SOMALIA AND IRAQ SHARED SIMILAR STRATEGIES

Last week, it was announced that the U.S. is in the beginning stages of placing military bases in Africa. Ethiopia is the front country for the operation that will include a few more stooge nations that the U.S. has bought. The idea will be to turn the Horn of Africa into another Middle East in the vision of the U.S.

Nobody can say they did not see this coming. Since the U.S. invasion of Somalia in 1993 and its subsequent exit, there have been many signs that pointed to the U.S. returning to the area. The current occupation of Somalia by Ethiopian forces was a coup d’etat on behalf of the U.S.

One may ask, "What does Somalia have to do with Iraq?" The answer is, "Plenty." In 1993, the U.S., under the guise of a "humanitarian" mission, invaded and occupied Somalia. As with Iraq, the world’s leading military superpower used its weapons to kill innocent people in their own country. Also, the U.S. demonized Somali leader Mohamed Aidid much in the same manner that it discredited Iraqi President Saddam Husssein. Aidid and the forces allied to him fought the U.S. presence, leading to the U.S. decision to leave Somalia.

During the so-called "peacekeeping mission" in Somalia, the U.S. labeled Aidid the bad guy and offered $25,000 for his death or capture (inflation ran rampant and by 2003, Saddam Hussein was worth $30 million). The fighting escalated, coming to a crescendo when 18 U.S. soldiers were killed in a attempt to capture Aidid. The next day, videotape showing Somalis dragging the dead body of a U.S. serviceman through the streets drew harsh condemnation from the U.S. government. Bill Clinton talked about how this was repugnant and stated that civilized people do not act in this manner. However, he did not mention the thousands of dead Iraqi soldiers who were mutilated and put on display by U.S. troops during and after the first Gulf War. He also did not bring up the fact that about 3,000 Somali civilians were killed in the same battle in which 18 Americans died.

His successor, Bush II, had no problem showing the butchered bodies of Uday and Qusay Hussein to the world via television. And, more recently, videos of their father’s dead mutilated body were inundating Internet sites, all without a peep of protest from Bush. The public display of dead foreigners is applauded as proof of U.S. superiority, yet the showing of one dead U.S. soldier is "uncivilized."

Eventually, the U.S. gave up trying to capture Aidid. His resistance persuaded the U.S. to coin new phrases while discussing foreign intervention: "Doing an Aidid," and "Crossing the Mogadishu line."

The facts differ from the scripted account. Aidid was the elected leader of Somalia, but he was opposed by European governments. He had nearly consolidated his hold against dictatorship-era holdouts when the U.N./U.S. stepped in and committed mass violations of the rights of Somalis, including trying to disarm them and shut down free speech.

After years as an Italian colony, Somalia gained independence in 1960. Siad Barre assumed control of the country and created a dictatorship. Aidid spent the late 1960s and early 1970s in prison for planning a coup against Barre, who eventually freed him and made him ambassador to India, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

Aidid then helped form the United Somali Congress (USC) which deposed Barre. Ali Mahdi proclaimed himself USC president of the Republic of Somalia.

In June 1991, Aidid was elected chairman of the USC by a two-thirds vote, but Ali Mahdi refused to step down as president. By October 1991, Madhi had formed a government of eight ministers, and the Italian government promised massive financial support. Aidid then declared his faction of the USC to be the legitimate government of Somalia, and Mahdi declared war on Aidid and his bloc

Aidid’s militia forces quickly defeated those of Mahdi, confining Mahdi’s supporters to a small area of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Aidid could have captured the remainder of Mahdi’s territory, but he declined. Instead, he concentrated his efforts on expelling what remained of Siad Barre’s army in southern Somalia. Robbery by Barre’s army was the main reason for famine in that region.

The main difference between Aidid’s faction and that of Mahdi was that Mahdi supported an Italian-style democracy, while Aidid favored the traditional tribal form of government known as kritarchy.

Various Somali clans sided with Aidid. On March 30, 1993, the four tribes of northwest Somalia adopted the traditional Somali constitution, the Xeer. On June 4, two more clans, from the northeast and the center of Somalia, adopted the Xeer. Violence decreased as the clans adopted a peaceful government.

