Monday, January 08, 2007

Marketing the Jihad




The ICU’s ‘Sharia Law Secret Recipe’ is fat-free and fun for the whole family.

Except for women, artists, musicians, dancers, writers, sports fans, homosexuals, atheists, secularists, bankers, educators, communists and well... everyone besides Islamic fundamentalist men.

The events that recently transpired in the Horn of Africa have caught me unawares. On December 28th the Somali capital of Mogadishu fell to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Thanks to the help of Ethiopia, the forces belonging to the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) were routed. On New Year’s Day their last urban stronghold in the southern port of Kismayo fell with a whimper.

It has been a major concern to the Bush Administration that the ICU had so many links to international terrorism. The Islamists’ top spiritual leader and second in command was Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys. He is a known associate of Osama bin Laden, who went into hiding after he discovered that he was on the US list of the most wanted terrorists. In 2005 he resurfaced to help establish the ICU.

Over the years Aweys has closely collaborated with fellow terrorist, Hassan Turki. They plotted together in a defunct terrorist group, Al-Ittihad Al-Islami (AIAI). In 2004 the US added Turki to the list of terrorists blacklisted by Executive Order 13224, which was created in the aftermath of 9/11 in order to authorize the U.S. government to block the assets of terrorists. He is also reviled for his recent role in the brutal occupation of the Somali city of Kismayo, where the Islamists attempted to make a final stand amidst the chaos of a popular uprising against them.

Another close associate of Aweys is Adan Hashi Ayro, who received terrorist training in Afghanistan. According to the Jamestown Foundation; he was blamed for killing five Western aid workers and BBC journalist Kate Peyton last year. Reports in 2005 said that Ayro and Aweys were running terrorist training camps with the purpose of advocating jihad in Islamic states.

In a battle for the town of Idale, ICU troops were commanded by a wanted terrorist named Abu Taha al-Sudan. The US is seeking al-Sudan’s arrest for his participation in the 1998 terrorist attacks against two American embassies in East Africa and against an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya in 2002. Two other of his fugitive co-conspirators are believed to have also enjoyed protection from the Islamists; Fazul Abdullah Mohamed and Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan.

A particularly ominous event occurred in September of 2006. The first known suicide bombing in Somali history was carried out in a failed attempt to assassinate President, Abdullahi Yusuf. At least 11 people including the president’s brother were killed in the attack. The Islamists followed up this attack with another suicide bombing on the government capital in December. These attacks were the result of the recruitment of foreign fighters into Somalia. The Government’s recent military successes have proven the long maintained accusation that the Islamists were supported by foreigners. Prime Minister Gedi says that among the prisoners captured on the battlefield there were Arab fighters, Ethiopian rebels and Eritrean troops.

There is no indication that the ICU would have stopped using suicide attacks if they were able to hold on to power, just as there is no reason to believe these attacks will stop with their defeat. Therein lies the fallacy of leftwing propaganda, which suggests that Islamists are forced to commit suicide attacks in order to defend themselves against perceived injustices. Even during a time of overwhelming Islamist victories, the Islamists still implemented the use of suicide bombings.

Despite the danger presented by this Islamist regime, the African Union and the Arab League had the nerve to call for an immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Somalia (especially Ethiopian). Such a withdrawal would have reversed many of the gains made by the government because they have relied on Ethiopian tanks and airpower to defeat their enemies. It could have even led to the destruction of the TFG in light of the fact that they were originally besieged by the Islamists in the last government held city of Baidoa.

Yet there was little pressure for Eritrean troops to withdraw when they were helping the Islamic Courts seize the country back in June of last year. In fact there was barely any mention of the estimated 2,000 Eritrean troops in Somalia because they were not allied to the United States. Conventional wisdom says to ignore such foreign intervention due to the fact that it can encourage Ethiopia to respond (as they did).

Take a look at the Vietnam War. The US was strongly condemned for violating Cambodia’s sovereignty, but little tears were wasted on the fact that it was North Vietnam who illegally occupied Cambodian territory and the US was only responding to their reckless behavior. No sane person profited from this one-sided perception of the conflict. With troops trained by the North Vietnamese, Pol Pot went on to seize Cambodia and even his fellow Communists in Vietnam lived to regret it. There is so much irony in the self-loathing bias that the media has for the enemies of the US. Any friend of our country will find themselves in a similar situation as this conflict proves.

