In 2001 movie goers were thrilled and shocked by Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down, a film about US efforts in Somalia as part of UNISOM II, during which the Battle of Mogadishu took place. In that particular film, efforts were aimed at capturing Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the intent being to have Aidid tried for war crimes. There was also a $25,000 bounty placed on his head to help matters along.
For those unfamiliar with what was took place in Somalia in the early 90’s, the civil war that had erupted resulted in a mass disruption in agricultural production which, coupled with drought, led to widespread famine. The United Nations, not long after, declared it a humanitarian disaster, one in which 300,000 Somalis would ultimately perish, though it should not be overlooked that aid efforts were used by rivaling factions in the country for their benefit and as a means to effect their opposition by disrupting the ability for it to be safely distributed, further compounding the problem.
The history of Somalia itself is not dissimilar to many African nations. Like most it was carved up by a variety of European powers, in Somalia’s case the British, French and Italians in the late 19th century. It would not be until 1960 that Somalia would achieve her independence, and even then, France retained governance over Djibouti until 1977.
Given that, context is important. During the Second World War, many Somalis fought along side the Allies. But at the end of the war they were once again subjugated by their colonial rulers, leaving many disenfranchised who during the war had gained a sense of hope regarding the attainment of their independence. This sense of betrayal would ultimately forge the beginnings of the independence movement.
One of the most important examinations of modern Somali history has to be that of the Ogaden War. The ironies of that conflict were considerable, though not unheard of in the context of the Cold War, being that the Soviets, for a time, found themselves arming both sides. After an intervention on their part to mediate between the Somalis and Ethiopians failed, Moscow ultimately decided to back Ethiopia, which had started to exhibit Communist leanings, sending advisors accompanied by some 15,000 Cuban troops to the country. These were further bolstered by assistances from numerous other Communist enclaves, among them North Korea, East Germany, and Yemen. The Somali regime’s response to this was the severing of diplomatic ties with Moscow and the expulsion of all Soviet citizens from the country. Likewise, in the case of Ethiopia, given its new allegiance with the Soviet block, in 1977 it closed the US military mission and communications centre that had previously existed there.
Ultimately, the Ogaden War resulted in the devastation of Somalia’s military, which bore grave implications for the regime of Siad Barre. The outcome of the conflict saw the rise of the SSDF, the first organized opposition group to Barre’s regime, largely populated by Somali military officers. Despite the Carter administration’s overt refusal to aid the Somalis during the conflict, Somalia soon after became a US client state in exchange for the use of Somali bases, and remained so until 1988.
In 1991, after the end of the Cold War, Somali resistance movements, largely influenced by the Ethiopians, plunged the country into a state of civil war, one that has existed on and off for the better part of 16 years. With the rise of the ICU, who drove the ARPCT from the country into Ethiopia in 2006, which for a period of time stabilized parts of Somalia (not including Jubaland, which claimed autonomous authority), concerns began to grow that several members of the Council possessed ties to radical Islamic organizations. And even though most who came under their governance claimed that even having to endure Sharia Law was preferable to the turmoil that had destabilized the country for so long, the removal of the ICU became an issue for others, primarily the United States, who view the possibility of Somalia becoming an Islamic state a regional threat and a location from which terrorist organizations might operate. This ultimately led to their backing of the Ethiopian military invasion of Somalia and the funding of Somali warlords in an attempt to drive the IUC from the capital. In that effort, the United States provided bomber coverage and the inclusion of Delta Force teams, the former resulting in civilian casualties that went largely unreported. In fact, US actions in the entire affair had been largely ignored by many.
One of the most crucial aspects of these events was reported by The Observer on September 10th of 2006…
“Dramatic evidence that America is involved in illegal mercenary operations in east Africa has emerged in a string of confidential emails seen by The Observer. The leaked communications between US private military companies suggest the CIA had knowledge of the plans to run covert military operations inside Somalia - against UN rulings - and they hint at involvement of British security firms.
The emails, dated June this year, reveal how US firms have been planning undercover missions in support of President Abdullahi Yusuf’s transitional federal government - founded with UN backing in 2004 - against the Supreme Islamic Courts Council - a radical Muslim militia which took control of Mogadishu, the country’s capital, also in June promising national unity under Sharia law.
Evidence of foreign involvement in the conflict would not only breach the UN arms embargo but could destabilise the entire region.
One email dated Friday, 16 June, is from Michele Ballarin, chief executive of Select Armor - a US military firm based in Virginia. Ballarin’s email was sent to a number of individuals including Chris Farina of the Florida-based military company ATS Worldwide.
