A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
"The war in Somalia is about to become Barack Obama's problem."
The corporate media declare that Barack Obama's first foreign crisis will be in Gaza where the Israelis will likely still be engaged in the work of massacre when the president-elect puts his hand on Abraham Lincoln's Bible, January 20.
The 60-year U.S.-Israeli connection is but one of many unholy alliances in which Washington is perpetually mired. In truth, the criminal entanglements of American empire is a minefield of crises waiting to explode. They pop up at the most inconvenient times. Chickens are liable to fly home to roost from all sorts of places - like Somalia.
Two years ago, George Bush conspired with Ethiopia to invade Somalia, its neighbor in the Horn of Africa. Somalia's crime was to have achieved a brief, six-month period of relative peace under an Islamist regime. At first, the Americans massively funded combinations of warlords to fight the Islamists, preferring the chaos of bandit rule to a peaceful Somalia under an Islamist government. When the warlords were defeated, Washington encouraged and bankrolled the Ethiopian invasion, just before Christmas 2006. U.S. advisors accompanied Ethiopian troops down to the company level, while American aircraft and warships bombarded Somalis from air and sea.
"Ethiopia found it could not remain among the Somalis, no matter how much the Americans paid for their services."
If any stimulus could be predicted to unite Somalis, it is invasion by Ethiopia, Somalia's historical rival in the region. The Americans and Ethiopians succeeded only in creating the "worst humanitarian crisis in Africa" - worse than Darfur, according to the United Nations. Nearly half of Somalia's seven million people were put in danger of starvation, with well over a million displaced from their homes. The capital city, Mogadishu, was virtually emptied. Washington could convince only it's client states Uganda and Burundi to contribute troops to a puny United Nations "peace keeping" force that spent most of its time trying to keep out of the way. Ethiopia found it could not remain among the Somalis, no matter how much the Americans paid for their services. Its army is in the process of withdrawing.
The farcical, puppet Somali government installed by the Ethiopians and Americans could never survive on its own, and has effectively disintegrated. Some form of Islamist force will soon take power on the ground. The United States has talked itself into a corner. George Bush justified the U.S. and Ethiopian assault on Somalia as a necessity of the War on Terror, a blow against Osama bin Laden's friends among Somali Muslims. It was a lie, of course, but now the U.S. is stuck with it. Washington cannot simply allow people who it claims are affiliated with Al Qaida to form a government.
George Bush started the war against Somalia, but it's about to become Barack Obama's problem. Obama's soon-to-be United Nations ambassador, Susan Rice, is a rabid believer in America's right to intervene in Africa, generally, and in Somalia, specifically. Obama and George Bush share the same Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, who was sworn into office on December 18, 2006, just one week before the U.S.-backed Ethiopians stormed Somalia's capital city.
It's been Gates' and Bush's war for two years. Now Obama must decide if he will kill Africans based on George Bush's lies.
For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.
Comments
"If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth"
Mr. Glen FOrd, many people have tried to reach out to you and help you solve your mental problems. we tried to help you about your simplification of somalia and your lies about ethiopia intervention and your denial of terrorists who happened to have killed hundreds of ethiopians, kenyans, americans and even tanzanians during embassy bombings and terrorist attacks.
instead of listening to facts, you show no tolerance for the truth. maybe you are no different from the terorrists who have no tolerance for basic women rights, coexistence and religious equality
Or you must believe repeating lies will help you. There is a saying for you, "If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth"
totally agree with Glen
It is the best way to describe what initiated the crisis in Somalia (a false pretext by Bush like always). As an Ethiopian, I believe it is not the best interest of the Ethiopian people to go to war with Somalia and many are relieved that Ethiopian troops are withdrawing. What a waste of time and money we don't have!
I wish there comes a day when the US and Europeans stop meddling in African affairs. All these wars in Africa including the Congo and Rwanda are the indirect result of post-European colonization.
Let's emancipate ourselves from mental slavery!
Afrik, what is your beef?
Perhaps you can respond to specific points Mr.Ford made rather than resorting to the Bushy "you are no different from the terrorists" nonsense.
