For some time now, probably the most odd and confusing aspect of Somali politics was sort of represented by Sahal.
He says something like;
"Beledweyne Revolution begins, now Xamar clan should follow this direction and learn how to stand up to Mooge!"
Ok, but let's back track a little;
1. Beledweyne protestors are not against Farmaajo. In the videos they are "appealing" to what they call "their president" Farmaajo.
2. Beledweyne protestors are not against an election or a process or a policy. They did not protest then, but they are protesting now.
3. What is happening "now" is Guudlaawe who is of the "Xamar" clan is coming to Beled-Weyne as Federal Governor. This is why riots happened.
So why does Sahal make a mockery of the "Xamar clan?"
I used to think this was insult to injury.
How can you be against "them" in your home, but you grift after them and try to use them elsewhere?
I now realize that "HAG" itself is a strategy within "H-clan" that is based on exploiting the "Xamar clan."
To better explain;
1. Hawiye is one out of a number of Somali clans; it is usually in competition with "Darod" for Somali leadership.
This is the Horizontal threat: Hawiye vs Other clans or Hawiye vs. Darod mostly
2. Hawiye is composed of many sub-clans, and unlike Darod for example, Hawiye is very centralized due to location and hierarchy. Something becomes "Hawiye" only if the single dominant Abgal clan gives blessing and joins----otherwise it is not a Hawiye issue but a sub-clan issue.
This is the Vertical Threat: Hawiye vs Hawiye or Abgal vs. Other Hawiye
3. Lower down the Hawiye hierarchy you go, the more Abgal domination is seen as needing to be "controlled" as much as the non-Hawiye or horizontal threats.
But you can't "control" the beast by force, so you either;
A. appeal to it (in the name of Mudulood)
B. cajole or tickle it (in the name of Hirab)
C. manipulate its interests (in the name of HAG)
This is why Sahal is always careful about directly identifying Abgal as the target/enemy and goes out of his way to bring in "Darod/Mooge/National Politics"----even when it is very clear beyond a doubt like in the Beled-Weyne riots, the target is Abgal as a vertical threat to Sahal's clan.
He is very careful---out of fear, not love----because the strategy only succeeds by exploiting Abgal (usually with the Horizontal/Darod threat) to manipulate its interests ("Xamar should follow Beled-Weyne protests!").
