It seems we are on the verge of a major and long lasting conflict in the Horn of Africa.The Islamic Courts Union(ICU) a radical organisation linked to Al-Qaeda have seized control of most of Somalia and seem bent on establishing a Taleban style Govt in the whole of Somalia

Meanwhile the UN backed interim govt is beseiged in one town,Baidoa,and is surviving soley thanks  to the aid of Ethiopian troops but there are recent reports that major combat has resumed between the ICU and the Ethiopian troops.http://billroggio.com/archives/2006/12/the_battle_of_somali.php

ICU is backed by Eritrea and  certain shadowy interests in the Muslim world,a number of Somalian men were reported to have fought with Hezbollah againnst Isreal,while the Ethiopians are mainly Christians.

Are we on the verge of a major religious conflict precipitated by Islamists?

na wah ohh for all this somalians dem no go rest? abi dem no dey tire sef, this maddness of theirs is way too much, when will they ever get tired of it? since when i was a kid i have been hearing of the war thats going on in that region now am an adult and its still the same, i don tire sef

check this out from bbc
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6204695.stm

everything is going from bad to worse and thats not good especillay for that region . .

Ohh I'm not worried, those skinny starved mofos can't stand Ethiopia's armed forces.

Why did America not go to Somalia several years ago to try and impose it's own style of democracy?

Well, they don't have any oil!

Seun:

Well, they don't have any oil!

Ha ha ha

Easyy:

Why did America not go to Somalia several years ago to try and impose it's own style of democracy?

America actually went to Somalia during the 90s and it ended in a debacle and they as well as the UN troops in general gave up on the place .

I don't know whether u want them to go again,if they did u probably condemn them for not minding their business

Easyy:

Why did America not go to Somalia several years ago to try and impose it's own style of democracy?

Seun:

Well, they don't have any oil!

More exhibition of ignorance. America actually went to Somalia and left after the ignominous murder of several US peacekeeping soldiers.

4 Play:

America actually went to Somalia during the 90s and it ended in a debacle and they as well as the UN troops in general gave up on the place .

I don't know whether u want them to go again,if they did u probably condemn them for not minding their business

It's common knowledge that America was in Somalia in those years.

The number of Americans killed in Somalia then is nowhere near the number killed so far in Iraq but America is still in Iraq with no withdrawal strategy. I would condemn them if they went there with sinister motives. I never condemned any American intervention anywhere till the Iraq invasion and violation.

davidylan:

More exhibition of ignorance. America actually went to Somalia and left after the ignominous murder of several US peacekeeping soldiers.

Absolutely nonsensical!

Is America in Somalia now? NO
What did America do in Rwanda to stop the genocide last decade? NOTHING
What is America doing in any country that is non-Islamic and has no oil at the moment, even in the face of carnage and denumanisation? NOTHING

4 Play:

America actually went to Somalia during the 90s and it ended in a debacle and they as well as the UN troops in general gave up on the place .

I don't know whether u want them to go again,if they did u probably condemn them for not minding their business

what is yr love affair with the US, if it would have benefited them, they would have been there before the conflict.

America may not be in Somalia right now, but a lot, and I mean a lot of Somalis have been relocated to the U.S. as refugees of the war.  Can you please tell me what other countries are doing?

What benefits does America gain from this except that the tax payers have to foot extra bills to cater to the needs of these refugees who are by the way, mostly muslims. Do you still question the U.S.'s motives?

TayoD:

America may not be in Somalia right now, but a lot, and I mean a lot of Somalis have been relocated to the U.S. as refugees of the war.

@TayoD et al,
Well, America is also currently giving technical support and training to the Ethiopian military in the fight against the Somali islamic clerics and the latest news is that the somalis are in retreat.
But the main point is this: I hope the US intelligence services has infiltrated the large Somali community who relocated to the US; this is because the perceived support of US for Ethiopia is an incentive for recruitment of somalians in US for terrorist attack. The second wave of a potential mass suicide bombing that failed in London on July 21 2005, were planned and executed by Somali citizens who were also relocated to the UK as refugees during the war, given council houses, paid despite not working, received free health care at tax payers expenses, etc.  But they decided to attack the UK because of the Middle East crisis. Now compare this with the current happening, and you see the clear danger sign on the horizon for the US. That's just their way of saying thank you!!
By the way, what's African Union doing?

Havila:

By the way, what's African Union doing?

Exactly what they were created to do: NOTHING!

Easyy:


What is America doing in any country that is non-Islamic and has no oil at the moment, even in the face of carnage and denumanisation? NOTHING

@Eassyy

America intevened militarily in Kosovo in 1999 and Bosnia in 1995,to help a muslim people who had no oil.America also intervened militarily in Liberia recently(no oil)They also sent troops briefly to Haiti,twice in the 90s and recently(no oil),American troops were at the forefront of recue ops in pakistan after the earthquake(no oil) and in Indonesia after the tsunami(no oil)


American engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan mean that there are no troops to spare,so the question of whether they should intervene is hypothetical.