Ballarin said: ‘Boys: Successful meeting with President Abdullay Yussef [sic] and his chief staff personnel in Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday … where he invited us to his private hotel suite flacked by security detail … He has appointed is chief of presidential protocol as our go to during this phase.’
She refers to one ‘closed-door meeting’ with a senior UN figure and mentions there are ‘a number of Brit security firms’ also looking to get involved.
Ballarin claimed she has been given ‘carte blanche’ to use three bases in Somalia ‘and the air access to reach them’.
She then suggests that the CIA have been kept informed of the plans. Ballarin states: ‘My contact whom we discussed from the agency side requested an in-person meeting with me. I arrived in New York at 2340 last night and was driven to Virginia - arriving at 0200 today.’�?
Here it should be noted that the ICU’s primary concern was Ethiopian influence within Somalia, and that the UN recognized transitional government, who were, in fact, guarded by the Ethiopian military, was little more than an extension of exterior elements bent on proxy rule.
It would seem that the ICU’s fears were well founded. Not only has the United States helped further arm and train the Ethiopian military (and I would imagine they have provided other resources such as satellite coverage, etc), but that it aided Ethiopia’s invasion of the country, which was also joined by some of the very Somali factions that UNISOM I and UNISOM II were created to disenfranchise.
The outcome has had disastrous repercussions.
The UN is now warning that a humanitarian disaster in Somalia is imminent. There are also reports the that UN backed transitional government has blocked aid to those needing it. According to the BBC…
“More than 200,000 people have fled their homes amid ongoing clashes in the capital, Mogadishu, the UN said.
Aid workers say the city is inhabited only by fighters and men protecting the remains of their property.
At least 20 people have been killed in the latest clashes, with artillery being used in residential areas.
The clashes made it hard to deliver aid to the displaced, the UN says.
Most people lacked food and water and hundreds had already died from cholera and diarrhoea, UN humanitarian co-ordinator Eric Laroche said.�?
[…]
“Eyewitnesses said there had also been a big explosion at an Ethiopian army complex south of the city.
“Six consecutive missiles hit… There are many wounded,” said Hassan Ibrahim, as he drove a minibus full of the wounded to a hospital.
The shelling was centred around the central presidential palace, the former defence ministry and a former secondary school in the north.
An eyewitness who saw the explosion at the Ethiopian army base told the BBC Somali service the rising debris and smoke looked like a “flying mountain”.
He said people fleeing the area told him that after the blast Ethiopian troops started firing at people passing by; bodies are reported to be strewn along the street.�?
[…]
“BBC East Africa correspondent Adam Mynott says the displaced are living scattered across southern and central Somalia in appalling conditions.
There are also claims that the transitional government has blocked aid from getting to some of those who need it.
Somalia has not had an effective national government for 16 years.
Last month, more than 1,000 people were killed in the heaviest fighting sine 1991.
The Ethiopian troops have started to withdraw, to be replaced by an African Union peacekeeping force.
But only 1,200 troops, of the 8,000 the AU says it needs, have been deployed.�?
And so – where are the puppet masters? Beyond claims that this is a fight that falls within the auspices of The War On Terror, and who knows what in the future won’t be able to be categorized as such, US military contractors are having a field day, Ethiopia has now opened itself up to US ‘conveniences’ in The War On Terror, namely the use of prison facilities famed for their abuse to house and interrogate rendered detainees, and allowed them, by way of Ethiopia as a proxy, to gain substantial influence over the transitional government if it is able to secure the country.
Many of us might disagree with the ideology of the ICU, but as I pointed out in an entry dated March 31st…
“The Bush administration has, of course, linked the Islamic Courts Union with al-Qaeda. Of the eleven courts within the Union, which was chaired by a moderate - Sharif Sheikh Ahmed – whose primary goal was to bring stability to the country (though I will not deny that the movement was steeped in the implication of Sharia Law), one of the courts was led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, once the head of al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, which has been linked to al-Qaeda, and another by Adan Hashi Ayro, whose militia was implicated in the deaths of five foreign aid workers and a BBC producer. These factors obviously allowed the United States to funnel resources towards the removal of the ICU, primarily by utilizing Ethiopia as a proxy. The timely creation of AFRICOM with regards to this matter should not be overlooked either.�?
If the transitional government, which has been sanctioned by the United Nations, can block aid from reaching refugees, if Ethiopian troops can open fire on civilians, if US bombing raids can kill civilians, and the United States can hypocritically defy their own arms embargo, not to mention getting into bed with Somali warlords, then who truly possess the moral high ground?
The reality is that there isn’t any. And in the wake of that, ordinary Somalis will pay the price for it. The profit, on the other hand, well, it will go into the pockets of others far removed from harms way.