Tuesday, January 18, 2011

“Like Afghanistan Without Nato.” From Somalia’s New Prime Minister, A Cry For Help And A Warning

In an exclusive interview, the US-educated African leader says Islamic terrorists are flocking to his country. And preparing to strike the West.

Somalia's future in doubt
Somalia's future in doubt (Sandpaper)

By Marco Bardazzi
LA STAMPA/Worldcrunch

Three months after leaving behind a comfortable academic life in the United States to become Prime Minister of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has a chilling assessment of the state of affairs of his native land. “Somalia is like Afganistan. But the one difference is that NATO is in Afghanistan, and all the terrorists who have fled Kabul are now here.”

Speaking with La Stampa, Mohamed sent a clear warning call to the West. In Somalia, Islamic terrorists “have found a safe haven from which they can strike New York, or Milan. The international community must understand this and act on it soonest, and Italy should take the lead.”

Until last fall, Mohamed was a college professor in Buffalo. Now he is at the helm of a government of 18 people, for the most part former expatriates who have come back home after years abroad in an effort to save the country from becoming the African version of a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Mohamed’s transitional federal government remains in power until August, when his mandate runs out. It is not clear much the temporary leaders can change a country considered the world’s most dangerous.

Speaking on the eve of a trip that took him to New York to seek the help of the U.N. Security Council, Mohamed said he has also sought a meeting with the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, or the foreign minister, Franco Frattini. So far he has received no reply. U.S. Ambassador to Rome David Thorne said in an interview with La Stampa days ago that, according to the CIA, Rome can play a significant role in the Horn of Africa region. But Somalia wants more from its former colonial rulers: it wants Italy to take charge of saving Somalia like other ex-colonial powers have done elsewhere in Africa.

Mr. Prime Minister, how did a U.S. political science professor become the head of the Somali government?


I’ve always been engaged in and worried about the future of my country, even though I left it 25 years ago. Many ex-pats like myself have thought this was the time to come back, to prevent Somalia from ending up in the hands of religious extremists.

Your government was formed in October and approved by Parliament in December. The international community is skeptical as to what you can really do. What results have you achieved so far?


We’ll do whatever we can, but we need international help, both financially and militarily. First of all we are working to ensure that soldiers receive a regular salary, because they cannot fight on an empty stomach against terrorists who are well financed -- including from abroad -- and strengthened by the arrival of combatants from Afghanistan, Chechnya, Pakistan, as well as from other African countries. The African Union has 8,000 troops here to help ours, but that is not enough. The terrorists are coming by the thousands as they perceive Somalia to be the world’s weak link.

How worried are you by the recent decision of the two main Islamist groups, al-Shabab and Hisbul Islam, to merge?

We are fighting against the terrorists in a tough way, we won’t give them any room. Many have already abandoned fundamentalism and joined us.

How much of your country does your government control?

We are in control of 65 % of Mogadishu. In the rest of the country, the situation is more complicated, but we have made progress. People are starting to trust us. If in the next eight months we can guarantee a higher level of security and show that we are an efficient government that is not corrupt, then the people will be on our side. But, I stress, in the absence of greater help from the U.N., Washington, the EU and perhaps even NATO, this will not be enough.

What can Italy do?

Italians are a great people, and we share much history. We are greatly appreciative of what Italy has done in the past, but it can and must do much more. It has both the resources and the skills to intervene directly, the same way that other colonial powers have done in other parts of Africa: I’m thinking about the U.S., France or Great Britain and what happened in Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Chad or Kenya. We expect direct help from the Italian government, or that Italy takes the lead in Europe to allow for financial intervention and the deployment of experts and military forces.

If your government fails, what destiny awaits Somalia?

It will become a threat to the whole of mankind.

Read original article in Italian

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

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