America remained in Iraq longer than in Somalia partly for the fact that the Islamic terrorists think ,as Bin Laden noted, that the ease with which the US fled Somalia ,shows that the American people are too soft and cannot withstand casualties.Having made that mistake b4,they do not intend to make it again.Why should they leave unfinished their mission in Iraq,for a new mission in Somalia

For someone who is hypercritical of the US ,it is funny that when crisis arises,the first question u ask is what is America doing.That seems to assume that America has an obligation to intervene wherever there is a major problem.When they actually intervene,u criticisce them or conveniently forget that they helped.

My question is,what is the rest of humanity doing,what is the EU,China,the AU and Russia doing,why must it be only the US that gets asked that question?

if the world wants America to assume most of the responsibilty ,then they must be prepared to give America special privileges and stop complaining of the US being too powerful.Anyone critical of American power must be prepared to step in and act

TayoD:

America may not be in Somalia right now, but a lot, and I mean a lot of Somalis have been relocated to the U.S. as refugees of the war. Can you please tell me what other countries are doing?

What benefits does America gain from this except that the tax payers have to foot extra bills to cater to the needs of these refugees who are by the way, mostly muslims. Do you still question the U.S.'s motives?

other countries are actually taking more refugees and paying those that wantto return home!

Other countries taxpayers are also footing the bills

other countries are openly in discussions-_{not just giving statements when it suits them} about how to resolve the conflict in the region.

and i think america only intervened in the kosovo and bosnia region becuase they were part of nato, just like U.N in any other country really

any way this is just another religious thread in disguise sniff sniff the familiar names in here

@loverbuoy

I think u will find that the US is the single largest donor to Somalia-25
percent of humanitarian aid to Somalia comes from the US

Get real,America is the dominant power in NATO,and and went into kosovo and Bosnia of their own accord.The Americans even had to cajole some other reluctant NATO members like France for the Kosovo campaign .US spending on these campaigns ran into the tens of billion dollars.

the idea that the US went in simply because they were part of NATO is preposterous

The question still remains ,what are other countries doing to end the Somalian problem-Taking in refugees and talking about the it will not solve the problem.It remains to be seen what the rest of humanity canl do to end this conflict without US help

LoverBwoy:


and i think america only intervened in the kosovo and bosnia region becuase they were part of nato, just like U.N in any other country really

Are you saying Kosovo and Bosnia are part of NATO? Cause that would be extremely wrong. Kosovo is not even a country.

Without the US, there is no NATO and without the US, there is no UN.

I hope Ethiopia can exterminate this cancer called Somalia. It's an open wound that can't heal. The world will be a better place without their unending barbarism.

TayoD:

America may not be in Somalia right now, but a lot, and I mean a lot of Somalis have been relocated to the U.S. as refugees of the war. Can you please tell me what other countries are doing?

What benefits does America gain from this except that the tax payers have to foot extra bills to cater to the needs of these refugees who are by the way, mostly muslims. Do you still question the U.S.'s motives?

OK. I see what you mean
Those who can flee can come and offer cheap labour while the others kill themselves. BTW there are very many poor nations who take lots more refugees than America does.

4 Play:

@Eassyy

America remained in Iraq longer than in Somalia partly for the fact that the Islamic terrorists think ,as Bin Laden noted, that the ease with which the US fled Somalia ,shows that the American people are too soft and cannot withstand casualties.Having made that mistake before,they do not intend to make it again.Why should they leave unfinished their mission in Iraq,for a new mission in Somalia

For someone who is hypercritical of the US ,it is funny that when crisis arises,the first question u ask is what is America doing.That seems to assume that America has an obligation to intervene wherever there is a major problem.When they actually intervene,u criticisce them or conveniently forget that they helped.

My question is,what is the rest of humanity doing,what is the EU,China,the AU and Russia doing,why must it be only the US that gets asked that question?

if the world wants America to assume most of the responsibilty ,then they must be prepared to give America special privileges and stop complaining of the US being too powerful.Anyone critical of American power must be prepared to step in and act

I do not believe America has an obligation to intervene in any other Nation's affairs and I'm sure Americans dont see it that way too. I would have expected you to understand that my point is that America is being hypocritical about it's so called unsolicited 'beneficial intervention' in the affairs of other Nations.

America is trying to give itself the responsibilty. No one did!!! No one is critical of American power. I am critical of the current American government's bullying of Islamic Nations and the wasting of human (Islamic) lives as though they were sub human. I also sense a that the development will shift to the persecution of non-whites as well. George Bush's government has a hatred of anyone who is different and it wont be long till they come after people who have different colour of skin(if he is able to complete is attempted decimation of Islamic people and all different cultures)

davidylan:

Exactly what they were created to do: NOTHING!

