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Junior
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: the eye
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 Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:57 pm Post subject: Somali Islamists declare 'holy war' on Ethiopia |
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Mon Oct 9, 3:01 PM ET
MOGADISHU (AFP) - Somalia's powerful Islamist movement declared "holy war" against neighboring Ethiopia after a Muslim-held town near the seat of the weak government fell to Ethiopian and Somali troops.
A day after warning of a regional war if Addis Ababa does not withdraw from Somali territory, the Islamists escalated their rhetoric, vowing to repel Ethiopian soldiers in a tacit warning to the transitional government.
"From today, I am declaring jihad against Ethiopia, which has invaded our country and taken parts of our homeland," said Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chair of the executive committee of the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS).
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061009/wl_afp/somaliaunrest_061009185615 |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Well ethiopia did invade Somalia. Perhaps Ethiopia wouldn't be in such bad shape if its leaders didn't resort to war so much (most notably Eritrea). |
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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:19 pm Post subject: |
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Interesting to note that decades after the Americans, Soviets, and Cubans have left the area, they continue fighting.
If someone looks hard enough, I do not know but I strongly suspect, they might find evidence to show that these peoples and cultures were fighting since well before said Americans, Soviets, and Cubans arrived.
If so, this would dovetail well with my thesis that Cold War politics and superpower rivalry and rhetoric badly distorted our comprehension of local politics and fighting all over the so-called Third-World.
This is not to suggest that said superpowers were not involved and complicit in this or that development. Just that under the veneer of simplistic politicking for or against U.S. or Soviet aims, for example, we will find the real stuff of which many world events are made of... |
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Junior
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: the eye
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| Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Gopher wrote: |
| I do not know but I strongly suspect, they might find evidence to show that these peoples and cultures were fighting since well before said Americans, Soviets, and Cubans arrived.. |
Absolutely- different ethnic groups, clans and tribes were fighting in the area since time immemorial.
Only difference is that the ideologies and the backers change decade by decade. In the 60's and 70's communists supplied many African groups with weapons so long as they took up the banner of marxism or whatever. Which they conveniently and temporarily did.
Fighting for Islam is a good way to get financial support and backing from outside, I guess. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:46 am Post subject: |
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| Junior wrote: |
Fighting for Islam is a good way to get financial support and backing from outside, I guess. |
fighting against it too. who do you think supports the puppet gov't in somalia? we (and other western nations) gave some warlords there beaucoup cash.
ethiopia's gov't tries to get moneyt that way too: it is a xtian nation fighting back the tide of islamic fundies. Of course Ethiopia's actions probably encourages and creates more fundies than it kills and represses, but that's a whole other story. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:26 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
If so, this would dovetail well with my thesis that Cold War politics and superpower rivalry and rhetoric badly distorted our comprehension of local politics and fighting all over the so-called Third-World.
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Someone once remarked about Kissinger:
"'With all due respect, one must wonder about the sanity of a man who regards centuries-old disputes over coffee fields somewhere in Africa as being pivotal arenas of superpower rivalry."
Regardless of what you think of Kissinger, the point could probably be made about anyone who overestimates the role of "great power" influence in local conflicts. I've been informed by leftists that the anti-Japanese riots in China a few years back must have been orchestrated by the CIA, as part of their "divide and conquer" strategy to keep the Asian countries down. I don't think I even bothered with a rebuttal. |
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