Somalia
US Backed Forces Launch Military Offensive in Somalia as Aid is Used As A Weapon of War - by Susan Garth
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jul2011/soma-j30.shtml
"African Union forces have launched a military offensive against the al-Shabab militia in Somalia. The AU is propping up the Transitional Federal Government that was installed by the US-backed Ethiopian invasion of December 2006...
Somalia is currently in the middle of the worst drought in the region for 60 years. The pretext offered for the offensive was the need to defend famine-relief efforts. A drought which has put 12 Million people at risk across East Africa has become the the pretext for the US to step up military aggression through its proxy forces.
Somalia has become a focus for Obama's war on terror.."
'West has No Appetite to Help Somalia (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/196162.html
"Drought in Somalia intensifies and unfortunately Amnesty International is showing an ineptness to tackle the problem head on..."
Blowback in Somalia - by Jeremy Scahill
http://www.thenation.com/article/163210/blowback-somalia?page=full
"Over the past year, the Somali government and AMISOM have turned to some unsavory characters in a dual effort to build something resembling a national army and, as the US attempted to do with its Awakening Councils in the Sunni areas of Iraq in 2006, to purchase strategic loyalty from former allies of the current enemy - in this case, the Shabab.."
surely no more 'unsavory' than AMISOM?
The Essence of Modern America in Somalia's Blood-Drenched Soil - by Chris FLoyd
http://www.chris-floyd.com
"But in all the solemn piety and savvy punditry surrounding the commemoration of the attacks, almost nothing has been said about the place where the true 'legacy of 9/11' can be seen in its stark quintessence: Somalia. That long-broken land is, in so many ways, a hell of our own creation.."
They Are Not Starving, They are BEING Starved - by Marco McWilliams
http://www.voxunion.com?p=4173
Not a fan of articles like the one above, that impose generalizations on the entire continent. As a Somali I notice tons of vague/inaccurate articles on the subject of my country as of late. I'd much rather read articles written by Somalis themselves or people who have lived and spent time there, as opposed to those who don't belong to either group. Articles like this one never really grasp any of the realities on the ground. It barely even scratches the surface and it instead makes parallels to things like Congo as if there is nothing to distinguish between different African nations and their issues.
Al Qaeda Targets Somalia Drought Victims With Cash Handouts (and vid)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/01/al-qaida-somalia-drought-vic...
"This was the first time the group has spoken publicly in Somalia, and the first time it has distributed aid. The unit's leader was introduced to the Guardian as al-Qaida's official envoy to Somalia.."
Preparing For the Next Anglo-American OIl War:
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28340
"Somalia is the next target..."
I thought Syria was next...
What about the US claim that Al-Qaeda is there in Somalia "winning hearts and minds"? Can you confirm or deny these particular lapdog newz media reports rife with George Dubyan-speak dovetailing with the global war on terror myth? IOWs, are you a fan of these western world "Al-Qaeda bogeymen in Somalia" reports lately? Why would Qaeda show up in Somalia and oil-rich Libya to defend the people and not in brutal U.S.-backed dictatorships in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain etc? Why is Qaeda so selective about whose basic human rights they defend from western-backed oppression?
Hijacking Somalia
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/01/02/hijacking-somalia/
"Another oil grab..."
Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor, Pan-African News Wire
Oil Exploration Begins in Somalia
http://presstv.ir/detail/221682.html
"Canada's Horn Petroleum Corporation, a unit of Africa Oil, says it has begun drilling exploratory oil wells at two locations in Somalia's impoverished region of Puntland. The drilling is expected to take about three months and the recoverable oil is estimated around 300 million barrels, the Vancouver based company said. The wells are the first to be sunk in the war-torn country since civil war erupted two decades ago.."
2009: Africa Oil
http://www.thepressreleasewire.com/client/print_page/release_print.jsp?&...
"Africa Oil is a Canadian oil and gas company with assets in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. Africa Oil's East African holdings are in what is considered a truly world class exploration play fairway. The company's total gross land package in this prolific region is in excess of 200,000 kilometers - an area roughly the size of Great Britain.."
UN Somalia 'Surge' Vs Al Shabab Explosion - by Thomas C Mountain
http://www.countercurrents.org/mountain100312.htm
"..The problem for the West is that Al Shabab continues to unite more and more Somalis and expand its base of operations. Once it can mount serious attacks in all areas of the former nation of Somalia at once, watch out AU, watch out UN, watch out Ethiopia and especially watch out USA next door in AFRICOM's major new base in Djibouti.
The Somali people have long been a fiercely independent lot and will never accept a foreign occupation be it 20,000 UN/AU troops or 50,000 Ethiopian troops before that..."
Feeding Death Squads - by Thomas Mountain
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/04/17/feeding-death-squads/
"...While southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden [Somalia] continues to suffer from the worst drought and famine in 60 years the UN's World Food Program (WFP) has been turning over all its food aid for the region to the Ethiopian military which uses it to feed the paramilitary death squads conducting a counter-insurgency in the region.
The crimes committed by the UN in the Horn of Africa are legion and the WFP is not new to using its aid as a weapon against the people of our region..
And what is the UN doing about this crime? Their motto seem to be 'silence in golden' and silent they remain.."
UN Starves 1 Million Somalis on 10 Cents a Day - by Thomas Mountain
http://www.countercurrents.org/mountain250512.htm
"The UN announced its budget for feeding the over one million Somali refugees under its care for the next year and have allocated less than ten cents a day to do so.."
Hundreds of US Forces Conduct Secret Operations in Somalia: Report
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/24/247727/us-troops-operate-secretl...
"Hundreds of US troops have been deployed in Somalia for secret operations in the capital Mogudishu. At least 390 American troops have been training local soldiers secretly in Somalia training bases over the past two months, Somali military sources said on Sunday."
The UN and 250,000 Dead Somalis - by Thomas C Mountain
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/05/07/the-un-and-250000-dead-somalis/
"...Writing about the enormous, inhuman crimes committed by the UN in the Horn of Africa has become almost too painful to continue to do..."