"US in Kuwait and Somalia"

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Nancy Waterman (149 posts) Dec-10-01, 10:02 PM (ET) "US in Kuwait and Somalia" AMERICAN officers have secretly entered Somalia in the first indication of President Bush's determination to extend the war against terrorism. Five military personnel reached the heart of the country and met a rebel movement in Baidoa, 150 miles west of the capital Mogadishu, in a search for terrorist camps. In another move indicating wider military action, the United States 3rd Army began deploying several hundred headquarters staff to Kuwait. The unit would normally be composed of 70,000 combat troops and is thought to include the elite 101 and 82 Airborne divisions. The moves coincided with a warning from Adml Sir Michael Boyce, Chief of the Defence Staff, that Britain should be wary of following "the United States' single-minded determination" to wage war on a broad front. He said that if British troops were to join the American operations, the Government would have to put down very clear "red lines" beyond which it would not go. Otherwise British troops could become involved in "prosecuting operations that we may find contradict national policy", he said. Sir Michael also issued a warning that widening the campaign immediately to other countries was "bound to cause problems", antagonising Islamic states needed to reinforce the coalition against terrorism. America is determined to widen the war to include countries such as Iraq, Somalia and Yemen. But British politicians have repeatedly said that they have seen no evidence linking Iraq to the September 11 attacks. Senior defence officials say that Britain would only put troops into countries such as Somalia - where the government has been unable to prevent an al-Qa'eda presence - with those states' permission. In a lecture to the Royal United Services Institute, Sir Michael appeared to indicate that if Britain were to lead the security force in Afghanistan, it would not be able to join any widening of the war. "We have to decide whether we need to broaden the campaign or to make a longer-term commitment to Afghanistan," he said. "We cannot be all-singing, all-dancing; we do not have the resources." Defence officials confirmed that Sir Michael's speech had Tony Blair's approval. The suggestion that Britain could not lead the peacekeeping operation and join a wider campaign appeared to leave the Government with a way of opting out of any attacks on other countries. The Americans in Somalia held talks with the leaders of the Rahanwein Resistance Army (RRA). They visited an airport and several former military barracks on Sunday. Paul Wolfowitz, the American deputy defence secretary, said that Washington was spreading its net to Somalia and other countries where the al-Qa'eda network could offer Osama bin Laden an opportunity to hide from justice. He said: "Obviously we are trying to observe, to surveil possible escape routes, possible sanctuaries - and people mention Somalia for obvious reasons. "It is a country virtually without government, a country with a certain al-Qa'eda presence already." A source close to the American group told the Reuters news agency: "They were discussing whether know of any terrorist bases in south and south-west Somalia. They discussed possible co-operation if they make an operation in Somalia." An RRA official confirmed to The Telegraph that the visit had taken place. America pulled out of the country after 18 men were killed during a 1993 raid on militiamen in Mogadishu. American public abhorrence at the sight of servicemen's corpses being dragged through the streets was a major factor. Interest in the country has been rekindled by the presence of al-Itihaad Islamic extremists, a militia close to bin Laden. It was placed on Washington's list of terrorist organisations after September 11. Somalia and the war against terrorism were also on the agenda yesterday as Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, met President Daniel arap Moi, of Kenya, in Nairobi. http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$XFZ5EKAAADZGLQFIQMFCFGGAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2001/12/11/war11.xml&sSheet=/portal/2001/12/11/ixport.html Sorry. I posted the whole article because the link doesn't work. It is too long.   Alert Edit | Reply | Top

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Subject     Author     Message Date     ID    Thanks for the info Agape Dec-10-01 1    Rahanwein Resistance Army (Somalia) IndianaGreen 12/10/2001 2  sound familiar? KG Dec-10-01 3  Strikes on Somalia 'unjustified' IndianaGreen Dec-10-01 4  Bush Has Always Liked Death! farmboxer Dec-11-01 5  CNN: U.S. Military meets warlords in Somalia IndianaGreen Dec-11-01 6  Full link (view source in browser to see how to create links with $'s) Blue Adept Dec-11-01 7  coincidence? EdGy Dec-11-01 8

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Agape (111 posts) Dec-10-01, 10:10 PM (ET) 1. "Thanks for the info" The more I hear, the more I just want to cry. The sad fact is..I can't seem to cry anymore...... Use truth as your anvil, nonviolence as your hammer and anything that does not stand the test when it is brought to the anvil of truth and hammered with nonviolence, reject it. M. K. Gandhi A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic. Joseph Stalin   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Top

