Boy, this isn’t a pretty picture. I have mentioned in the past on why it is important to ‘pay your soldiers’ if you want them to stick around, and this is a prime example of how important that is. Al Shabab has made some moves lately that have increased their size and hold on territory. Not good for the TFG, and not good for the west.
I also wanted to mention that Petraeus was the one that signed off on US military covert operations in Somalia. So if we have guys there right now, then a really excellent thing they could do to stop the bleeding is to gain a foothold on the payment and management of these Somali troops. We spent the money to train them in Ethiopia, we can certainly watch over the payment of their services in Somalia. I compare this to our handling of the HTN contracts in Afghanistan that are causing so many headaches. We must insure there is adult supervision with this stuff.
Or, we should just allow the TFG to crumble, and let Al Shabab to take over…. Because as it stands right now, Al Shabab has momentum and they are closing in fast. And as they conquer and absorb these other Islamic extremist groups, the people will see this strength and bow down to this Islamic force. How could they not, if the TFG can’t even do the simple task of paying their troops? (and that’s after we gave them the money to pay their troops with) This is basic Governance 101.
I guess what I am saying is that Al Shabab, and in a larger sense Al Qaeda, is on the verge of a ‘win’ in Somalia. Can we afford this, and especially with what is going on in Afghanistan, or with the victory we are claiming in Iraq? Momentum is quite a thing, and if you give an enemy ground, they will now have something to promote their effectiveness with. Hell, if we want to give General McChrystal a way to redeem himself, I say let the ‘industrial death machine of Iraq’ have a go in Somalia? Don’t put him charge of AFRICOM, but definitely put him in charge of some kind of project he can focus his talents on. Somalia needs that kind of talent and attention, or we will lose it. –Matt
Furious Soldiers storm Villa Somalia
Hizbul-Islam vanishing into Al-Shabab
U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Actions in Mideast
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From Strategy Page
June 25, 2010
The Transitional Government (TG) is negotiating with Hizbul Islam. This Islamic radical group is the smaller rival of al Shabaab, and less radical. The more radical members of Hizbul Islam are defecting to al Shabaab, so it makes sense that the less radical ones would try to cut a deal with the TG. Otherwise, an even smaller Hizbul Islam could be crushed by al Shabaab. Meanwhile, the TG is itself threatened with fragmentation as many members of the government strive to rearrange the deal that determines which clans get how many seats in the parliament. Somalis have a hard time compromising, and prefer to fight, which is the main reason the country is such a mess. Corruption is the other big problem. This was seen recently when hundreds of government soldiers, trained by foreign instructors, demonstrated at the presidential palace for back pay. The money had been stolen by government officials, who consider a government job as a license to steal. Donor nations have a hard time convincing officials that effective government cannot survive such attitudes.
Story here.
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Hizbul-Islam vanishing into Al-Shabab
Saturday 19 June 2010
Somaliweyn – Mohammed Omar Hussein
The warriors of Hizbul-Islam one of the adversary Islamist functions in Somalia are in their hundreds joining Al-Shabab another Islamist function in Somalia, which is also extra superior than Hizbul-Islam according the areas which each group is controlling and in terms of fighters as well.
It was merely when the majority of the fighters of Hizbul-Islam in the lower shabelle region in southern Somalia have strengthen the might of Al-Shabab.
Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim the commandant of Hizbul-Islam in the locations of Yaqbariweyne, Hakaba, Kanbahirig, Gobanle and some other villages which all come under the above mentioned locations has verified for the press that they have joined Al-Shabab.
“We warmly want to inform the press that from today henceforth we have joined Al-Shabab and by joining Al-Shabab is not something disgracing there were several leaders of Hizbul-Islam who have previously joined Al-Shabab and to mention one of them is Sheikh Hassan Turki the founder of the Islamists groups in Somalia, and the reason we have joined Al-Shabab is that we have seen that Hizbul-Islam is not as active as Al-Shabab, but they are instead passive” said Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim the former commandant of Hizbul-Islam in some parts of the lower shabelle region in southern Somalia.
The commandant Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim has as well added that they are very proud of amalgamating their strength to Al-Shabab, and has urged the remaining Hizbul-Islam fighters who in a few location in some of the regions in the country to follow their concept.
These fighters of Hizbul-Islam who have joined their strength Al-Shabab have battle field weapons and several Japan made Toyota pickups which the Somalia mount on antiaircraft misses.
This would not be the first time for fighters of Hizbul-Islam to amalgamate their strength with that of Al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab has in the course of last week ousted the fighters of Hizbul-Islam from Baladweyn town the headquarters of Hiran region in central Somalia which is in fact a very strategic town.
Story here.
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Furious Soldiers storm Villa SomaliaJun 20, 2010Armed soldiers stormed Somalia’s presidential palace in a protest against non-payment, a lawmaker said.Saleban Mohammed, who was among more than 20 other parliamentarians barred from getting out of the palace, said the incident happened Saturday evening after the soldiers barricaded the palace, holding all inside, including President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh hostage.They were so furious, they barricaded the front gate of the palace and also the offices. None of them spoke, they even refused us to get out, he said.Reports said that the angry soldiers were at some point involved in an exchange of gunfire with African Union troops who guard the palace. Two soldiers were injured in the incident.It took the intervention of the President, who was advised by the lawmakers, to calm the soldiers, promising them to be paid their salaries.Thousands of Somali troops, who were trained out of the country, have not received their salaries for several months, prompting some desert and join Al-Shabaab, a militant Islamist group with alleged links to al Qaida, which is waging deadly insurgency in the country.Meanwhile, heavy fighting between African Union troops and Al-Shabaab has killed at least three people and injured 10 others, mainly civilians.Witnesses said Al-Shabaab fighters attacked AU troops base at Jalle Siyad Academy, whioch houses Burundian contingent.”A mortar shell that landed near former milk factory killed at least two civilians, and injured five others, an eyewitness called Ahmed told Garowe Online.He added that one person was also killed and five others injured in Daynile, the stronghold of Al-Shabaab, where also fighters launched their attacks from.
