US Accused of Funding Somali Militants To Battle Islamic Coalition

A Somali expert who has been consulting with the involved groups is declaring that the United States is funneling up to $150,000 a month to Somali warlords. Former intelligence officials claim this operation is in effect to prevent the rise of rulers that may provide a safe haven for groups like Al-Qaeda similar to the Taliban of Afghanistan. The operation was apparently set back on Monday when an Islamic coalition siezed control of the capital, Mogadishu. The Pentagon has refused to discuss any possible involvement in the matter.



In the related article it appears that the opinion of many Somalis is that Islam and an Islamic state may help stabilize their country and save their lives. For reasons which may seem justified, the Pentagon is running a proxy campaign to try and prevent the rise of any Islamic Republic in the nation.

The only reason Western powers say that al-Qaida is in Somalia is because they are afraid that Somalia will become an Islamic state and they will do everything they can to stop that," Aweys says. "I believe there's not even one person in Somalia connected to al-Qaida. We are one clan, one color, one language. We would not accept foreigners (al-Qaida) here."

Aweys, with penetrating eyes and a red, henna-tipped beard, is deeply suspicious of Western journalists. I am just the second to interview him within his guarded compound in Mogadishu.

As I a set up my camera and tripod, he asks me if I am an American -- and a Jew. He looks at me askance, as if I were a spy, but consents to the interview anyway.

I ask him about the March 2005 United Nations report that claimed Somalia has become a haven for jihadists and has no fewer than 17 mobile terrorist training camps on its soil.

"The FBI, people like you (journalists) and other groups who are often in the shadows always say al-Qaida is in Somalia," says Aweys, dismissively.

Interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed "also said two years ago there were al-Qaida training camps here. Well, the FBI came here, journalists came here and there were no training camps. It's just not true. We all know each other in Somalia. We would know if al-Qaida was here."

I do not necessarily feel this is another attack against Islam, but I find it hard to justify further destabilizing an already devastated nation by pitting fellow man against each other in order to prevent a goal that many of the citizens would like to come to fruition.

Is it the right of foreign nations to dictate how a different culture shall choose to shape their own future, especially when the citizens of that culture have expressly demonstrated against the desires of these outside entities? I personally do not believe so.


Related News Links:
hotzone.yahoo.com
news.yahoo.com

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
U.S. secretly backing Somali warlords

[edit on 6/5/2006 by DYepes]

[edit on 5-6-2006 by DontTreadOnMe]

Even if the US was sending money...

How would this necessarily be a bad thing?

How could htis be a bad things? U.S. financing warlords in somalia to destabalize any islamic form of government. Well i take that your not a muslim, but is it right for america to fund fighting in a country that has nothing to do with terroism, or "al-quida" so tell me one reason why america should be aloud to do this?
Because a islamic republic is not the "american way" of doing things, doesnt mean its wrong if the "people" of the country want it.
By the way where do you think that $100,000 a month is comming from? Your tax. And do you really think this is the only operation going on in the world? I highly doubt it.

Well now according to the second related news source, the Islamic coalition has now for the first time in fifteen years unified the capitol city of Mogadishu. This is a peoples movements.

The advance unified the city for the first time in more than a decade and after 15 years of anarchy in this Horn of Africa nation. But it also posed a direct challenge to a fledging U.N.-backed Somali government.

"We won the fight against the enemy of Islam. Mogadishu is under control of its people," Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic Courts Union, said in a radio broadcast. The militia, which has formed an alliance that transcends clan, controls a 65-mile radius around the capital after fighting off a secular alliance of warlords

The militia is the first group to consolidate control over all of Mogadishu's neighborhoods since the last government collapsed in 1991 and warlords took over, dividing this impoverished country of 8 million people into a patchwork of rival fiefdoms.

Omar Jamal, director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minn., said the Islamic militia's victory in Mogadishu was a turning point in the country's history.

Source

Your question of why this is bad can be answered that this Us initiative is promoting the further destabalization of the country for the mere fact that they do not want an Islamic State. Just because the US does not want an Islamic state does not mean the people do not. These people want stability, and paying warlords to fight the coalition that is atempting to bring it does not help.

Alliance leaders could not be reached for comment Monday and had likely fled Mogadishu. One of them, warlord Mohamed Dheere, was believed to be in neighboring Ethiopia seeking reinforcements.

The United States is backing the secular alliance in an attempt to root out any al-Qaida members operating in the Horn of Africa. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, have confirmed cooperating with the warlords. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, president of Somalia's transitional national government, has said Washington is funding the alliance.

The Bush administration has not confirmed or denied backing the alliance, saying only that they support those who fight terror.

So apparantly terror means Islam, because that is expressly what they are trying to fight off. Yet this Islamic group has unified and slightly stabalized a very important part of the country. The Somali president himself said that the US is funding this group, which appears to be failing.

we dont learn do we. where did Al Qaeda come from in the first place? our funding thats where. now we are funding another militant group to stop the militant group we created. now we may create two militant groups with power rather then just one....grreeeeaaaatttt.

Reality check.

An honest observer would say your statement smacks of a certain hypocrisy.

