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Post by wanyee on Nov 13, 2011 0:22:40 GMT 3
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Post by jakaswanga on Nov 13, 2011 12:46:07 GMT 3
The “cast” of supporting characters: The Elusive- Ahmed Abdi Godane.. The powerful- Hassan Dahir Aweys.. The Wobbly president- Abdullahi Yusuf.. The Survivor- Sheikh Sharif and The Corruption Master- Sharif Hassan are such a far-fetched collection of self seekers that the movie "Godfather" quickly comes to mind. Thumbs up!!Foresight[/b], As we continue to thumb up Jukwaa's Adongo for his indepths, I want to put a few dots to some i-s. The propaganda incompetence at the Department of Defence is worrying me. I suspect that incompetence could reach higher up to the levels of analysis, to our doom. Somethings need then to be made clear. It may be necessary in propaganda to discredit the enemy, but a measured understanding of him is mandatory if one is to make lasting peace by war. Two men recieved terrible press, even in Jukwaa's elite commentry, Aweys and Godane, the chiefs of Al-shabaab.Hassan Dahir Aweys was a normal, secular colonel in the Somali army under Generals Siad Barre and Farah Aidid. He subscribed to the Pan-Somali wing of the ruling army party. This was a wing of Great Somali nationalism which totally rejected the 1948 allies settlement which bequeathed Ogaden to Ethiopia without consulting any Somali. In the Ogaden war, Dahir Aweys was the most awesome frontline commander from Somalia, and accordingly decorated, even if Siad's army was defeated. Other safe players derided him for having wasted the lives of so many men in operation achieve nothing! Ogadenia are Ethiopian still. A festering wound. As the Barre regime decays further, Aweys sulks away until he is recruited by fellow Hawiye man, Gen. Aidid, to the United Somali Congress. He is their key millitary commander and he smashes his way fast into Mogadishu. It is here that he realises there is no Pan Somali agenda, neither with Aidid, nor with the other partying warlords. Somalia is disintergrating: May 1991 Somaliland declares Independence; Puntland, Jubaland and South Western all want to follow. Aweys the Pan-Somalist is furthest from the tick of his heart. But that is because he has been a formal soldier so long, he hasn't really moved outside the millitary caste. It is when he is sent by Aidid to negotiate peace at Kismayo where an autonomous enclave called an Islamic emirate had been declared, that he confronts another Somalia. Unable to resist the millitary brilliance of Aweys as he conquered Mogadishu, part of the entourage led by al afghani radicals had fled south together with the Darod remnants of the Barre army. They had been promised relative Islamic autonomy in exchange for countering the fearsome duo from hell of Aweys and Aidid. The Islamists, showing contempt for the dispirited ex-Barre men, fired by youthful idealism and religion, established their mini emirate and waited for matyrdom. And thus they recieved the emissary Aweys, lectured him, and told him they would die for Allah and Somalia than surrender to a corrupt warlord Aidid, who had only differed with his friend Barre over money and proceeds from the plunder of Somalia. And he, Aweys the terminator, was of course a killing machine, but instead of killing Ethiopians off Ogaden, he had returned to butcher fellow Somalis in Mogadishu. This is how the air was punched off the lungs of Somalis' pre- eminent soldier of his generation. He defected to the Islamists. In them he saw a force which could unite all his Somali one day. Aidid would never forgive this betrayal, or so he is reported to have said. But when the Americans ganged up with his opponents to flush him off Mogadishu, he found his former colonel and called him to duty with his al-afghani friends. A call they were pleased to hearkent to, for their own not too impossible to guess reasons. Aweys would develop into a fervent agitator for Pan-Somali nationalism tied to Jihadist Islam. In the al-afghanis, he found a school of commanders as daring and intergrated as himself. And then, unsusceptible to financial corruption. Not the least of these men would be the ex-afghani, ex-banker Ahmed Abdi Godane. Call him a warlord or master terrorist, but remember this man is a hardline Pan Somalist and Jihadist. And ask yourself, what is the answer to Ogaden and North East Frontier, area 5 and other sensitivities? Well, It was with these inspired men that Aweys fought many loosing battles all over Somalia, some of them terrorist attacks in Ethiopia. His passion remains Pan-Somali nationalism, and Islam a supra clan ideology capable of socially mobilising the nation, in addition to millitarily generating a leadership competent to the task. With Somalia effectively balkanised in independent kingdoms --Somaliland 1991, Puntland 1995, Jubbaland 1998, South Western Somalia 1999, Pan-Somali nationalists surely have a job on their hands. General Ngondi, major Kipchirchir, Major Oguda and the rest of our gallant men in Somalia must spin. But do not believe your own spin. Be like the weatherman who forecasts a day of shine throughout, but carries an umbrella along for the walk. ------------ In 1920, Nationalist and Dervish Somalia under Muhammad Abdullah Hassan was bombed to collapse by the British. The americans had to come back in 2001 with the Ethiopians to bomb the UIC to collapse.