Story here.
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U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Actions in Mideast
By MARK MAZZETTI
May 24, 2010
WASHINGTON — The top American commander in the Middle East has ordered a broad expansion of clandestine military activity in an effort to disrupt militant groups or counter threats in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other countries in the region, according to defense officials and military documents.
The secret directive, signed in September by Gen. David H. Petraeus, authorizes the sending of American Special Operations troops to both friendly and hostile nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa to gather intelligence and build ties with local forces. Officials said the order also permits reconnaissance that could pave the way for possible military strikes in Iran if tensions over its nuclear ambitions escalate.
While the Bush administration had approved some clandestine military activities far from designated war zones, the new order is intended to make such efforts more systematic and long term, officials said. Its goals are to build networks that could “penetrate, disrupt, defeat or destroy” Al Qaeda and other militant groups, as well as to “prepare the environment” for future attacks by American or local military forces, the document said. The order, however, does not appear to authorize offensive strikes in any specific countries.
In broadening its secret activities, the United States military has also sought in recent years to break its dependence on the Central Intelligence Agency and other spy agencies for information in countries without a significant American troop presence.
General Petraeus’s order is meant for small teams of American troops to fill intelligence gaps about terror organizations and other threats in the Middle East and beyond, especially emerging groups plotting attacks against the United States.
But some Pentagon officials worry that the expanded role carries risks. The authorized activities could strain relationships with friendly governments like Saudi Arabia or Yemen — which might allow the operations but be loath to acknowledge their cooperation — or incite the anger of hostile nations like Iran and Syria. Many in the military are also concerned that as American troops assume roles far from traditional combat, they would be at risk of being treated as spies if captured and denied the Geneva Convention protections afforded military detainees.
The precise operations that the directive authorizes are unclear, and what the military has done to follow through on the order is uncertain. The document, a copy of which was viewed by The New York Times, provides few details about continuing missions or intelligence-gathering operations.
Several government officials who described the impetus for the order would speak only on condition of anonymity because the document is classified. Spokesmen for the White House and the Pentagon declined to comment for this article. The Times, responding to concerns about troop safety raised by an official at United States Central Command, the military headquarters run by General Petraeus, withheld some details about how troops could be deployed in certain countries.
The seven-page directive appears to authorize specific operations in Iran, most likely to gather intelligence about the country’s nuclear program or identify dissident groups that might be useful for a future military offensive. The Obama administration insists that for the moment, it is committed to penalizing Iran for its nuclear activities only with diplomatic and economic sanctions. Nevertheless, the Pentagon has to draw up detailed war plans to be prepared in advance, in the event that President Obama ever authorizes a strike.
“The Defense Department can’t be caught flat-footed,” said one Pentagon official with knowledge of General Petraeus’s order.
The directive, the Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force Execute Order, signed Sept. 30, may also have helped lay a foundation for the surge of American military activity in Yemen that began three months later.
Special Operations troops began working with Yemen’s military to try to dismantle Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an affiliate of Osama bin Laden’s terror network based in Yemen. The Pentagon has also carried out missile strikes from Navy ships into suspected militant hideouts and plans to spend more than $155 million equipping Yemeni troops with armored vehicles, helicopters and small arms.
Officials said that many top commanders, General Petraeus among them, have advocated an expansive interpretation of the military’s role around the world, arguing that troops need to operate beyond Iraq and Afghanistan to better fight militant groups.
The order, which an official said was drafted in close coordination with Adm. Eric T. Olson, the officer in charge of the United States Special Operations Command, calls for clandestine activities that “cannot or will not be accomplished” by conventional military operations or “interagency activities,” a reference to American spy agencies.
While the C.I.A. and the Pentagon have often been at odds over expansion of clandestine military activity, most recently over intelligence gathering by Pentagon contractors in Pakistan and Afghanistan, there does not appear to have been a significant dispute over the September order.
A spokesman for the C.I.A. declined to confirm the existence of General Petraeus’s order, but said that the spy agency and the Pentagon had a “close relationship” and generally coordinate operations in the field.
“There’s more than enough work to go around,” said the spokesman, Paul Gimigliano. “The real key is coordination. That typically works well, and if problems arise, they get settled.”
During the Bush administration, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld endorsed clandestine military operations, arguing that Special Operations troops could be as effective as traditional spies, if not more so.
Unlike covert actions undertaken by the C.I.A., such clandestine activity does not require the president’s approval or regular reports to Congress, although Pentagon officials have said that any significant ventures are cleared through the National Security Council. Special Operations troops have already been sent into a number of countries to carry out reconnaissance missions, including operations to gather intelligence about airstrips and bridges.
Some of Mr. Rumsfeld’s initiatives were controversial, and met with resistance by some at the State Department and C.I.A. who saw the troops as a backdoor attempt by the Pentagon to assert influence outside of war zones. In 2004, one of the first groups sent overseas was pulled out of Paraguay after killing a pistol-waving robber who had attacked them as they stepped out of a taxi.
A Pentagon order that year gave the military authority for offensive strikes in more than a dozen countries, and Special Operations troops carried them out in Syria, Pakistan and Somalia.
In contrast, General Petraeus’s September order is focused on intelligence gathering — by American troops, foreign businesspeople, academics or others — to identify militants and provide “persistent situational awareness,” while forging ties to local indigenous groups.
Story here.