War - The Empire's Scheme for Global Hegemony
The Empire is the US Imperialist State. This 'War' is the 'War on Terror'. Like the 'Cold War', when the US projected the erstwhile Soviet Union as the enemy of the 'Free World', US Emperors have condemned Islamist terrorists as the 'Fall Guy'. I am not fooled by their Wars or the accompanying propaganda as the millions of South Americans, Serbians, Filipinos who were slaughtered for the Conquest of wealth and geo-political dominance will attest. I do not expect Obama to forego the US War Machine's devious , destructive ways - they have served the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex very well indeed. Blood shed of the poor and defense-less (Shock & Awe) in this War between the Empire and the claimed 'Axis of Evil' is a necessary practice that reinforces its status as 'Global Superpower'. Full Spectrum dominance might drain the Empire's coffers from the inside but the power to kill, and the fear this power engenders among the weak, is a drug which is the addiction of every Emperor in history. It seems every Muslim, if seeking to proclaim freedom from Western oppression is a terrorist or potential terrorist, responsible for every crime committed by every person of his creed in history. Somalia must be crushed so that the victims of every Embassy bombing in the African continent can be avenged. When you have a hammer in hand, everywhere you go, you see a nail. Armed to its teeth with conventional and unconventional weapons capable of unimaginable destruction, the US War Machine actively seeks States that need to be punished, by Death and annihilation. The blood-lust of the Empire increase with every 'victory'. There will be no dearth of enemies for it to bombard and starve as the oppressive regime it brutally enforces on the fallen will force these peoples to oppose the American rule. This Empire truly believes 'Might makes Right'. My thanks to Madam McKinney for her courageous effort to break the crushing Israeli Siege on Gaza. I will remember her as an exceptional politician, capable of empathy.. unlike Mayor Bloomberg who could not look beyond the Apartheid Wall, at the death and destruction of the miserable Palestinians, living under brutal occupation for more than 60 years. The World's poor must wish Obama ushers in a period of comparative calm. I will add my prayers to their pleas, in hope rather than expectation.
which planet are you living in?
the writer seems to lack fundamental knowledge of the 17 years old civil wars inside somalia which have killed thousands of people and kept somalia government-less for almost two decades.
This confused writer Glen said "Somalia's crime was to have achieved a brief, six-month period of relative peace under an Islamist regime"
Our Somali people would like to know what peace you are talking about. Do you know this islamist regime had links to Al Qaeda and practices strict forms of Islam that is foreign to somalia? do you know about the 17 years old clan wars in somalia? do you know that this "Islamist regime" is made up of one clan hidding under the flag of religion and controlled only the territory of that one clan? (i will not give the name of the clan not to annoy my somali brothers and sisters who read my comment who are tired of clan politics)
Do you know the "puppet" government in somalia was led by honorable President Yusuf who successfully established the democratic and peaceful Puntland State of somalia before he began the TFG in 2004??
The only thing i can say is May Allah save us from naive people like you!!
The most dangerous part about your writing is your confidence in your empty knowledge about my country somalia. If you have any respect for our Somali people and for Africa, i suggest that you stop writing nonsense about us. Thank you
Say what?
Mohammed- You are so full of baloney. You think that because you are a brainwashed Somali, we should listen to your version of events? Why should we waste our time listening to apologists of Africa's enemies? There are many Africans like you. Glen does not need your permission to write about anything, you moron! Why are you bringing your religion into this discussion? Does your God take sides in our debates? This has nothing to do with Allah! It has a lot to do with your self-righteousness, stupidity and belief that you know everything when you obviously have superficial knowledge of what is happening in Somalia. I'm a proud African. Please don't you dare speak for me!
Puppet somali government??
I would like to ask Mr. Glen if he has read anything about Somalia in his life. It is good to get diverse accounts.
Anyway, the transitional government in our country led by formerly President Abdullahi Yusuf was not installed by anyone except Somali people. He is from Darod clan and many years ago he achieved in the creation of the democratic semi-autonomous Puntland region from the ashes of burning Somalia. Today Puntland is led by civilians, not by religious extremists who pledge alliance to al Qaeda. His Darod clan is one of the largest clan and he worked with other clans to create a democratic Somalia, just like he created democratic Puntland. Unfortunately, his government has not succeeded. Ironically that is because of America's negligence because the American you curse did not give our government enough funds because of Bush's expensive war in Iraq. Meanwhile, the extremist islamists get a lot of funds from Eritrea, Iran and some Arab countries. Mr. Glen, did you ever read the 2006 report by the United Nations that showed extensive monetary and weaponry support to the extremist islamists coming from Arab countries??
Maybe you should start reading because ignorance is ugly. Anyway, our transitional government has blamed America's small dedication to us while the Arabs increase finance to the extremists. Allah will save Somalia, you will see!!