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Post by nereah on Nov 13, 2011 19:11:45 GMT 3
one of the great benefits of jukwaa is its unrivaled value addition whether you stop by here for entertainment,edification or aided knowledge.
my jukwaa senior, founder member and moderator, adongo ogony ;D makes us proud with this first part of must read series which i am certain will be referenced { if not being referenced} by scholars, research students and even diplomats.
well done.
as anti war protester, i look forward to reading your perspective on what could be kenya's biggest headache,far worse than the unconventional nature of the enemy(al shabaab):multilateralism. whats the guarantees that known and unknown actors in the somalia mess wont secretly sabotage kenya's military adventure in somalia by either covertly supporting the enemy or just wishing it kenya fail for reason that success would undermine their long-term and vested interest.
let me explain with a parallel to the libyan case.as nato was dropping expensive warheads on gaddafi's military infrastructure, multinational corporation figureheads notably from italy,france,uk and us were engaged in shadowy boardroom deals with the unelected and pro-western resistance group.look whose given or shall get those big contracts for reconstruction of libya.
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Post by roughrider on Nov 14, 2011 11:51:42 GMT 3
RR, I'm glad you ask since this is information that's been in the public domain even before Gaddafi's take down. Naturally the best way to skin a cat is to put a local face on the skinner. You place homegrown reformists on the ground, they work up the population & if all goes to plan, a regime is toppled. If you have a tenacious opponent of the Gaddafi (or Saddam) type who just won't step down no matter what you throw at him, then you sic Africom or NATO for a more violent showdown. B6kYou need to be very clear about what you are saying so that we can have a useful discussion. Are you saying that the uprisings in Africa (Libya, Egypt, Tunisia) were pre-planned and implemented by the US government through AFRICOM – part of its military - and supported by IRI, Freedom House and others through training of ‘homegrown reformers’? ORAre you just saying that 'these guys' (by this I think you mean the ones who led the revolutions? Or you mean the Bouazizi type?) were merely trained by the US on how to organize and use facebook? But in fact they decided on their own what they wanted and did it? Your thesis needs to be absolutely clear so that if I have to tear it down, I can do so systematically. I think this is a careless statement. Especially so when viewed against the facts of your own case. To reach this conclusion, you have tom accept that the US planned everything to a tee. I disagree and I believe the facts bear me out. In my view, Barrack Obama, more than many US presidents has embraced multi-lateralism. The case of Libya is a good example. In the case of Egypt, the US were not even sure what was happening: Mubarak was a dependable ally that they only abandoned when it was clear that the revolution was real. But even when you look at his attempts to talk to Iran as opposed to the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive strikes. This aside, I can see conspiracy theories that are thrown about in order to weave a tale and support a conclusion. That is how Horace Campbell writes. Trying to fit every imaginable event into a single narrative. Let us not accept that uncritically. Let us lay out evidence and premise in a clear order that leads to an inescapable conclusion. Let us develop something that can stand analytical scrutiny. There are important questions that remain unanswered: 1. Is the Kenyan security operation in Somalia an AFRICOM operation fully planned and executed with US support? 2. Did the AFRICOM ignite or plan the Arab uprisings in Africa (Libya, Tunisia and Egypt)? If so where is the evidence for this? 3. Are these uprisings homegrown, spontaneous reactions to dictatorship and the economic conditions? Or were they triggered by American trained agents? 4. Overall was the Tunisian insurrection good for Tunisians? Was the Egyptian rebellion good for Egyptians and was the Libyan liberation good for Libyans? 5. If the NDI, IRI, Random House and any of the many agencies – private and public funded, American and non American – that are involved in supporting civic education were helping train people on use of social media; is this interpreted as part of a wider pre-plan to instigate the uprisings? What evidence can support such interpretation considering that the same organizations have been involved in similar activities in multiple countries for decades? I think there is a class of pseudo-intellectuals out there who grew up on a menu of anti-imperialism and cold war hype. They chose to see everything as part of some grand plan led by American agents. Surprisingly even some people who claim to be 'revolutionary' belong to this group. They have surrendered their intellectual independence to a narrow framework for analysing all World events. Horace Campbell and Onyango Oloo, unfortunately are good examples.