Yes. They do NOTHING. They do not invade any nation on false pretences either. They dont attack people for being different. They dont go into other countries to kill and maim innocent women and children. They dont attack other nations to capture their men and sexually molest them in prisons.

Easyy:

BTW there are very many poor nations who take lots more refugees than America does.

And where does the money that takes care of those refugees come from?

Easyy:

Yes. They do NOTHING. They do not invade any nation on false pretences either. They don't attack people for being different. They don't go into other countries to kill and maim innocent women and children. They don't attack other nations to capture their men and sexually molest them in prisons.

Neither are they interested in stopping the carnage in Darfur, neither did they do anything to stop the genocide in Rwanda. They did not stop the civil war in SierraLeone, Burundi, Congo DR, Liberia. Neither are they bothered about the rudderless nation of Somalia nor are they bothered by the constant conflicts in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Easyy:

I do not believe America has an obligation to intervene in any other Nation's affairs and I'm sure Americans don't see it that way too. I would have expected you to understand that my point is that America is being hypocritical about it's so called unsolicited 'beneficial intervention' in the affairs of other Nations.

America is trying to give itself the responsibilty. No one did!!! No one is critical of American power. I am critical of the current American government's bullying of Islamic Nations and the wasting of human (Islamic) lives as though they were sub human. I also sense a that the development will shift to the persecution of non-whites as well. George Bush's government has a hatred of anyone who is different and it wont be long till they come after people who have different colour of skin(if he is able to complete is attempted decimation of Islamic people and all different cultures)

This is hysterical mumbo jumbo.

If the US is trying to decimate the muslim people,that must explain why they were at the forefront of providing humanitarian relief in the aftermath of the earthquake in Pakistan and the tsunami in Indonesia hence saving thousands of muslims lives,for we all know that the best way to decimate a people, is to help them in the time of need.

It must also explain why the US spends a lot of money in development aid to muslim countries

Since u don't consider that the US has any obligations to help in somalia,that should put to rest any questions as to what the US is doing to help in Somalia

I await with interest ,to see the results of the efforts of the rest of the international community to put an end to the crisis in SOMALIA.We have already seen the lilly livered efforts of the AU monitoring team in Darfur.I wonder why the people of Darfur keep calling for US intervention

@afam

where r u this guys are arguing again

is America right or wrong here

@kaecy5

For AFAM America is always wrong.No point asking the question

@Kaecy5,

How body? What I think about the US being right or wrong is immaterial.

The way the arguement is going isn't really helping matters as emotions run high and some of us have come out (as usual) to make very wrong statements that will only attract insults when they are pointed out.

@4Play,

If you were a soothsayer you would have been broke if you depended on it for survival.

I do not believe the US is always wrong because as a matter of fact there are quite a number of good things the US does but in the context of our disagreements thus far, the wrongs done by the US have been the focus not the rights.

I hope you also understand that normal human beings are capable of pointing out the good and the bad without unnecessary emotions, sentiments and bias.

Put differently, I do not believe in blanket commendation or blanket condemnation of anyone, any group or any nation, something you have consistently proven you are incapable of doing because to you everything the US does is right while everything any muslim person or nation does is wrong.

I am not filled with hated partly masked by lack of understanding and propensity to lie just to push forward certain misinformations.

I had thought you would have been humbled by your outright lie that the US was a voluntary union or at best tendered an apology to the forum for trying to decieve and misinform, instead you have chosen to chase Afam for pointing out such grave and dangerous lie.

The only problem is that I am really getting tired or pointing out such lies as they are indeed many, give yourself a break or seek to know what you don't know rather than exposing yourself to the world the way you have been doing for sometime now.

I believe the Ethiopians are being funded and equiped by the Americans to route out the Islamist courts.

@Afam

Can u pls tell us which foreign policy decision of the US u agree with?

Your posts are always a cocktail of inane and obtuse knee jerk anti-american rants

Personally, I think the US should restrict their policy in Somalia to that of mediation and supply of humanitarian aid

While Ethiopia has made recent progress against the ICU,ultimately the dispute will have to resolved by dialogue in which the modalities of a power sharing agreement can be worked ut btw the ICU and the transitional govt

Since producing just one foreign policy will result in you asking why I produced just one so I have decided to produce 3 foreign policies that I support even though the implementations may have some flaws.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++===============

1. Protecting the safety and freedom of all American citizens, both within the United States and abroad;

2. Furthering free trade, unencumbered by tariffs, interdictions and other economic barriers, and furthering capitalism in order to foster economic growth, improve living conditions everywhere, and promote the sale and mobility of U.S. products to international consumers who desire them;

3. Bringing developmental and humanitarian aid to foreign peoples in need.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

However, I hope you understand that support for these policies do not mean that I cannot criticize it when it commits crimes against people, groups or nations.

Any other question?