For starters $100,000 is chump change. So I will ask the question again... What exactly is the problem?

Do you really think that tax revenues are in any shape, way or form... my money?

Where is the hypocrisy? Here you go... Good Muslims are expected to be charitable, isn't that right? How else do you think Muslim terrorists the world over can afford all of those shiny new weapons, bombs, etc? Hmmm?

Huge portions of the world are on fire... Cuz quite frankly THAT is what Muslims want. It's not like you can stick a gun in someones face and force them to kill non-believers... Hmmm?

[edit on 6-6-2006 by golemina]

I imagine our base in Djibouti has absolutely nothing to do with this. LOL

Originally posted by golemina
Reality check.

An honest observer would say your statement smacks of a certain hypocrisy.

For starters $100,000 is chump change. So I will ask the question again... What exactly is the problem?

[edit on 6-6-2006 by golemina]

Yeah for the likes of American Armed forces. Imagine what that money can do _monthly_ when given to warlords in _Africa_.

Originally posted by golemina
Reality check.

Check 1, Check 2, Check 3 - come back and Check Me.

An honest observer would say your statement smacks of a certain hypocrisy.

As does Yours.

For starters $100,000 is chump change. So I will ask the question again... What exactly is the problem?

The Article said More then 100.000$ a MONTH - and if you are not sure of the value of that kind of Money in AFRICA, then I suggest you go and walk with this "Chump Change" across the streets of Mogadishu and wait for what happens.

What exactly is the Problem? Can you spell "CIVIL WAR"?

Where is the hypocrisy? Here you go... Good Muslims are expected to be charitable, isn't that right? How else do you think Muslim terrorists the world over can afford all of those shiny new weapons, bombs, etc? Hmmm?

They have Shiny New Weapons?
Wow - I was not aware of that!
And I thought that an AK47 was the representative rifle for Muslim Terrorists!
That sure ain't Shiny and it double Sure ain't New.

Huge portions of the world are on fire... Cuz quite frankly THAT is what Muslims want. It's not like you can stick a gun in someones face and force them to kill non-believers... Hmmm?

Hmmmm... you are kind of GENERALIZING the word "Muslims". Let me exercise the same generalisation, about what Good Christians do, if we look at the Haditha massacre of Iraqi Civilans:

I guess that Christians like to crash open the doors of a family house, first shoot the Father, then the Mother and then all the Children of the family, starting with 1-year old Baby. Then they drop a few bombs and possibly call an Airstrike to cover up all the evidence. Quite frankly, is THAT what ALL CHRISTIANS do? You want to be Generalized according to this event?

Huge portions of the world are on Fire, because Somebody NEEDS war.

Who is that?

How many countries do the "BAD Muslims" have occupied right now?

On How many countries of NON-Belivers are they standing on?

How many "INFIDEL" countries do they own?

Can you point me to this terrible, Terrible Muslim Occupation of the "Free World"?

And IF you want to know about Africa and why there are so many struggles in this part of the world, I suggest you open up a book and start reading - because it sure is not ALL Muslims fault; it looks to me, that Western Elite are manipulating with the Entire Third World Countries, practising De-Population of all forms; sparking Civil Wars and Ethnic Clashes (want to count how many of those were in Africa?), spreading deadly diseases etc. So if they stay fighting among each other - WE can steal their Resources!

YEEeehaaaAAW!

Yet again - Babylon Come To DIVIDE and RULE them ALL!

Originally posted by golemina
Even if the US was sending money...

How would this necessarily be a bad thing?

My thoughts exactly, give them more money IMO.

I'm not Islam bashing but the last thing the world needs is another back water 3rd world country ruled by Islam extremists raising their kids to be suicide bombers.

[edit on 6-6-2006 by d1k]

Hears one line from something else that I found on Somali

The Somalia people are said to have a single language and to share a mono-cultural. In fact, Somalia has always been divided into southern agro-pastoral clans and northern nomadic clans, which have distinctively different cultural, linguistic, and social structures

Hears the link if you want to read the hole thing.

www.arlaadinet.com...&MHistory/SomaliHistory/somali_history.htm

To include some reality in your 'reality check' responses.

I'll tell you what. Start a thread, in a more appropriate forum, along these lines, drop me a note, and we'll show you were you took a wrong turn/straighten those grounded in reality views of yours.

It also might have been nice to actually include an answer to the points I was bringing forth... Instead of I guess of what can probably only be considered something approaching histrionics (read baiting).

Who does that stuff work on?

Please be sure to leave room in your opening statement, so we can go over this fantasy of yours how the 'world being on fire' is all of the West's doing... Also explain the mechanics to me how 'we' (as in Americans/Westerners) force Muslims to go out and kill yada yada yada.

Fair enough?

[edit on 6-6-2006 by golemina]

Originally posted by golemina
To include some reality in your 'reality check' responses.

Well excuse me, but how do you Establish PEACE in a certain country, if you re-solution is to found the OTHER Militia, that is im conflict?

Isn't that kind of like, pouring Gas over Fire to estingish it?

I bet we won't see anymore Rangers and Marines in Somalia ey?