IndianaGreen (5075 posts) Dec-10-01, 10:50 PM (ET) Reply to post #1 2. "Rahanwein Resistance Army (Somalia)" The Americans in Somalia held talks with the leaders of the Rahanwein Resistance Army (RRA). They visited an airport and several former military barracks on Sunday. The warlord that runs the Rahanwein Resistance Army gets his support from Ethiopia, not a great model of freedom, and fought with Somali warlord Aidid, the man whose troops killed our Rangers in Mogadishu. In 1999, Nur turned on Aidid. This is the kind of people that Bush is making his bed with. We are truly as bad as the Roman Empire, and we deserve the same fate! Should Americans shed their blood in places like Somalia and Ethiopia in order to satisfy dictator Bush's thirst for military conquest? Some more info on Rahanwein Resistance Army: The Rahanwein Resistance Army (RRA), whose leader was given a seat in the government's transitional assembly, pulled out of the plan on October 17, claiming anger over the choice of Mogadishu as the country's capitol. The RRA, which is supported by the government of Ethiopia, is based in the southern city Baidoa. http://www.clandestineradio.com/intel/somalia.htm Col Hassan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud, who is Professional soldier trained in Italy, Soviet Union, and Egypt. Law graduate. Member of Rahanwein clan and commander of Rahanwein Resistance Army. Controls Bay and Bakol regions and claims much of Lower Shabelle, Middle and Lower Juba regions. Fought with Aidid for four years (1995-1999) in Baidoa before defeating his rival. Close to Ethiopia. One of the strongest opponents of Abdulkasim Salad Hassan. http://arlaadi.com/colonel_hassan_mohamed_nur.htm The forces of South Mogadishu faction leader, Hussein Aideed, are being challenged by the Rahanwein Resistance Army. The BBC's East Africa Correspondent, Cathy Jenkins, says that fighting took place for most of the day. Early reports had suggested the Rahanwein Resistance Army had gained an upper hand, but conflicting versions of the event were soon being presented. <snip> In recent months, there have been reports of arms being shipped to Somalia, in violation of a 1992 arms embargo. On Friday, the UN Security Council said it was alarmed by these reports. Although it did not name countries violation the embargo, it is believed by correspondents that Ethiopia and Eritrea have been backing rival Somali clans. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_362000/362658.stm SOMALIA: US military officers reported in Baidoa NAIROBI, 10 Dec 2001 (IRIN) - A group of US military officers has reportedly visited the town of Baidoa, 240 km southwest of Mogadishu, a local radio reported on Monday. The Mogadishu-based HornAfrik radio said that nine American military officers visited Baidoa on Sunday and toured military facilities, including the airport, in and around the town. According to the radio, a senior Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) official Muhammad Adan Qalinle, who is the governor of Baidoa, has confirmed the presence of the American officers. The RRA controls Baidoa and the regions of Bay and Bakol. When contacted by IRIN, a US Embassy official declined to confirm or deny the story. Qalinle is reported to have said the RRA would welcome "any outside forces who are fighting terrorism" in its area of control, the Agence France Presse (AFP) reported. The RRA is a member of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), which is a grouping of southern factions opposed to the TNG. The material contained on this Web site comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post any item on this site, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All graphics and Images on this site may not be re-produced without the express permission of the original owner. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001 http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17398&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=SOMALIA   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Top

KG (98 posts) Dec-10-01, 10:59 PM (ET) 3. "sound familiar?" >"It(Somalia) is a country virtually without government, a country with a certain al-Qa'eda presence already."< Let's just leave another prostrate country in futhur shambles...   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Top

IndianaGreen (5075 posts) Dec-10-01, 11:53 PM (ET) 4. "Strikes on Somalia 'unjustified'" Are we going to bomb and kill Somalis as pay back for what happened in 1993? Are we going to murder Somali children for something that happened before they were born? Where are the Right-to-Lifers? Operation Rescue will say that abortion is murder, but killing a pregnant woman with an American bomb is a virtue. We murder children and defenseless men and women just so that we can drive to McDonald's in our SUVs. Sick! I pray to God for Justice! Monday, 10 December, 2001, 16:55 GMT Strikes on Somalia 'unjustified' Somalis are already struggling with drought and war Interim Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah has strongly rejected American charges that the al-Qaeda network led by Osama Bin Laden has bases in Somalia. He was responding in a BBC interview to a statement from a top United States official that Washington had evidence of definite links between al-Qaeda and the Somali Islamic group, al-Itihad. Asked about reports that the US might carry out air strikes on Somalia, Mr Hassan Abshir said there would be no justification for this. <snip> Already a US warship has been stationed off the Somali coast and this weekend there were reports that surveillance flights had been carried out over the country. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1702000/1702338.stm   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Top

farmboxer (1953 posts) Dec-11-01, 01:15 AM (ET) 5. "Bush Has Always Liked Death!" He enjoys it! Remember when he was the Gov. of TexAss?! Bush is like a kid playing army! Bush talks about freedom for other countries, while here in America we are becoming a dictatorship! Free elections? What a joke!   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Top

IndianaGreen (5075 posts) Dec-11-01, 09:24 AM (ET) 6. "CNN: U.S. Military meets warlords in Somalia" Looks like Bush is going to take sides in a civil war. Sources: U.S. Military meets warlords in Somalia December 10, 2001 Posted: 6:52 PM EST (2352 GMT) MOGADISHU, Somalia (Reuters) -- U.S. military officers visited Somalia Sunday for talks with opposition warlords to identify potential "terrorist" targets in the anarchic Horn of Africa country, sources close to the warlords said Monday. There has been widespread speculation the United States is planning a military campaign in Somalia as a second phase in its war on terrorism, but Washington has played down the possibility of imminent strikes. <snip> According to the sources, the U.S. military officers were accompanied by four officers from the Ethiopian army, which has been accused by Somalia of supporting factions resisting its embryonic attempts to establish a central government. Diplomats say Ethiopia has provided the U.S. government with information on al-Itihad, which supported Ethiopian separatists in the 1990s, and has offered to help track down its members. http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/africa/12/10/ret.somalia.usa.reut/index.html   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Top

Blue Adept (18 posts) Dec-11-01, 09:31 AM (ET) 7. "Full link (view source in browser to see how to create links with $'s)" LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-01 AT 09:32 AM (ET) Link to full story   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Top

EdGy (225 posts) Dec-11-01, 05:26 PM (ET) 8. "coincidence?" Is it a coincidence that Bush is waging this war against some of the most impoverished countries in the world? What does it say when the most technologically and militarily powerful country in the world is using its massive firepower against some of the poorest and most destitute countries in the world. Isn't there something wrong with this picture, in more ways than one?   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Top

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