This has resulted in a disturbing trend that prompts our media to downplay the threat of Islamists while emphasizing the threat of US foreign policy. In the wake of the TFG’s counter-offensive against the Islamist Courts there was a huge outpour of alarm from the media. Serious concerns were voiced that the current fighting would create a huge refugee problem, expand the war into a greater regional conflict, unleash Somali anger against Ethiopian troops and result in a terrorist quagmire. None of this came true.

It is still possible that some of these things can happen, but where was the alarm back in June when Islamic terrorists seized power? There was little concern when the Islamists imposed strict Islamic law and expanded its war to the rest of the country. Let’s examine the media coverage of these events last summer.

In the wake of the Islamist capture of Mogadishu the ICU appeared to be invincible. During this time the media was keen to minimize concern that the Islamists were implementing a harsh form of Sharia law and were fostering a safe haven for terrorism. To discuss the issue PBS interviewed Abdi Ismail Samatar, who is a geography professor that subscribes to that great leftwing tradition of distorting education to represent his political views. On his University of Minnesota website he declares, “My current research focus is on the role of public institutions and leadership in enabling third world societies to exploit opportunities in the global capitalist economy while minimizing its wicked effects.” If you look over his course list you will note that it is not clear if he even lists one class that has anything to do with geography. So what do you think he has to say about the Islamist policies of the ICU?

He absurdly stated, “I would like to call these people Islamic practitioners, rather than Islamists. Islamists has the connotation that they are incredibly politicized and of the kind that you can expect from the Taliban.” …Let me ask you a question my dear reader. Please tell me which government enacted the following laws; closure of movie theaters, prohibition of foreign music, amputation of the limbs of thieves and institutionalized discrimination against women … Was it the Taliban, the ICU or both? If you answered “both” and concluded that both parties are Islamists then you have proven yourself to be more knowledgeable than a university professor with a PhD (or at least more truthful).

To balance out this moonbat nonsense PBS welcomed the comments of a former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Herman Cohen. His firm Cohen & Woods is well known for lobbying on the behalf of African despots like the blood thirsty Charles Taylor of Liberia (as well as many others). Since he is paid for lying on behalf of murderous madmen in order to sanitize their regimes, he was the perfect choice to top off this PBS propaganda piece.

Cohen had the following to say about the Islamists, “…happily they’ve kicked most of the warlords out. That is a wonderful piece of news…” It is true that the defeat of the warlords was good for Somalia, but what about the Islamists themselves? Is it a good thing to replace something bad with something else bad or possibly even worse?

Well, Cohen thought about that so he added; “I think the U.S. government panicked. They saw an Islamic group; they said, ‘Taliban is coming’. Also, there are friends in the region, like the Ethiopians, who probably are feeding false intelligence about terrorists being hidden and that sort of thing, because the Ethiopians are deadly afraid of Moslem control and also they have their own Moslem problem among the Oromo ethnic group in Ethiopia.”

It is no small wonder that PBS invited the comments of a man of this character at a time when the Islamists were celebrating their seizure of Mogadishu. The media was euphoric over this victory because it was seen as a defeat for US foreign policy. Especially since the US is believed to have given out payments to Somali warlords in order to entice them to capture and fight the Islamists.

A great deal of enthusiastic press has been generated by the stability that the Islamic Courts brought to the Somali capital, but there was little concern about the warfare and instability that they extended to the rest of the country. This instability escalated the crisis into a regional problem.




It is revealing that Cohen singles out Ethiopia as a trickster that could have mislead the US about terrorism in Somalia. For years its neighbor Eritrea has been sponsoring terrorism in Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia. It was Eritrea that started this proxy war.

As I mentioned before, many high level members of the Islamic Courts belonged to the AIAI terrorist group. I didn’t mention that they also carried out unprovoked terrorist attacks in Ethiopia during the mid 1990s. As leaders of the ICU these same Islamists revived calls for a Greater Somalia, which would be composed of Somalia plus portions of Ethiopia and Kenya. This was a grave concern to Ethiopia because back in 1977 Somalia had invaded their country in an effort to achieve an identical dream of a Greater Somalia.

