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I would like to know your opinion about Ogaden War in 1977.
I heard Somalia was defeated by Cuban and Soviet Union.
What is the opinion of Somali authors and somali officials of Siad Barre about the outcome of Ogaden War?
Was Ogaden War a defeat for Somalia?
Hola,bienvenidas, ¿Cómo te va?
Well its mix views because the outcome of the war didn`t follow convention war logic
Somalia was the aggressor yet it got away relatively fine in terms of legal consequence in others word it was a free ride made possible by the cold war détente and some even argue that the détente between america and soviet was partionaly favourable to somalia but it hindered somalai strategicly to rearm with offensive weapons, and once the détente broke the afgans benifieted from that new climat
Remember Somalia never officially declared defeat nor was defeat requested by the soviet and allies.
In terms of the actual battles Somalia won against Ethiopia but was pushed back by the soviet and allies.
Once Somalia was pushed back the Soviet Union considered going all the way to Mogadishu but that was rejected by the soviet high command, because there was talks going on between soviet union and America on armament control.
president carter but on the agenda soviet union’s respect for Somali sovereignty, meaning the soviet union could not pursue military adventure towards Somalia in the conventional sense with out American engagement in the war that ment America would sell Somalia offensive weapons and might covertly engage in the war by proxy like Afghanistan in later years
President carter wrote in his memoir that during SALT II treaty meeting in 1979 in Vienna, he put a Claus of non-aggression towards somalia on the agenda by the soviet, because the soviet union was irritated by siyaad barres antagonism towards the soviet union.
The Soviet Union wanted regime change in the conventional military sense but jimmy carter considered that a treat to American interest and said to the soviet, if you attack we will have no SALT II treaty
I recon what you are after is the Cuban side of the war, well the Cuban played critical role in terms of fighting force but they had no strategic impact on the outcome of the war, infect to the contrary they became diplomatic liability and has the supply line of the soviet/Cuban became bigger when they advanced on the Somali border, their liability increased and you saw this in the number of Cuban captured, so the cubans were used as rapid response force to halt Somali advances initially and once that advances was checked they served as reinforcement for the consolidation of power by the ethiopian Marxist regime in Ethiopia.
Was Somali military advance checked…yes
Was Somalia defeated- not in the conventional sense
Was Somali millitry adventure contained by Soviet Union—yes
Was Cuban contribution critical—initially yes but latter it was inconsequential and at times diplomatic liability
All the Somali authors(below) say Somalia lost the war.Are they all wrong about Ogaden War outcome?
There is not any Somali author who say Somalia won Ogaden War,everybody says Somalia lost the war.
Find me one source which say Somalia won the war.
Said Samatar
Nurrudin Farah
Ahmed Samatar
Abdi Ismail Samatar
Hussein Ali Dualeh
Jama Mohamed Ghalib
Mohamed K Galaydh
This is the opinion of Warsame101:
Leading a war of liberation for liberation of our homelands where we defeated Ethiopia and captured the place in mere months until Russia and Cuba intervened.
The Somali forces, despite their decisive victories over the Ethiopians, were no match for the Soviet-directed and Cuban-led forces which broke through their defenses and captured Jigjig on March 5, 1978. There were no contingency plans: Siyaad Barre decided to withdraw his troops on March 9th [1978].
Hussein Ali Dualeh,a somali author:
From Barre to Aideed: Somalia : the agony of a nation
Soon after the defeat of the Somali army in the Ethiopia-Somali war, a group of senior Somali army officers
The cost of dictatorship: the Somali experience
Jama Mohamed Ghalīb
Born in the rural countryside to camel-herding parents, Jama Mohamed Ghalib struggled after his parents' death to make a future for himself & set against his personal story the whole sad history of the Somali slide into dictatorship, famine & chaos, is revealed. After independence, his position in the police gave him extraordinary insights into corruption in the young Somali democracy, then in the grip of continuing struggle with Haile Sellassie's empire & the French imperial authorities of Djibouti. His principled reputation as police commander in the north brought him to the notice of Major-General Mohamed Siad Barre, when the latter overthrew the government & seized power in 1969. Eventually rising to Minister of the Interior, from the vantage point of an insider, Jama describes the erosion of human rights & the tragic degeneration of his country into dictatorship & consequent rebellion. He observed the ill-advised invasion of the Ogaden in 1977-78, the massive flows of refugees & the efforts of honest Somalis - albeit clan-based - to restore freedom, orderly administration & good relations with the outside world.
Abdi Ismail Samatar
The liberation
movement had no autonomy from the Somali national army in this
effort. Nonetheless, the Somali Ethiopian population supported the
war despite the stranglehold. Somali successes were temporary once
the Soviet, Cuban, and Yemeni contingents intervened and helped
Ethiopian troops beat the Somali army. This defeat was catastrophic for
Somalia and the liberation movement. In Somalia an armed political
power struggle among the elite ensued, culminating in the state’s collapse
and in the country’s disintegration in 1991
The book of Abdullahi Yusuf about his life and Ogaden War
Poor political leadership lay at the core of the defeat of the Somali Army in this war(Ogaden War in 1977).