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Post by roughrider on Nov 14, 2011 11:58:54 GMT 3
Obama is worse than George Bush, my support for Obama ended the day i saw Gadaffi and his son murdered, the guy uses his looks and his fathers origin to promote the Americans agenda of destruction and killings. I was wrong in rejoicing when Obama won, same as Gadaffi did, but that was the biggest mistake Africans and the Arab world did, believing that he was different, no he is the worse, sheep in a wolf clothing. Could you explain how 1) Obama was involved in the killing of Bush (I was under the illusion that he was shot dead by Libyan rebels after his motorcade had met fire from French and NATO planes) and 2) How Obama uses his looks and fathers origin to promote 'America's agenda' I think you are expressing a racists attitude here. You should stick to facts. We all know Gaddafi killed hundreds of thousands of his own people and led an eccentric dictatorship. His people rose against him in copy cat uprising. He threatened to turn Libya into rivers of blood. NATO acted to stop what was going to be a terrible genocide. Now what is your alternative story that makes 'Obama worse than Bush'?
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Post by b6k on Nov 14, 2011 20:19:42 GMT 3
RR, interesting questions you bring up. Before I tackle them for you, here's another gem that was "released" shortly after the KE invasion of Somalia by NATO ally UK. It turns out that in July, UK special forces conducted an overland "raid" deep into Somali territory. The mission was to extract an unnamed warlord & take him to a navy vessel that was hovering off the coast where he would have a meeting with MI6 agents. RR, you may recall that on a separate thread I posted a link about a failed SAS mission in Libya where they were to take an MI6 agent to meet with rebel forces. They were captured by Libyan farmers. I guess the Brits learned from that experience & in this case decided to take the warlord to the agents! The Brits conduct their first mission in Somalia in 40 years & barely 2 months later KE invades the same neighboring state, something we have never done since independence? Sometimes there is an inconvenient truth behind so called conspiracy theories. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2054936/Somalia-Commandos-storm-war-zone-snatch-tribal-leader.html
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Post by nereah on Nov 14, 2011 20:48:22 GMT 3
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Post by jakaswanga on Nov 14, 2011 23:51:52 GMT 3
Nereah sis,I do not think this particular move to rope in the Israelis is smart. This is a case of lando aluny, after the army commander had begged the US army to help in the air, and the US navy to help in the blockade of Kismayo. But my real point is this: The politics of the middle east tend to be a zero sum game. You cannot be in bed with Israel on the other hand, and cultivate investment relationships with the Arab and oil lands. This is an escalation which will see an intensification of Gulf and Arab money going more to AL-Shabaab, to counter the jewish threat as they see it. They will be seeing Christian Ethiopia and Kenya ganging up with the USA and Israel against a muslim resistance group. Remember how covert support to Hezbollah has made sure the might of the Israeli army stays caged in her corner, glaring, but impotent. Kenya's interest is to pursue her own goals without engulfing herself in other peoples inflammatory emotions. Agwambo missed this calculation according to me.
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Post by tnk on Nov 15, 2011 0:24:22 GMT 3
jakaswanga
i think you missed the point
kenya is seeking israeli expertise on reprisal attacks. that is actually commendable i.e anticipating that the al shabaab will target civilians in kenya and who is more expert on this than the israelis. note also that training is aimed at the police force not army
in any case, israelis have been here many times during various disasters so this can be no different
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Post by nereah on Nov 15, 2011 12:56:18 GMT 3
jakaswanga & all,
this is food for thought. allow me to post on a new thread some very interesting viewpoints from some commentators who ought to know better. must read.