The United Nations opened an office in Mogadishu a few months after Aidid routed Mahdi’s forces. U.N. representatives Mohamed Sahnoun realized he was too late to mediate between the two factions and concentrated on reducing the famine in southern Somalia. The U.N. Security Council wanted a more visible role and fired Sahnoun.

At this time, April Glaspie, the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, who was instrumental in creating the scenario that led to Desert Storm, reappeared. She was sent to Somalia to re-write the script and turn a so-called "humanitarian" mission into a "get Aidid" venture.

Sahoun’s successor then declared Somalia an anarchy, Aidid a bandit, and attributed the problems to firearms possession. The U.N. then embarked on a military occupation of Somalia and a full disarmament of its population.

The U.N. decried Somalia’s lack of ability to govern itself, not mentioning that only foreign subsidy was able to keep former dictator Siad Barre in power and that foreign governments rejected the Somali majority’s choice of government (Aidid’s) in favor of someone who acquiesced to their desires (Mahdi). For a period before foreign governments began to interfere, Somalia had been capable of governing itself.

The U.N.’s illogical and expensive campaign resulted in more violence as the Somali tribes fought to preserve their right to bear arms.

On June 5, 1993, U.N. troops attempted to shut down Aidid’s radio station because it was broadcasting "propaganda" (anti-U.N. messages). Somali militiamen repelled the attack.

The Somali’s successful resistance of the U.N. attack led the U.S. to begin an expensive, bloody, five-month manhunt for Aidid. Dozens of U.S. troops and thousands of Somalis were killed. In October 1993, the U.S. ended the search for Aidid.

During the weeks from June 5 to October 3, 1993, U.N./U.S. forces inflicted 6,000 to 10,000 casualties on the Somali resistance, stated Eric Schmitt in the December 8, 1993 edition of The New York Times. Schmitt corroborated the account with U.S. military intelligence, relief workers, U.N. officials and the U.S. special envoy to Somalia. U.S. Major General Anthony Zinni estimated that two-thirds of the casualties were women and children.

Only a small portion of the money spent by the U.N. on "relief efforts" (hundreds of millions, possibly billions of dollars) benefited Somalis. Most of the money was spent on the U.N./U.S. effort itself, according to the November 28, 1993 Los Angeles Times. Foreign businesspeople profited extensively from such items as fast-food sales to occupying soldiers; a nine-million-dollar sewage system in the U.N./U.S. headquarters; and helicopter flights for Western officials.

In March 1994, U.S. and other Western troops withdrew from Somalia, and by March 1995, the remaining African and Asian U.N. troops pulled out. The News and Observer reported, "The city has been generally quieter since U.N. forces left in early March, although there is sporadic factional fighting."

In June 1995, the United Somali Congress-Somali National Alliance (USC-SNA) called a congress at which Aidid was ousted as chairman and replaced by former comrade Osman Hassan Ali Ottto, who called for a return of U.N. troops to help "rebuild" Somalia. Aidid refused to recognize the congress, accusing it of being foreign-manipulated. His supporters then elected him president of Somalia.

In September 1995, in a major military move, Aidid and 600 militiamen seized the southern Somali city of Baidoa. Some groups reported heavy fighting and much looting, while travelers from Baidoa said the takeover involved little bloodshed.

Fighting in the capital of Mogadishu erupted again in October 1995, as Mahdi’s supporters fired at a banana ship to keep it from docking. Somalia’s banana export industry was tied to Aidid, and Mahdi had banned banana ships from Mogadishu’s port.

One very important result emerged from the failed U.N. occupation of Somalia: the successful eviction of the powerful armies of the West. Somali soldiers were unpaid militiamen volunteers who fought to defend their communities.

In July 1996, Mohamed Farrah Aidid died while fighting in Somalia. He was demonized by the U.S. government and had a price put on his head. Despite the overwhelming propaganda that discredited him, some considered Aidid to be a true freedom fighter who took on the U.S. and helped expedite the exit of the U.S. military from Somalia.

Aidid was buried on a small plot he owned near the line that divides Somalia’s first city, Mogadishu. A long funeral procession wound through the streets and the city was somber. There were no clashes between rival militias as combating sides forgot their differences in paying respect to the man who solidified the opposition to foreign forces on Somali soil.

