American newspaper on 1977 war (never has so small a country

[Voltage]

Never has so small a state with so few a people caused so much havoc- Americans about Somalis

Get a load just what it took for us to be defeated...the Soviet's TOP GENERAL literally directing Ethiopia's side, 11,000 Cubans who were fighting on the front and commanding the Ethiopians, Billions and billions of weapons (more than US gave all of Africa in ten years), and full control of Ethiopian defenses and communications by the communists


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6Y ... 9457&hl=en

[Voltage]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5o ... mali&hl=en

[Voltage]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3I ... 5885&hl=en

[AbdiWahab252]

Voltage,

It was a disastrous campaign. Mengistu was very lucky but also an astute leader who garnered a formidable coalition.

Fock, even the USA under the pansy Jimmy Carter refused to assist its new found friend, Somalia.

I am sure if Mr. Nixon had not been forced to resign and won a second term, he would have extended military aid to Somalia's cause.

[Voltage]

No, he wouldn't have. You know in hindsight, it was a very disastrous expedition but what I want to know is just what kind of cloud 9 were the Somalis in? From everything I have pieced together just by reading these articles, it was clear the world was united in preventing any attempts to set a precedence of Africans fighting over colonial borders. It would be a headache for the whole continent and the Ogaden War held very great ramifications for Africa.

I am more than sure the Americans did not help because privately they supported Somalia being stopped from succeeding. I can imagine Brzezinski telling Carter quietly "boy am glad the Soviets are putting a stop to this". If you also look, it was the Soviets who stopped the Ethiopians from following us into Somalia after the defeat.

I think both east and west were united in realizing allowing African borders to be successfully fought over would be disastrous and powder keg for the whole continent.

In fact one of the articles it said an American policymaker hinting that for sure the Soviets would put a stop to Ethiopian "adventurism" after Somalia would be defeated and sure enough they did. Menguste had nothing to do with it. In the grand scheme, fortunately for him and unfortunately for us, the issue was greater than Somali-Ethiopian rivalry but put the whole post-colonial African continent's construct in jeopardy.

Why didn't the Somalis realized this from the beginning instead of letting the hype about militaristic irredentism developing and transforming to armed conflict in 1964 and '77?

[AbdiWahab252]

Voltage,

Kemiko who was a Senior member of the Foreign Ministry pleaded with the President not to go to war and instead pursue negotiations with the ruling junta in Addis back in 1975/6. He astutedly calculated that Ethiopia was in a very weak state while Somalia was at its strongest. The head of the regime was amenable to negotiating about the border and for the first time acknowledged that Somalia proper was not part of the EThiopian Empire:

http://www.keydmedia.net/en/videos/?v=DIyq1v9I9ss

But then again, Somalis are overconfident about their abilities and still make tactical mistakes.

[Voltage]

Maybe Kemiko is trying to rewrite history? Now that you bring up, I do remember now that Dr Mohammad Addan Sheikh was removed from his post as a minister and policy maker in the SRC for advising Barre not to go towards armed conflict.

But Somalis, were really too overconfident and even arrogant.

[AbdiWahab252]

Voltage,

Anyone who knows Kemiko knows he is not a liar. The man doesn't hold his tongue for no one not even Caydiid whom he told in 1991, so whats the end game chief ?

He had me cracking up when he told me about his run in with Tahir Aweys and Co. who tried to send him to the Sacad ICU court, Al Furuqan. The man pulls out his notebook and searches for the Sacad rer called Al Furuqan and says nope, never heard of them so and refuses to talk to them as they did not elect him.

[1_londoner]

Voltage, how old are you?

[Voltage]

Old enough to know there is more to life than the existence of Arsenal.

[Voltage]

Abdiwahab, I was joking man. From what I heard though, Kemiko had a bit of a balwad problem and so was hardly taken seriously in his time in Somali government. Allahu aclam, however. Still if he did do that, he was a man with foresight.

[1_londoner]

There was nothing behind that question man, I am just curious. You can answer it properly now.

[AbdiWahab252]

Voltage,

Who cares about his balwad ? I wish more of our so called leaders had balwads and avoided sending the young to die off in senseless wars.

I'd drink to that.

[gurey25]

The war that destroyed somalia,

if the war didnt occur, we might have seen siad barre's son deposed ala mubarak in a tahriir square senario today..

[Voltage]

There was nothing behind that question man, I am just curious. You can answer it properly now.

Age has nothing to do with intellectual curiosity. I don't see the relevance of the question.

Abdiwahab, two extremes do not offset each other. I would prefer neither.