In a further escalation, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) launched an attack on Ethiopia from their bases in Somalia and 13 guerillas were killed. This occurred in August 2006 shortly after the Islamist takeover of Mogadishu. It should also be noted that the ONLF also pursues the goal of a Greater Somalia.

The alliance between Eritrea, the Islamic Courts and ONLF was a serious threat to regional stability, yet the press downplayed this threat or just ignored it. After seizing the Somali capital the Islamists expanded the war to the rest of the country, which at the time was relatively peaceful. In response a government spokesman made the following statement, “We’re requesting that the international community pressurize the UIC to stop attacking”. This plea fell on deaf ears and the Islamists continued to breech a ceasefire when they moved to occupy the port of Kismayo (which was held by allies of the government). The Islamic Courts actually stated that the purpose of their operations was to prevent international peacekeepers from deploying. So it is clear that their objective was to expand the fighting. Ultimately, these military successes bottled up the government in the town of Baidoa and the Islamists began to move against the north.

In November the Islamists captured the north-central city of Bandiradley. The city is located in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, but declared itself independent in August as a part of the newly formed state of Galmudug. The declaration was never internationally recognized and Puntland troops continued to occupy the territory. So the Islamist attack on Bandiradley expanded the war by bringing the Islamist Courts into direct military conflict with two new enemies, Galmudug and Puntland. In a form of irony that the press usually loves (but in this case ignored) the Islamist aggression forced a reconciliation between the two enemies of the ICU because Galmudug became dependent on Puntland troops to fight the Islamists. The ICU then attempted to use their base in Bandiradley to launch attacks on the Puntland town of Galkayo, but were beaten back in their first decisive defeat.

While the world slept, the US had the clarity of vision to comprehend that the ICU was a threat. Support for the warlords failed, but US strategy had more depth than critics would admit. Backing the warlords may not have been an ideal strategy, but it made sense since it deflected the Islamists from attacking the weak Somali government and gave them time to prepare their defenses. It also had the unexpected benefit of weakening the warlords and ultimately strengthening the government. To help them along the US sponsored UN Resolution 1725 in order to allow the arms embargo on the TFG to be partially lifted. The resolution also made provisions for the training and support of government troops.

In 2002 former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, visited Somalia’s neighbors in order to shop for allies against the growing power of terrorists in the region. His tour was a follow up to the establishment of a permanent troop presence in the neighboring country of Djibouti. The Combined Task Force – Horn of Africa was set up to provide quick reaction forces and humanitarian relief to countries in the region. So this is an issue that we have been working on for quite some time and our efforts finally paid off (much to the distress of our critics).

It was a well coordinated campaign that brought down the ICU. While the government and their Ethiopian allies smashed the Islamist war machine, Kenya blocked their border and the US guarded the sea. Lessons were learned from the US victory in Fallujah and applied to this conflict. When US troops surrounded Fallujah back in 2004, the top level terrorist leaders abandoned their followers and slipped away hidden among the refugees. This time they weren’t going to get away. Yet the UN became alarmed and demanded that the borders be opened up to allow refugees to leave.

Ironically, the UN Political Office for Somalia assisted in the creation of the Somali Government back in 2000. However since then they have done little to support it, while the US conducted multilateral operations to succeed where the UN couldn’t be bothered.

There will be more bloodshed ahead in Somalia’s future. However, there would have been more bloodshed even if none of this happened. Its time for the media to start blaming the people who create bloodshed, instead of those that are doing their best to stop it.

I’d like to end this post with a brilliant piece of irony. When the Islamic Courts began its meteoric rise they made celebrating the New Year a capital offence. Ironically January 1st saw the complete collapse of the ICU so that was one law they weren’t able to enforce!

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!

49 comments:

Freedomnow said...

Dont give me a hard time any more. While I did take a week off for the holiday, I have been working on this post for over a week.

It started out as a Summary of the Events in 2006, but I soon discovered that this one topic demanded its own post because of the media's incomplete coverage.

I didnt even have room to talk about how unpopular the Islamic Court's Sharia Law really was or talk about the peace conferences. There just wasnt enough room.