By the way, here is latest amazing news about Puntland region, created by His Excellency Abdullahi Yusuf
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7817810.stm
Real Somali man
Hey guys. This guy named Mohamed is a Somali pupet Government supporter. He thinks since you guys are not Somali, he knows more than you know, but he is the one dont know nothing. I canot belive when he said Somali people Elected this government. He canot deny day that is pupet government were the first government were created out side it's country. Ethopian created his pupet Government in Nairob, Kenya. Is a kenya Somalia? Ethopian gathered punch of warlords, traitors in Nairobe, kenya and created this pupet government. He is spreading CIA 's parpaganda like Alqaida is linked to Islamists. This is his own country and he is giving white people justification to invade his country. What a dump.
mohamed????
my be mohamed w.bush
elected gov waaw
Al shabaab
Mohamned you said arab counties give weapons to islamists. what arab country? most arab countries are pupet government and they canot even send food to their palastine brothers and you talking about sending weapons to Somalia. Actually Saudi Arabia goverrnment send 30 millions dollars to this Somali pupet government last year. They only country helped us is only Eritria.
arab countries never like africans
jamaal listen, arabs never like africans. Esepcially ethiopians. Even though the arab nations are ruled by puppets of the west, they have their own agenda both political/economical and religious against the east african states in particulat, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The arab states ESPECIALLY EGYPT never want peace in these nations. The reason being the River Nile Issue. Boutros Boutros Gali has said that the next devastating war will be in this region because of Water. Egypt is the most powerful Arab nation that is helping other arab nation be friends with the west and keep their own Islamists down. So Egypt tells the other arab nations to help the somali islamists. These nations happily spend their oil money giving to Eritrea which then helps the islamist.
The issue of the east african states are complex, rooted from the colonial misdeeds. You better be glad the ethiopian mis adventure in somalia did not expand to other states. and since these nations are militarized, they can inflict heavy damages to each other.
Proxy war
Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Minister Seyoum Mesfin said his country has been promoting its position that the international community and the (UN) Security Council keep on discharging thier responsibility of extending appropriate support towards maintaining peace and stability in Somalia.
Seyoum told ENA (Ethiopian News Agency) on Wednesday (8 October) that Ethiopia has been calling on the international community and the UN Security Council to extend their support to the deployment of African peacekeeping forces fully to Somalia.
He further said his country has also been repeatedly calling, through the AU and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), for the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces to Somalia.
Ethiopia has also advanced the same position in the 63rd UN General Assembly (UNGA).
Seyoum said the international community has not played a meaningful role to ensure peace in Somalia while it was torn apart by civil war for 18 years. He said the international community and the Security Council need to discharge their responsibility appropriately in this regard.
Mr. Mesfin intends to make it clear that "the international community" has not provided adequate commitment to “maintain peace and stability in Somaliaâ€
Well! We all know that there is no peace to maintain in that country in an endless civil war, and talking about stability in Somalia is really a bad joke that does not make anyone laugh. We need first to create peace before maintaining it.
I can understand that there is a diplomatic vocabulary which the Foreign Minister can not escape, but that vocabulary is not used at random and by anyone.
It works if used only from a position of strength.
When the U.S Secretary of State says the "international community" must do more in Afghanistan, in reality she's not talking to a non-existent "International Community", but to specific countries and to clear Heads of Government from precise position of a strength . Read, if you don’t do so and so I’ll do that to you".
His words have different weights on the Pakistani government and Chinese or French. The first, the government of Musharaf has already fallen because his commitment was not considered sufficient by the U.S. China is not even aware of this "lack of international engagement."
The same thing said by the Ethiopian Foreign Minister for a different circumstance, has no effect.
In fact, the Ethiopian Minister speaks with precise Heads of Governments, those who have encouraged him to invade Somalia and from which one expects a political, economical and military support.
The difference is that one says, "Hey, if you do not do this thing I’ll do this and that to you," while another says, "but hell! you promised to help me if I had done so".
Ethiopia is facing a decision not enough pondered before being made. Invading Somalia.
Ethiopia could not think to control Somalia. It does not have enough military and economic forces, but thought to work by proxy in the "war on terror" and thereby gain support and sympathy from the chief, Bush.
The same thing did Saddam Hussein in the Iran war of the 80s, when the Ayatullah came to power.
Even then it was necessary to contain Islamist fervour that radiated from Iran to the rest of the Islamic world, putting in trouble U.S. allied regimes like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Then the strongest army in the Middle East was unleashed, properly prepared and armed by the U.S. and that annihilated in a day, without any protest from the world, two Iranian islands. The war continued for a decade.