Nope - the vast majority of them is in Iraq and Afganistan.

So, lets just found the local anti-Muslims and give them some money and keep them fighting for a couple of years.

That should shut them up for a while, right?

You have Much to Learn young Apprentice...

I take it you are refusing my kind offer to take it the appropriate forum...

That's OK. I understand... your... ah... reluctance...

Once again. Your comments though obviously striving for sincerity have precious little to do with the subject at hand.

Keep clicking that dial a little further... I have great confidence in you actually being able to cross back into reality.

I have great confidence in you ole wise one.

Is it considered bad netiquette to point out once again you seem to have conveniently spaced off answering my assertions.

Bad golemina! Bad golemina!

It is being reported on PBS, that Bush will make a decishen and decide what to do when he gets back to DC

Secetrey Choen is stating that it is a very good thing that most of the war loards have been driven out.

Is also being stated that most of the bunsisses are suporting the Islam Gov.

I'm not Islam bashing but the last thing the world needs is another back water 3rd world country ruled by Islam extremists raising their kids to be suicide bombers.

[edit on 6-6-2006 by d1k]

If we would stop invading them and killing civilians to rape them from their ressources, do you think they would need to raise their children as their form of resistance, suicide bombers? Stop crap please.

Originally posted by Vitchilo
If we would stop invading them and killing civilians to rape them from their ressources, do you think they would need to raise their children as their form of resistance, suicide bombers? Stop crap please.

Amen, it's always the same crew, same excuses. We go out and we tell other people how they should live, we bomb them, we massacre them, and then we sit back like innocent angels and ask, "why do they hate us?" America has gone from the benevolent protector to the big bully of the world. You do something we don't like, we'll kill you. We have to protect our national security. What a joke.

Maybe if we minded our own business every now and then, and stop creating militias that will eventually want to kill us, we'll be treated better. 100K a month, that is a lot of weapons if you're in Africa, I'm sure. When will we ever learn. I can't wait for the responses either, "you're a false patriot, where's your proof, you must sympathize with the terrorists first above your fellow Americans." I'm sure there's more that I don't remember, but I'm sure that I will hear them.

Something else I am curious about:

posted by golemina
I'll tell you what. Start a thread, in a more appropriate forum, along these lines, drop me a note, and we'll show you were you took a wrong turn/straighten those grounded in reality views of yours.

What does that mean, "we'll show you." Is there some sort of group you have to come on here and push your views, while condemning others?

Originally posted by Vitchilo

I'm not Islam bashing but the last thing the world needs is another back water 3rd world country ruled by Islam extremists raising their kids to be suicide bombers.

[edit on 6-6-2006 by d1k]

If we would stop invading them and killing civilians to rape them from their ressources, do you think they would need to raise their children as their form of resistance, suicide bombers? Stop crap please.

If they would stop killing each other then I don't think anyone would have to go in there in the first place. That may be the problem though, we should have just let the barbarians kill each other.

First of all. . . money in any quantities in any poor African country will buy anything including governments.

Second since went US gets involve in third world countries if is not because some interest to further agendas of democracy.

History tells a different story when it comes to the countries that US has backed up even if the governments are not for the best interest of their people . . .

Islam or radical Islam is bad news in poor countries where they find supporters due to the desperation of the populations and their bad governments but funding bad governments to stop Islam because of agendas is as bad.

Somalia is ruled by various clan-based military groups, UN and US had a bad time with their involvement in the 1993 civil war, now I guess the lesson was learned and money can do a better job.

But I wonder . . . I still remember the Blackhawk helicopter that was shot down, killing all eighteen U.S. soldiers aboard, some of whose corpses were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu . . . some things are hard to forget . . .

Now we are supporting monetarily perhaps the same groups that did the horrible deed . . . all in the name of fighting terror.

The only nations where suicide bombings are occurring at the moment are Israel, Afghanistan, and Iraq. I am sure you are already well aware of the whole Palestine/Israel situation, I will not go into that. Of course it must be hard to explain Afghanistan and Iraq. I mean it is not as if their nations are currently being occupied by foreign powers with far superior technology, espionage, and propaganda.

The rest of the Muslim nations in the world are more or less stable in relation to any of the non-Muslim nations of the world. Any of the problems in the Muslim nations other than the ones listed are no different or exclusive to Muslims at all. Sudan? How about Serbia and that little region in Central Europe? Iran? North Korea and Europe. Pakistan is in the same situation as many of the Asia-Pacific or some Central American nations. Libya, Morocco? They don't seem to be having any issues. The rest of them are pretty much under control of the Western puppet masters and international bankers.

The only countries where these suicide bombings are being reported to occur commonly are strangely enough the nations currently under foreign occupation.

So if you would please leave the ignorant Anti-Islamic rhetoric behind now, we can seriously discuss the issue at hand. The Peoples Islamic movement has succeeded in unifying and stabilizing a zone of control about 65 mile radius according to their accounts. As far as I see, it would be a very good thing for Other Islamic powers to perhaps being providing aid to this movement to help ease the suffering of this developing movement. Maybe they can pull out a representative out of it to help delegate the situation further without directly being involved in any of the conflict?