Its 2:30am and I am supposed to wake up in a couple of hours to go to bed. Blogging is worse than drug abuse...

nanc said...

i'm not here to give you a hard time!

you have been busy, my nerd friend.

i imagine the part that disturbed you most about this was the "no dancing" clause?

great work, although i DIDN'T get to ALL the links - it's too chilly for golfing this a.m.

before you go to sleep to awaken again, here is a succinct, must-see post:

http://living-creatures.blogspot.com/

specifically, "hate speech".

now, good day!

Freedomnow said...

Nope, I wound up pulling an all-nighter.

Haaaaa! That Hate Speech post was clever. It got me. I was baffled until I clicked on the link. Good one.

American Crusader said...

Excellent post. You went into the history of the conflict in Somalia. I think the fact that the press had almost ignored the entire conflict worked in favor of Ethiopia. They were able to operate without being second-guessed in the news every day. America could learn a lot from the example that Ethiopia has given us.
I added a link for your post at the end of mine since they were closely related.

Freedomnow said...

Our links are up.

You have been a really aggressive blogger lately.

To think you were contemplating resigning your commission....

Once you iz in, ya can never get out!!!

American Crusader said...

Just needed a little break to re-motivate.

nanc said...

breaking news - an ac-130 has made a strike in somalia targeting al qaeda (dayam i wish they'd put a "u" in there!).

Freedomnow said...

What was that, a Nanc-130 air strike?

Damn!!! I wouldn't want to get caught out in the open by one of those!!!!!

nanc said...

yes, i must have heard it wrong.

Freedomnow said...

Rumsfeld was visionary.

His establishment of a base in Djibouti back in 2002 paid off in spades!!!

It allowed us to quickly respond to the fast-changing circumstances on the ground and deploy naval forces to block the Islamists from escaping by sea.

The base also allowed us to track their retreat and carry out a devastating attack with the famous "Nanc"-130 Gunship!!!!

While Clinton retreated from Somalia, Rumsfeld outwitted our enemies and gave them a long-deserved taste of American military power.

I know that he wont wind up to be a bitter loser like Powell.

nanc said...

oh stop!

nanc said...

how come my last link didn't show?

here's another:

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtr
ibune/nl02.html

and here's the first one:

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtr
ibune/07/front2454110.0965277776.ht
ml

nanc said...

thanks for not charging me rent for the last year or so.

nanc said...

okay - what's the ransom for getting my blog back?!?

beakerkin said...

Freedomnow

If there ever was a KFC jihad I would be the prime suspect. I take my KFC very seriously. Woe onto any animal rights advocate who puts his hand in my bucket.

Freedomnow said...

nanc,

Did you see Mark Steyns sheep article?

Hilarious:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/steyn/200050,CST-EDT-STEYN07.article

Beak,

You have been radicalized ever since your avatar was kidnapped.

I would say that you were provoked.

nanc said...

why yes, my dear fern.

have you seen this?:

http://www.usawakeup.org/

nanc said...

curtains?

nanc said...

is it time for a full metal boycott?

oh trust me - you don't want to hear ME being quiet!

American Crusader said...

Have you noticed how the media has changed its tone now that the US has conducted airstrikes in the region?

All of a sudden the media is much more interested in the region than when only Somalians were being forced to live under strict Islamic law.

They barely mention the fact that the legitimate government of Somalia is asking for the US to continue these airstrikes.

You know the media is waiting anxiously for stories of civilians being killed in these air strikes.

Freedomnow said...

The media only knows one story.

Like a hollywood producer they only know whats good for their bottom line. Whether its cash or their political agenda (or both).

nanc said...

i sure hope you're at work today...as a matter of fact, i hope you have to work for the next few days or so...

nanc said...

o.t. - post of the day - which i would have called this one IF it were only up for one day - is at beak's - another "passion of the poultry" post on plucky.

i'm not quite sure beak didn't cover ALLLLLLLLLL the bases.

nanc said...

p.s. act like you're okay when people come around - i've promised others i didn't hurt you for holding curtains hostage.

Freedomnow said...

My new reputation as a kidnapper takes some getting used to.

I walk into the office only to have everyone stop talking and glare at me.

I walk down the street and people throw things at me.

This is tough...

nanc said...

edible things?

Freedomnow said...

Are you kidding? They know how I am weighed down by my bills so they wont throw anything useful at me.

At least the reporters have been focusing on Iran lately and have given me a little room to breathe.

nanc said...

like unpaired shoes?

i need to call the farmer in on this caper.

beakerkin said...