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Post by mzee on Nov 15, 2011 15:19:25 GMT 3
Bwana Adongo your prediction has come true. You wrote
"Good money is that taking those two guys out (preferably to court for a trial) pretty much finishes off Al Shabaab".
Aweys and Godane are down.
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Post by jakaswanga on Nov 15, 2011 18:27:09 GMT 3
jakaswanga i think you missed the point kenya is seeking israeli expertise on reprisal attacks. that is actually commendable i.e anticipating that the al shabaab will target civilians in kenya and who is more expert on this than the israelis. note also that training is aimed at the police force not army in any case, israelis have been here many times during various disasters so this can be no different[/b][/quote] tnk, It is possible I missed the point. But then, let us do it discreetly! I mean the chief of intelligence and director of counter-terrorism can quitely visit Israel and organise an OUTSIDE THE MEDIA programme of upgrading our boys. Leaving politicians to practice what B6K once told me is called 'plausible deniability'. You know like in the old days of apartheid, Kenya traded heavily with South Africa, but we had no diplomatic relations and our politicians could sucesfully deny the treachery! tnk sir, if it is in Kenya's interest to have expertise from Israel, so be it, But we need not yell at the top of our voices about it like Agwambo did. Since that can jeopardise our other interests. Like the begging from Iran to supply us with crude at discount rates. An oil importing company associated with Raila being one of the beneficiaries! So small and tight is the world!
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Post by adongo23456 on Nov 15, 2011 20:28:10 GMT 3
Bwana Adongo your prediction has come true. You wrote "Good money is that taking those two guys out (preferably to court for a trial) pretty much finishes off Al Shabaab". Aweys and Godane are down. My second piece on Somalia with a less militaristic approach and a big picture look at the Somali situation is ready by end of this week. But this is significant in two levels. If Al Shabaab becomes leaderless, it may encourage those Somalis who are against them to push them underground and change the direction of the war. Secondly, Al Shabaab is going to strike back to avenge those guys. Those are their two top most leaders. Expect Al Shabaab to do something pretty big and even more stupid like blowing up some school or any such easy targets. In the long run Kenya must be praying that no emotions of nationalism are evoked with these drone attacks. Kenya is now the visible enemy within the borders of Somali. They have taken full ownership of the war and that is the tough part. Any wrong turn and they have the bag in their hands. Kenya's biggest challenge is going to be holding the TFG together and making it palatble to Somalis as a government. Those guys being killed have friends in the TFG. Any split in the TFG will see different splinter groups emerging and that could send the war into a completely different direction.
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Post by b6k on Nov 15, 2011 21:32:47 GMT 3
RR, I'm glad you ask since this is information that's been in the public domain even before Gaddafi's take down. Naturally the best way to skin a cat is to put a local face on the skinner. You place homegrown reformists on the ground, they work up the population & if all goes to plan, a regime is toppled. If you have a tenacious opponent of the Gaddafi (or Saddam) type who just won't step down no matter what you throw at him, then you sic Africom or NATO for a more violent showdown. B6kYou need to be very clear about what you are saying so that we can have a useful discussion. Are you saying that the uprisings in Africa (Libya, Egypt, Tunisia) were pre-planned and implemented by the US government through AFRICOM – part of its military - and supported by IRI, Freedom House and others through training of ‘homegrown reformers’? ORAre you just saying that 'these guys' (by this I think you mean the ones who led the revolutions? Or you mean the Bouazizi type?) were merely trained by the US on how to organize and use facebook? But in fact they decided on their own what they wanted and did it? Your thesis needs to be absolutely clear so that if I have to tear it down, I can do so systematically. I think this is a careless statement. Especially so when viewed against the facts of your own case. To reach this conclusion, you have tom accept that the US planned everything to a tee. I disagree and I believe the facts bear me out. In my view, Barrack Obama, more than many US presidents has embraced multi-lateralism. The case of Libya is a good example. In the case of Egypt, the US were not even sure what was happening: Mubarak was a dependable ally that they only abandoned when it was clear that the revolution was real. But even when you look at his attempts to talk to Iran as opposed to the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive strikes. There are important questions that remain unanswered: 1. Is the Kenyan security operation in Somalia an AFRICOM operation fully planned and executed with US support? 