Somalia & Oil

ZNet Commentary
Somalia: An Oily Cliché^© March 25, 2007
By David Barouski

Today, it is a reflexive cliché to claim the United States (U.S.) is off on another oil-acquisition conquest anytime they invade an Arabic nation.

In the case of Somalia, the cliché may neverless be true.

Read the whole thing

Interesting:

The Somali Government has been reinstalled in Mogadishu and though violence is constant in the city, the government has moved forward. Many of the cabinet members are dual citizens, with the majority coming from Canada. Others are former warlords.

The Deputy Prime Minister is Hussein Farah Aideed, the son of the late warlord Mohammed Farah Aideed. In contrast to his father, Hussein is actually a naturalized American citizen and a former U.S. Marine who served in the Gulf War. He even served as a U.S. emissary during Operation Restore Hope, where he met with his father several times.

Related:
Somalia - Another Resource War Dressed up as a "Clash of Civilizations" and Darfur as a Resource War

If You Prepare for War, That's What You are Likely to Get

Anthony Arnove:

Eugene Debs wrote in a letter to the New York Sun in 1915, "If... the United States were to prove in good faith that it is opposed to the barbarism and butchery of war by issuing a proclamation of peace, and itself setting the example of disarmament to the nations of the world, its preparedness would be, not only in accordance with its vaunted ideals, but a thousandfold greater guarantee to the respect of its neighbors and to its own security and peace than if it were loaded down with all the implements of death and destruction on earth."

Howard Zinn:

Debs was talking about "preparedness" because the war in Europe had begun and, although the United States was not yet in the war, people were beginning to talk about preparedness for war. The American military is building up, and Debs sees this coming. He argues that the best thing we can do is to declare our belief in peace and to stop preparedness for war. You prepare for war, and then the momentum is created for going to war. We have seen that repeatedly.

Quoted from Terrorism and War, and interview with Howard Zinn.

Also see Sunk Costs, a concept in Behavioural Economics. In Sum: If you pay for it, you wanna know it isn't going to waste, even if what you use it for is irrational and doesn't benefit you.

The Week in Review

Look for the 'The Week in Review' segment below

Weekend news:
[Mogadishu ceasefire broken, meeting ends in failure] - [DR Congo-Ethiopia tie postponed ]

Armed Somali insurgents stand at Shiirkole neighbourhood in Mogadishu, March 23, 2007. Heavy fighting broke out for a third day on Friday in the Somali capital Mogadishu between insurgents and Ethiopian troops supporting the interim government. REUTERS/Shabelle Media (SOMALIA)

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The “New Breed” of African Leaders and the Future of Human Rights and Democracy in Africa

Friday, April 6, 2007
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Room 25 Mondale Hall
University of Minnesota Law School
229 19th Ave S.
Minneapolis, MN 55455

The Humphrey Institute, the Law School, and the Human Rights Center are proud to present a panel discussion event on African Leaders, the current state of Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, and U.S. Foreign Policy.(More...)
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(by Birkayehu Mekecha, a former Kinijit Official)
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Mogadishu ceasefire broken, meeting ends in failure

the Somali capital have reached an impasse, threatening a two-day truce, one of the elders involved in the negotiations said.

Mogadishu has remained calm since Friday when a truce between Ethiopian military officials who had come to bolster the government and elders of Mogadishu's dominant clan, the Hawiye, took effect.

The truce halted much of this week's violence, during which dozens of people killed, most of them civilians. Most dramatic was the shooting down Friday - after the truce had begun - of a cargo plane during takeoff after it delivered equipment and supplies for African Union peacekeepers. The 11 Belarusian crew members all died.

Saturday's talks reached an impasse because the Hawiye elders want first to have discussions with President Abdullahi Yusuf and other transitional government officials before there are any further efforts to disarm people in Mogadishu, said Abdi Iman Omer, a spokesman for the elders late Saturday.(More...)

Also see:
-Somalia: 300 wounded in Somali battle

DR Congo-Ethiopia tie postponed

DR Congo's Nations Cup qualifier against Ethiopia, scheduled to be played on Sunday, has been indefinitely postponed because of last week's deadly clashes in Kinshasa.

"We'll set another date after we're in a more secure situation," said Constant Omari, president of DR Congo's football federation.

Street fighting broke out on Thursday in DR Congo between army forces and members of the military guard of a failed presidential candidate - clashes that aid groups say left more than 100 dead.(More...)

The Week in Review

• Monday - March 19, 2007

[ARDUF Rebels claim responsibility for kidnapping says Eritrea TV] - [ION: "En route" for Asmara?] - [Somali gunmen step up attacks after police commander slain] - [BoBo blog from Ethiopia] - [ION: The fallout over the kidnapping ]


• Tuesday - March 20, 2007

[Afar rebel leader says Ethiopian hostages safe] - [The IMF: Friend or Foe?] - [Ethiopia to assemble Ladas] - [Five killed in motar attacks in Mogadishu] - [WTO Member States Begin Grilling Ethiopia]


• Wednesday, March 21, 2007

[Political, Civic, Media and Religious groups call for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia ] - [Members of the U.S congress ask the state department to Intervene in Ethiopia] - [Mogadishu clash kills 7, body dragged in streets]


• Friday - March 23, 2007

[A Mockery of Justice: Court Adjourned again ] - [U.S. Presses for Release of American Held in Ethiopia ] - [Tinton Falls man being held as POW by Ethiopia ] - - [Somalia silences Al-Jazeera]- [More Than 100 Deported From Kenya] - [Al-Qaeda names cell leader for Somalia]

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