Only the Austrian UN ambassador said he was surprised and was immediately recalled and replaced by his government.
Saddam Hussein made a proxy war, and everyone knows the end of the story. He's hanged in Direct TV after the public exposure of the bodies of his sons, killed by the same persons that once sponsored him.
Meles is now doing a proxy war, but starts to realize that the mandant wants to wash his hands of this problem. The important thing for the mandant was that Islamists were ousted, and if he can save money once they’re driven away he has everything to gain. So why paying who left for the war without first cashing the check?
From here begins the problem of Meles. He asks himself what to do without money from the boss when his troops are hungry and without shoes like fascists who invaded Ethiopia decades ago and Somalis are fighting instead of surrendering all at once?
I wouldn't like to be in his shoes right now, but gonna give him a hint. Withdraw from Somalia without waiting for any "exit strategy". Only those who have a face to lose, like the U.S. in Iraq, and do not want to lose, can afford that long time approach. Not the Ethiopian army in Somalia.
Hussein Aden
Ethiopia like Israel
Ethiopia is like israel... go destroy peoples homes and go back home. Hussein, the ethiopians withdrew a week ago, I suggest u start updating urself.
Info update
Tay Zonda,
Ethiopia withdrew from Mogadishu, not from Somalia.
Please read Somali websites, starting from www.hiiraan.com.
On the left of everry Somali website you'll find all Somali news websites.
Best,
Hussein.
Glenn is very informed about the situation in Somalia
I am Somali myself and am actually surprised how much Glenn knows about the situation in Somalia. Nonetheless, it is important to mention that the Somali people and the Ethiopian people have lived side by side for centuries in peace. The irony is how a puppet like the Ethiopian dictator is treated as an ally who like most of USA’s allies is assigned to do the dirty work of inflicting untold suffering on his African brothers including the Ethiopian’s whose meager resources he is plundering. Compare that lost soul to Mugabe who is now labeled as “tyrant†and a “dictator†for no other sin than to stand up for his own people. No where else in the today’s world is the injustice and systematic destruction of a civilization is more evident than it is in Africa. CONGO, SOMALA, ZIMBAWE, ROWANDA, SIERALEONE and the list goes on.
A combination of sensetionalism and fabrication of information
Once again, it seems Black Agenda Report has written fake news about Somalia to defame Obama.
Lets start from the beginning...
You said,
FABRICATION #1.
"Two years ago, George Bush conspired with Ethiopia to invade Somalia, its neighbor in the Horn of Africa. Somalia's crime was to have achieved a brief, six-month period of relative peace under an Islamist regime."
The Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG) invited Ethiopia to help with radical wing of ICU called al shabab. Ethiopia and America held dialogue with the moderate islamists like Sheikh Ahmed but it did not work so the UN-recognized Somalia TFG authorities and Ethiopia worked together to topple radical islamists. As we all know, The Darood clan dominated TFG failed to pacify the Hawiye dominated Mogadishu. Even when ICU was in partial control of southern somalia, the Puntland and other darood, etc clan areas never accepted ICU.
After successful intervention, the moderates in ICU and the moderates in TFG made peace agreement that also asked Ethiopian withdrawal. Accordingingly, President Ahmed, the moderate islamists Ethiopia/America discussed with for years, took power and the TFG is currently trying to bring peace. There was no "invasion". and somalia was never under "relative peace" under ICU since ICU did not even control 60% of somalia
FABRICATION # 2
"Washington encouraged and bankrolled the Ethiopian invasion"
Actually Ethiopians complained for not getting any financial assistance. Ethiopia was using its own money. This is the reason why we heart Ethiopian opposition parties compalin to the Ethiopian government about loss of money. One of the reasons Ethiopia said it was withdrawing from its peace keeping operation was the lack of money.
FABRICATION#3
"while American aircraft and warships bombarded Somalis from air and sea"
During the initial intervention of Ethiopia, there were no American aircrafts or warships. THis is simply a lie. American planes came many weeks after Ethiopia entered. The only operation by American aircrafts were targetted shots on al qaida linked terrorists, including bombers of embassy in kenya.
FABRICATION # 4
"Washington cannot simply allow people who it claims are affiliated with Al Qaida to form a government"
Another lie. Washington never tagged ICU as a terrorist al qaida group. Washington only tagged al shabab. And once again Washington is correct because the arab-financed al shabab is attacking the moderate islamists of ICU and TFG.
In the end, the TFG/ICU alliance will defeat the al shabab. This will make blackagenda report cry because Washington D.C. is successful once again.