Israeli Aggression

Somalia: Another CIA-Backed Coup Blows Up

Mike Whitney

"The Ethiopian invasion, which was sanctioned by the US government, has destroyed virtually all the life-sustaining economic systems which the population has built for the last fifteen years." Abdi Samatar, professor of Global Studies at the University of Minnesota, Democracy Now

December 02, 2008 — Up until a month ago, no one in the Bush administration showed the least bit of interest in the incidents of piracy off the coast of Somalia. Now that’s all changed and there’s talk of sending in the Navy to patrol the waters off the Horn of Africa and clean up the pirates hideouts. Why the sudden about-face? Could it have something to do with the fact that the Ethiopian army is planning to withdrawal all of its troops from Mogadishu by the end of the year, thus, ending the failed two year US-backed occupation of Somalia?

 The United States has lost the ground war in Somalia, but that doesn’t mean its geopolitical objectives have changed one iota. The US intends to stay in the region for years to come and use its naval power to control the critical shipping lanes from the Gulf of Aden. The growing strength of the Somali national resistance is a set-back, but it doesn’t change the basic game-plan. The pirates are actually a blessing in disguise. They provide an excuse for the administration to beef up it’s military presence and put down roots. Every crisis is an opportunity.

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Dispatch publishes major probe into Somali killings

by Kenichi Serino

The articles are being published online concurrently with the print edition of the newspaper, under the series headline “Dying to live”.  The newspaper’s lead story, headlined “Why I killed”,  is based on an interview with a man jailed for the murder of  Somalis.
In a front-page editorial, the paper wrote South Africans were giving the lie to the constitutional promise that the country belongs to all who live in it, united in diversity. "Instead, we behave like dogs snarling at a suburban gate when strangers come to call. Our series exposes the prejudice and hatred we hold in our hearts against those who are not one of ‘us’.

"Government policy is utterly inadequate, the system corrupt, and political leadership on this question is practically non-existent – and why, after all, should politicians care?" the editorial asks.

Read More »Dispatch publishes major probe into somali killings