Remember Somalia never officially declared defeat nor was defeat requested by the soviet and allies
WSLF and Somali Army later invaded Ogaden,they tried to capture Ogaden and failed to achieve the goal,because Somali Army no match for Cuba and Soviet Union.The same happened to Saddam Hussein he tried to capture Kuwait and he was expelled for EE.UU.
Siad Barre tried to capture Ogaden and he was defeated by Cuba and Soviet Union.
I recon what you are after is the Cuban side of the war, well the Cuban played critical role in terms of fighting force but they had no strategic impact on the outcome of the war, infect to the contrary they became diplomatic liability and has the supply line of the soviet/Cuban became bigger when they advanced on the Somali border, their liability increased and you saw this in the number of Cuban captured, so the cubans were used as rapid response force to halt Somali advances initially and once that advances was checked they served as reinforcement for the consolidation of power by the ethiopian Marxist regime in Ethiopia.
The name of the Cuban prisoner is Orlando Cardoso Villavicencio,he was the only cuban captured by somalis in Ogaden War.
How does law protect in war?: cases, documents, and teaching materials on contemporary practice in international humanitarian law
for a total of 266 Ethiopian prisoners of war and one Cuban; they were however unable to interview the prisoners without witnesses
Annual Report of Red Cross in 1989
and one Cuban prisoner of war from Somalia to Ethiopia and 246 Somali prisoners of war from Ethiopia to Somalia
There is only a cuban prisoner in somali hands,only one,just one,no ten,two hundred or three hundred.
The Cuban troops in Ogaden were very important to defeat Somalia.
Check out this video:
Listen from 4:49 to 5:07
Interview: Petr Chaplygin, Soviet Military Mission, Ethiopia
"The Cuban troops in Ethiopia played a very important role. The
Ethiopians couldn't have provided the military organization to destroy the
Somali troops in such a short period of time, even with our help."
Siad Barre had a dream he wanted to create Grater Somalia,so he invaded Ogaden defeating ethiopians but his army was not match to Cuba and Soviet Union and he left Ogaden defeated.
A somali video about Siad Barre:
Siad Barre says:Somalia can not fight with the Soviet Union or neither the Warsaw Pact,Somalia can not afford that.
0:17-0:24
Donna Jackson:
The might of Soviet and Cuban involvement on the side of Ethiopia in the
Ogaden War, added to the lack of international support for Siad, led, almost
inevitably, to Somali defeat. On March 9, Carter announced that “last night, I was
informed by President Siad of Somalia that he was agreeing to withdraw his forces
from the Ogaden area, the occupied areas of Ethiopia” (Carter 1978c, 490). In
fact, Siad had little choice in the matter, and the “withdrawal” referred to by Siad
was more like a rout
luis1 wrote:EagleHawk,I am still waiting for your answer.
I think you are afraid because you can not prove your point of view.
the soviet union never marched upon Mogadishu so how could we have lost
we were pushed back so our initial success was checked
luise, you have simple latin mind that cannot comprehend complex issues, when people say somalia lost they soviet union super power checked Somali aspiration of territorial conquest and it that scenario both cuba and Ethiopia were little barking dogs
We dismantled Ethiopian military in days and it took the might of the soviet union to check our advance
Luise if I go to Cuban and fok ever Cuban girl and you kick me out of cuba, did I lose?
the ethiopiasn could not have provided the military organisation to destroy the somali troops in a such a short time, even with our help
petr chaplygin, soviet militrary mission ethiopia
the soviet union never marched upon Mogadishu so how could we have lost
we were pushed back so our initial success was checked
The Soviet Union and Cubans did not want to capture Somalia,they only want to expel Somalia of Ogaden and they achieved this goal.They almost destroyed Somali Army and after Ogaden War,Somali Army was a disaster.Somalia wanted to create Greater Somalia in 1977 and this dream failed.The Somali Army was defeated and was not a threat to Ethiopia anymore.The Soviet Union and Cubans were to Ethiopia with African Union orders and support,the orders were expelling Somalia of Ogaden and they achieved the goal,they did not have orders to capture Somalia,they could do it if they want,they only want to expel somalis of Ogaden War and they did it.
luise, you have simple latin mind that cannot comprehend complex issues, when people say somalia lost they soviet union super power checked Somali aspiration of territorial conquest and it that scenario both cuba and Ethiopia were little barking dogs
I have the video of this soviet adviser but you forget what he says about Cuban troops:
2:26-2:44
Let me remeber you what he says about Cubans:
Please do not cry:
Interview: Petr Chaplygin, Soviet Military Mission, Ethiopia
"The Cuban troops in Ethiopia played a very important role. The
Ethiopians couldn't have provided the military organization to destroy the
Somali troops in such a short period of time, even with our help."
He says Cuban troops played a very important role.