2. Did the AFRICOM ignite or plan the Arab uprisings in Africa (Libya, Tunisia and Egypt)? If so where is the evidence for this? 3. Are these uprisings homegrown, spontaneous reactions to dictatorship and the economic conditions? Or were they triggered by American trained agents? 4. Overall was the Tunisian insurrection good for Tunisians? Was the Egyptian rebellion good for Egyptians and was the Libyan liberation good for Libyans? 5. If the NDI, IRI, Random House and any of the many agencies – private and public funded, American and non American – that are involved in supporting civic education were helping train people on use of social media; is this interpreted as part of a wider pre-plan to instigate the uprisings? What evidence can support such interpretation considering that the same organizations have been involved in similar activities in multiple countries for decades? RR, the preparation of the players was planned well in advance. Events in Tunisia were sparked by a random act, Bouazizi's self immolation. Bouazizi being a street vendor was likely not one of the trained individuals who using the momentum from his selfless act of eventual suicide. As the outrage grew, it was inevitable that those trained would either take advantage of the situation & fan the flames. You may recall that there were several copycat acts in Tunisia, Egypt & Algeria that really amounted to nothing except injury or death. The "sleeper" activists went into action once the media lauded the "Arab Spring". For all we know those 2 words may have been the code for these folks to go live. 1. KE is being led from behind by Africom on the Somali action. 2. They planned for it, but ofcourse may not be in a position to fully control events that can take a life of their own. 3. Tunisia was spontaneous. The rest were opportunistic activations of pre-planned unrest. Think of it as the realization of the Vietnam era domino effect in action. 4. Tunisia, good because it was organic. Egypt, time will tell. Libya, welcome to the Somalia of the north. 5. Freedom House. Random House is a publisher. Follow the trends since the Eastern European uprisings in the early 90's. Quite a number of youth led actions since then have had the same curious logo of a black upraised fist with people shouting "enough". I saw the fist on a clip from Syria recently. Coincidence? I don't think so...
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Post by b6k on Nov 15, 2011 21:46:10 GMT 3
But this is significant in two levels. If Al Shabaab becomes leaderless, it may encourage those Somalis who are against them to push them underground and change the direction of the war. Secondly, Al Shabaab is going to strike back to avenge those guys. Those are their two top most leaders. Expect Al Shabaab to do something pretty big and even more stupid like blowing up some school or any such easy targets. Adongo this is priceless. You've done a pretty good imitation of the Oracle of Delphi with your statements above. If the tide turns against a leaderless al Shabaab, you're right. If revenge attacks spike because al Shabaab are now leaderless you're also right. Talk about having your bases covered ;D
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Post by b6k on Nov 15, 2011 22:02:14 GMT 3
jakaswanga i think you missed the point kenya is seeking israeli expertise on reprisal attacks. that is actually commendable i.e anticipating that the al shabaab will target civilians in kenya and who is more expert on this than the israelis. note also that training is aimed at the police force not army in any case, israelis have been here many times during various disasters so this can be no different[/b][/quote] tnk, It is possible I missed the point. But then, let us do it discreetly! I mean the chief of intelligence and director of counter-terrorism can quitely visit Israel and organise an OUTSIDE THE MEDIA programme of upgrading our boys. Leaving politicians to practice what B6K once told me is called 'plausible deniability'. You know like in the old days of apartheid, Kenya traded heavily with South Africa, but we had no diplomatic relations and our politicians could sucesfully deny the treachery! tnk sir, if it is in Kenya's interest to have expertise from Israel, so be it, But we need not yell at the top of our voices about it like Agwambo did. Since that can jeopardise our other interests. Like the begging from Iran to supply us with crude at discount rates. An oil importing company associated with Raila being one of the beneficiaries! So small and tight is the world![/quote] Indeed, Jakaswanga. Even Matthew Iteere could've been sent on a quiet under the radar mission to Israel like he was sent to Kampala over Migingo. With the world's media going on about how the second highest politician in KE went to rub shoulders with the Israelis, plausible deniability goes out the window & KE may have ruffled a lot more feathers than al Shabaab. This visit is going to come back to haunt us...