Where is the post on the theft of Utilities by Hugo??? Lets natioalize all the Citgo stations and pay back Verizon.

This may come as a shock but I never saw work from Venezuela or Bolivia. Now I see people trying to flee daily.

Freedomnow said...

Nationalization could be the downfall of the Socialist revolution. Since Hugo is an Anti-American Leftist he can get away with running the country into the ground for a little longer than most leaders, but his time will come...

He will do and say terrible things in the meantime, but we need to be patient. The man will try his best to provoke us, but he cant live a lie forever.

nanc said...

i do not like that troll at farmer's who called you an idiot! he needs a good poke in the eye!

Freedomnow said...

ahhh I forgot about that...so he replied huh? Nice!!!!!!

Freedomnow said...

rock on brother!!!!!!!!!!!

Miss Carnivorous said...

Be 4 I keeess Bushes feeets, but now I keess yurs. I luf yuuu soo mush, consairvitiv hottie! MMMMMMM

Eitan Ha'ahzari said...

Freedomnow: apologies for the looooooooooooong absence! I hope all's well! Check out my latest post. I take out some more anger on Mizrahi Jews. I'm sick of being told to "go back to Russia!" I mean, we fled as refugees and now these idiots look down on me because of a slight Russian accent. What should I do!? Go back to America(a place they all wish they had the money to go)? I say "no way!"

Check out my site for some more controversy.

Aryamehr said...

Hi,

I was wondering if you could review this latest entry of mine and pass it on to both U.S. servicemen and the U.S. public in general:

http://aryamehr11.blogspot.com/2007/01/military-action-against-islamic.html#links

Too many Americans have had to sacrifice their lives for other peoples' freedom which is an honorable thing - but when there are viable alternatives to spreading freedom, why are they not chosen!? or even talked about in the MSM (main-stream-media)!?

Iran is in the spotlight now. Iran has the most pro-American POPULATION in that region; and I can affirm to that being of Iranian descent myself! Iran is also a country which for 28 years has been under an islamo-fascist dictatorship that has killed and oppressed hundreds of thousands of Iranians. There is overwhelming resent towards this regime going as far as calling it an occupational regime!

Iranians want change. Iranians want to send this Islamic Republic to hell where it belongs! So why should Americans have to loose their lives? Is it not more viable in your opinion to support Iranian opposition forces (students, teachers, workers, etc) in overthrowing this regime, without a drop of American blood being shed?!

Please get back to me with your input. Many thanks in advance.

nanc said...

oh my word!

a carnivorous woman is after your hottiness!

and an iranian secularist who wants YOU to pass messages to our troops?

what the hell's been going on in my absence?

um, fern? could we have "the" talk? soon? at your convenience?

Eitan Ha'ahzari said...

Freedomnow,

I put up a general retraction of my statements at my site. I just came home angry yesterday. That's all. I guess it happens to people.

Freedomnow said...

These comments are very interesting and I will get back to you all as soon as I can.

I will have some time in the next coupla days to write.

nanc said...

the carnivorous girl is janice.

Freedomnow said...

Ahhh I remember Janice. We had some fun the last time around. Is that really you Janice?

I see that whoever you are, you cant resist a strong man's feet!!!!!!!!!!

Freedomnow said...

Aryamehr, thanks for coming by. I will follow up on my comments that I already posted on your site.

Cheers

Freedomnow said...

Greg,

I guess I missed the festivities. I always do....

nanc said...

at least she recognizes a hottie when she sees one!

Aryamehr said...

Thanks freedomnow.

nanc said...

nancson says it's time to get rid of the picture of colonel sanders at the top of the page!

Eitan Ha'ahzari said...

freedomnow: thanks for your input! Also check out my brand new "Post Revisited." I baisically explain why what I said was wrong and why the Bears will win Superbowl 41.

DA BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Freedomnow said...

Nanc,

I got bad news for you. Herman Cohen has paid me good money to keep this post at the top so that his PBS Bail Bonds ad can get some more traffic.

They will be opening up new offices in Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela so they are rolling out an aggressive advertising campaign.

Its for a good cause!!!!!!!!

Freedomnow said...

Hot damn FJ!!!!!!!

Thats a good recipe. it tastes much better than Sharia Law!!!!!!!!