawal dates and surges in
Baghdad- Dubya and his cohorts have been responsible for a similar horrific
disaster in Somalia, in the Horn of Africa.
Using the infinite resources of the Internet (to go beyond my previous
post), I've tried to cobble together an understanding of what lies behind
the current horrific images coming from what is probably the most failed of
all the globe's failed states.
It's an approximation. If substantially true, however, it indicates that
Somalia is another hornet's nest the Bush administration has stumbled
into-and is now obliterating-obsessed as it is with the "war against
terrorism." It's an obsession that so far has sewn only death and chaos and
strengthened rather than destroyed Al Qaeda and radical jihad.
----------------------
After the Black Hawk Down disaster in 1994, when 18 U.S. Army rangers died
in a disastrous attempt to capture a Somali warlord, the U.S. Congress
refused to fund any further military actions there. Over the following years
the war lords continued to rampage and terrorize the country. In reaction, a
group of relatively moderate Islamic clans joined together to form a loose
knit Union of Islamic Courts (UIC).
In 2002, radical jihadis attacked a hotel and Israel aircraft in Kenya.
Though the links of the UIC with Al Qaeda were far from clear, Washington
was concerned that muslim radicals-allies, if not members of Al Qaeda-were
being harbored in Somalia. It was time to open a new front in the war on
terror. The leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia were invited to a heart to heart
in the oval office. Despite Ethiopia's abysmal human rights record,
President Bush proclaimed the two leaders as "friends and allies of
America." Subseuqently, 1600 American troops were dispateched to Camp
Lemonier Djibouti. Their ostensible purpose: to train local regional armies
in counterterrorism.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Ethiopia were backing President Abudullahi Yusuf's
secular Transitional Federal Government, founded with UN backing in 2004,
and located in Baidoa.
But Washington wasn't just counting on U.N. backing to do the job. In
January, 2006, the U.S. began secretly funneling large stacks of cash to the
warlords in Somalia, including some of America's most vicious former
enemies-creating the hilariously misnamed "Alliance for the Restoration of
Peace and Counter-Terrorism." They might have been brutal thugs,but if they
were against the UJC and ready to help hunt down Al Qaeda, why not?
When news leaked of the CIA payments, things began to spiral out of control.
The UJC laid bloody siege to the capital, and after three months, the
CIA-backed war lords had been expelled from Mogadishu, by an Islamic
federation that was now far more extreme than it had originally been.
The UIC promised a government of national unity under "Sharia law." And
indeed, backed also by Somali businessmen weary of the chaos, the Iislamists
brought a desperately-needed respite to the crime and carnage that had
wracked the country.
But the U.S. battle against the Islamists was just getting started .
Last July, a highly respected British based magazine, Africa Confidential ,
published a series of leaked communications, dated June 2006, between U.S.
and British private military contractors that indicated they were planning
to run covert military operations inside Somalia-with the knowledge of the
CIA and in violation of a U.N. embargo at shipping arms into Somalia. Said
the London observer presciently "Evidence of foreign involvement in the
conflict would not only breach the UN arms embargo but could destabilize the
entire region."
Among the U.S. companies involved were the Florida-based ATS Worldwide.
According to the company's web site it employs former US and British special
operations personnel and 'can execute operations in support of host national
indigenous forces'. (A few more companies like this and Bush might even
consider scrapping the idea of a regular army as old-fashioned. Indeed,
that's
what Rumsfeld had in mind.)
Meanwhile UIC forces were now advancing on Baidoa, the last stronghold of
the "transitional" secular government, vowing to drive the Ethiopian backed
regime from Somalia. By now arms were secretly flooding into the region from
all sides-Ethiopia, Etriea, Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia. Somalia was to
become the focus of an incredibly bloody proxy battle.
To aid the effort, the U.S. closed its eyes to millions of dollars worth of
arms that the Ethiopians bought from North Korea-in blatant disregard of the
very economic embargo of North Korea that the U.S. had pushed for in the
first place. Nuclear menaces are one thing. Al Qaeda is another.
Finally, in December, backed by U.S. special forces units (and, one can
surmise, American and British "private contractors") the Ethiopian army
smashed its way into Mogadishu with tanks and battle helicopters and sent
the UIC forces scurrying into the mangrove swamps of southern Somalia.
Undoubtedly, as was the case when Bush launched the invasion of Iraq four
years ago, those proposing the operation in Washington promised a quick,
clean affair. The UIC would become history. Whatever radical Islamists they
had been sheltering would by picked up and/or eliminated. Order would
speedily be restored by an African peace keeping force. Al Qaeda would lose
an important sanctuary in East Africa.
At first the plans seemed to work: in coordination with the Ethiopian
military, Kenyan troops sealed off their border with Somalia, while US Navy
ships patrolled the coast to cut off escape by water. On January 8, 2007 the
U.S. followed up with a devastating airstrike by AC-130 gunships against
supposed Al Qaeda targets. According to U.S. Officials the strike killed
eight to 10 people with suspected terrorist ties but failed to kill any
"high-value targets."
Hundreds of other refugees fleeing Somalia were arrested in Kenya and flown
to secret prisons in Ethiopia, to be interrogated by Ethiopian and American
investigators. The state of human rights in Ethiopia is abysmal and tales of
torture in its prisons are common. But apparently the interrogators also
have failed to turn up any "high-value targets".
Indeed, the American adventure in Somalia, seems to have backfired,
tragically
Instead of 8000 African peace keepers showing up; only 1500 Ugandans have
arrived on the scene, with little interest in becoming involved in the
bloody strife.
High priced American "private contractors" have not been as reticent. The
State Department for instance has hired Dyn Corp International-an old Iraqi
hand-for $10 million to help equip and provide logistical support to
international peacekeepers in Somalia -assuming those peacekeepers ever show
up. This, of course, permits the U.S. to play a critical role in the
operation without actually assigning combat forces. (They'll just pay
American vets exhorbitant sums for the same work.).
Meanwhile, the brutal bombardments by rampaging Ethiopian
troops-traditionally disliked and distrusted by the Somalis -have provoked
exactly the violent nationalist reaction that many had predicted. Their
continued excesses have provided a rallying point for radical islamist
groups and several key clan leaders.
Thus, Mogadishu is awash in arms and carnage. Thousands have been killed;
bodies lie rotting in the streets; hundreds of of thousands have fled their
homeland. Sound familiar?
As I made clear at the start, this version of what's been going on in the
Horn of Africa is approximate.I would appreciate input from anyone familiar
withthe situation, but I suggest it would be most fertile ground for
investigators from the U.S. Congress and the media.
_______
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