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Post by tnk on Nov 15, 2011 22:14:51 GMT 3
tnk, It is possible I missed the point. But then, let us do it discreetly! I mean the chief of intelligence and director of counter-terrorism can quitely visit Israel and organise an OUTSIDE THE MEDIA programme of upgrading our boys. Leaving politicians to practice what B6K once told me is called 'plausible deniability'. You know like in the old days of apartheid, Kenya traded heavily with South Africa, but we had no diplomatic relations and our politicians could sucesfully deny the treachery! tnk sir, if it is in Kenya's interest to have expertise from Israel, so be it, But we need not yell at the top of our voices about it like Agwambo did. Since that can jeopardise our other interests. Like the begging from Iran to supply us with crude at discount rates. An oil importing company associated with Raila being one of the beneficiaries! So small and tight is the world! Indeed, Jakaswanga. Even Matthew Iteere could've been sent on a quiet under the radar mission to Israel like he was sent to Kampala over Migingo. With the world's media going on about how the second highest politician in KE went to rub shoulders with the Israelis, plausible deniability goes out the window & KE may have ruffled a lot more feathers than al Shabaab. This visit is going to come back to haunt us... hehehe on the one hand we are out there thumping our chests singing war songs going out to war then we want to sneak to israel because shhhh we dont want the guys we are pounding to know who we are getting help from am sure this makes sense to you me over here - my jaw is all the way to the floor
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Post by b6k on Nov 15, 2011 22:37:56 GMT 3
TNK this action was long overdue. The only thing I lament about it is that it ties in so well with Uncle Sam's grand chessboard schemes for Africa. But, what the heck, if they're going to underwrite it we might as well make the most of it. We just need to cap it off with the long overdue census re-run in most parts of the NEP.
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Post by adongo23456 on Nov 15, 2011 22:39:03 GMT 3
But this is significant in two levels. If Al Shabaab becomes leaderless, it may encourage those Somalis who are against them to push them underground and change the direction of the war. Secondly, Al Shabaab is going to strike back to avenge those guys. Those are their two top most leaders. Expect Al Shabaab to do something pretty big and even more stupid like blowing up some school or any such easy targets. Adongo this is priceless. You've done a pretty good imitation of the Oracle of Delphi with your statements above. If the tide turns against a leaderless al Shabaab, you're right. If revenge attacks spike because al Shabaab are now leaderless you're also right. Talk about having your bases covered ;D 6BK,It is called being smart and looking at all angles. That is what you do in a war. There are no straight lines. I had no idea I was going to become a war correspondent so fast. I was leaving that to the embedded journalists but they kept feeding us half baked stories and we couldn't see where things were heading. Then we took a look at the unfolding scenario and I think we are much better off knowing what is what? But here is the story as it develops. So far no names have been confirmed but it looks like all the biggies were there. I am gonna have to be careful. This is scary stuff: Where is General kunadawa when you need her? Here we go: www.the-star.co.ke/national/national/49258-drones-hit-al-shabaab-in-afgoyeTwo things. How the Somalis folks handle the unfolding situation of American drones and the now romoured Israeli involvement is a big deal. You got the most organized Al qaeda today in Yemen and that is a country that is falling apart. So far Al qaeda is not in Somalia. But there is nothing to stop them if they find the venture lucrative from their line of business. Somalia is strategically well placed from Yemen. So the one thing Kenyan has to avoid is to turn this into a battle with Al qeada. They have been claiming that for propaganda purposes and also to keep the West involved, but they know that is not the case now. That could change. Secondly, I have said many times that the greatest risk in whole adventure is Somali nationalism. If it gathers steam for whatever reason, Kenya is doomed in there. That too must be kept completely under wraps. How that can be done is another matter but for the most part it depends on a quick operation, not long occupation ideas or a confused scenario that looks hopeless. Now it is also very possible that if the key Al Shabaab leaders are eliminated it could give momentum to the Somalis opposed to Al Shabaab who are the majority. That will sure depend on other factors. It could very well be the opposite. That is the job of those on the ground to evaluate