On October 3, 1996, celebrations were held in Somalia commemorating the deaths of the 18 American servicemen who died three years earlier. The U.S. State Department called the celebrations "an affront to the American people." Spokesperson Nicholas Burns stated: "We haven’t forgotten the deaths of those 18 people and it is uncivilized to celebrate the deaths of people who were there to bring peace and stability to Somalia." The soldiers were killed during an attack on an Aidid stronghold. Burns failed to show the contradiction of calling a military assassination attempt a "peacekeeping operation."

After 1996, Somalia made little headline news and very few reports came from the African nation. In 2004, The U.N. recognized a puppet government with no power that existed only on paper, similar to the "government" of Iraq that hides behind the walls of the Green Zone in Baghdad.

A force called The Council of Islamic Courts began to set up local governments and Somalia began to experience more stability than it had in many years. By December 2006, the Council was in control of most of the country. Then, Ethiopia, an ally of the U.S., with a much stronger military than the Council, invaded Somalia on the side of the stooge government. Within a couple of weeks, the Council was forced to retreat and the paper government entered Mogadishu as rulers of the country.

Prior to the Ethiopian invasion, the U.N.-installed government called for peace and reconciliation talks with the Council. They were desperate. Just a few weeks later, after the arrival of the Ethiopian soldiers, the newly-powerful government rejected peace talks and vowed to hunt down all the members of the Council.

On January 8, 2007, the U.S. became militarily involved by bombing Council fighters under the guise of hunting terrorists. Just a few weeks prior, the Council ran most of the country and the citizens, for the most part, praised their presence. In theory, the Council wanted to implement Islamic law as the law of the land, but their version was very benign and respected the views of those who chose not to live according to Islamic law. In fact, most secular Somalis praised the stability the country was experiencing.

But, this was not what the U.S. wanted in Somalia. A stable, peaceful state in Somalia would run counter to U.S. interests because the government would not have been in America’s pocket. The U.S. prodded Ethiopia to invade. Look back at the news reports of the time and you will see that many included the term "Christian government" when discussing Ethiopia.

It took a decade, but the U.S. achieved its goal of dominance in Somalia and subjecting the majority Moslem population to a Christian occupation. As Native American Chief Pontiac said about Anglos who killed many of his people in the 18th century, "They come with Bible in one hand and sword in the other."

Somalia has undergone many of the same techniques used against Iraq in having its country dismembered and re-assembled by the U.S.:

Demonizing its leader Overwhelming force Teaching the locals a lesson in Christian compassion Placing a bounty on the head of a leader Heavy use of commandos in kidnapping operations Keeping local factions at odds with each other Companies grabbing the loot that was meant for humanitarian aid April Glaspie involved with behind-the-scenes U.S. shenanigans In the past few years, the U.S. has used a method of surrounding certain "enemies" to keep them at bay. This way, no direct military action is necessary, but the U.S. can control an entire region. And, if military intervention is on the books, it will be much easier to attack using nearby countries as a launch pad.

A presence in Iraq puts the U.S. in control of future efforts against Syria, Iran, Palestine and Lebanon. Many former Soviet states have signed on with the U.S. for pocket change and have allowed U.S. military troops in their countries. Russia is now surrounded by U.S. surrogates. With renewed good relations with Pakistan, the U.S. now has military personnel near China.

Somalia was a part of this current method of surrounding U.S. enemies. The Horn of Africa is crucial in the U.S. quest for world hegemony. Ethiopia is firmly in the U.S. camp and now it appears that Somalia may be as well. If you look at a map, you will see that Ethiopia borders Sudan, a thorn in the side of the U.S. Somalia borders Ethiopia and now the U.S. will have much closer sea access to the Horn of Africa if its plans for Somalia come to complete fruition.

In just a few weeks, the Council of Islamic Courts went from running most of the country to an entity that is being hunted by the former powerless government. The Council has initiated resistance. They have been in this position before. But, this time, there are U.S. planes patrolling the area and U.S. commandos on the ground. If the Council is eliminated, the necessary amount of chaos on which the U.S. thrives in dominating foreign countries will return.

Link: www.malcomlagauche.com/id1.html

:: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of WSC.