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Post by wanyee on Nov 16, 2011 5:20:09 GMT 3
American empire and ‘excluded states’: the Millennium Challenge Account and the shift to pre-emptive developmentSUSANNE SOEDERBERGABSTRACT: In March 2002 President George W Bush announced the creation of what many insiders have heralded as a revolutionary development initiative: the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). The latter seeks to provide assistance to 79 of the world’s poorest countries—many of which have been often equated with the term ‘failed states’—so that they may reap the benefits of neoliberal-led globalisation. One of the most novel, and coercive, features of this development compact is the ‘pre-emptive’ method in which it will administer aid. Under the MCA, only countries that govern justly, invest in their people, and open their economies to foreign enterprise and entrepreneurship will qualify for funding. To this end the Bush administration has devised 16 eligibility criteria—ranging from civil liberties to ‘days to start a business’—that each country must successfully pass before receiving aid. Despite its impact on normalising, and thus legitimating, the tendency towards the privatisation of aid and militarisation of development, there has been very little critical work on the MCA. This paper sets out to fill this gap in the literature by attempting to understand historically the MCA as a moment of American empire.1 In doing so, I suggest that, while the form of the mca represents an unabashed articulation of US-led imperialism vis-a`-vis the poorest regions in the South, the content of this allegedly novel strategy reflects the same goals and interests that underlie the neoliberal agenda, namely, that the path to increased growth and prosperity lies in countries’ willingness and ability to adopt policies that promote economic freedom and the rule of law. MORE: www.queensu.ca/devs/sites/default/files/Preemptive_development_2.pdf
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Post by kunadawa on Nov 16, 2011 10:02:48 GMT 3
Where is General kunadawa when you need her? OO warned me to stay out of your thread
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Post by joblesscorner on Nov 17, 2011 8:48:57 GMT 3
WITNESS: The Mayor of Mogadishu
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Post by jakaswanga on Nov 17, 2011 22:03:35 GMT 3
hehehe on the one hand we are out there thumping our chests singing war songs going out to war then we want to sneak to israel because shhhh we dont want the guys we are pounding to know who we are getting help from am sure this makes sense to you me over here - my jaw is all the way to the floor tnk, Please rap up your jaw from the floor! And conseder the murky reality of international politics and diplomatic duplicity. Why do you think our governmensts have never publicly acknoledged that they provided fuel and other intelligence to the Israelis during the Entebbe raid? [Operation Thunderbolt]. Is it not to mind local sensitivities? And aren't most of our millitary pacts with foreign countries secret? such that even parliament has no notion of them? No laughing matter!
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Post by adongo23456 on Jan 7, 2012 2:17:47 GMT 3
Here we go again. Just what the doctor ordered. The insanity of it all. Very consistent with the gist of this story. We are losing lives here and these are our guys. Really? Very promising, isn't it? Here it is: www.news24.com/Africa/News/Fistfight-erupts-in-Somali-parliament-20120105And more. www.presstv.ir/detail/215907.htmlThe story in today's Toronto Star which I cannot find online is even more deadly with serious injuries to M.Ps after another round of fist fights on Thursday Jan 5, 2012. Two have been hospitalised with head injuries from flying chairs from fellow M.Ps. The president's side lost the fist fight and the election of the Speaker. Remember our story here identified the former speaker as one of Al Shabaab's sleeper cells the TFG parliament. of 530 handpicked M.Ps. In fact I indicated from sources that there are those who want the Speaker dead if Al Shabaab is to be contained. President Sharif has since declared the new Speaker' yesterday election null and void, which would suggest he is with the old Al Shabaab sleeper networks in the TFG. There is more chaos to come. What else does Al Shabaab need to feel in charge. And we Kenyans are paying with the lives of our soldiers and terrible scare in the land to boost this stupidity. Is it really worth it? OK, OK continues with the detector searches in malls but we also need to address the big question: What the heck are we doing in Somalia and to what end?
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Post by adongo23456 on Mar 24, 2012 22:15:36 GMT 3
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