We had been told by Prime Beggar Meles Zenawi and his cheerleader in the U.S. State Department, Ms. Jendayi Frazer, that the Somali Islamist Courts Union (ICU) is a terrorist group, Taliban-like, linked with al Qaeda, etc. After several months of orchestrated propaganda campaign, with the wilful collaboration of the major news agencies like AP, Reuters, and BBC, the Woyanne leader unleashed his weapons of mass killing (jets and tanks) against a few thousand poorly trained, lightly armed Islamist militia. The Woyanne army had reportedly received assistance in the form of bird’s-eye-view intelligence from U.S. military assets in the region. It was a high-tech, U.S.-sanctioned war against a rag-tag militia. So now the battle–not the war–is almost over, what was achieved? And what have we learned?
1) Meles Zenawi is shown to be a liar whose words can not be taken seriously. Until Woyanne jets bombed Mogadishu airport, Meles was telling the world (Jun 27, Aug 2) that there were only “a few Ethiopian military advisors” in Somalia.
2) Despite the claim by Meles and Jendayi, the ICU turned out not to be a terrorist organization. The Europeans didn’t think so. Even the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, Ambassador John Negroponte, didn’t agree. If the ICU were a terrorist organization, they would have turned Mogadishu into a blood bath like Baghdad. Instead, they have abandoned their weapons and instructed their fighters to stand down. They left Mogadishu in order to save their people from being massacred by the blood-thirsty Woyanne army that has demonstrated its willingness to shoot 12-year-old children in the back.
3) The ICU leaders proved themselves to be respectable Somali citizens with compassion for their people. They have tried to bring stability to their long-suffering country in their own way-through religious order–and they almost succeeded. Meles and his Woyanne thugs, on the other hand, did not even have to be surrounded by a superior force to turn Addis Ababa into a blood bath in June and November, 2005. The atrocities Meles and his Woyanne forces have carried out against the people of Ethiopia can only be compared to–even worse in many ways than–what Mussolini did in the 1930s. Indeed, the only terrorist organization in the region is Woyanne, as once classified by the U.S. Home Land Security’s National Counter Terrorism Center.
4) All the lies fed to the world by Meles and Jendayi that there were foreign fighters in Somalis have been exposed. The truth came out now that the only foreign fighters in Somalis were Woyannes.
Military and political analysts had warned the U.S. Government to distance itself from the desperate dictator. Gregory H. Winger, a senior research assistant at the National Defense Council Foundation, had warned in Sep 2006:
An anti-Islamist war in Somalia would enable Zenawi to position himself as a key ally in the war on terror. Zenawi reasons that if his country plays an essential role in supporting Somalia’s transitional government against the ICU, the United States will provide economic and diplomatic support, despite other objections to Ethiopia’s policies. All Zenawi has to do is wait for civil war in Somalia to reignite – an outcome made more likely by his deployment of troops. America is prepared to help governments in need of assistance, but this aid should not go to a leader eager to spark an unnecessary war. Only when Ethiopia proves itself to be a supporter of progress in the horn of Africa, and a true ally of America in its conduct of both its foreign and domestic affairs, should it enjoy the rewards of American friendship. Until then, the US must show Ethiopia and the world that America refuses to define its allies based solely on whom they battle against, and that fighting in the war on terror merely out of self-interest is not a quick way to curry favor.
It has been clear to any one who is willing to find out the truth that the ICU were indeed never a threat to any one–except to the corrupt Somali transitional government headed by a former Siad Barre colonel. The stand taken by the Ethiopian opposition parties, the independent media, such as Ethiopian Review, Ethiopian scholars, and commentators against the war has been vindicated.
5) The Woyanne invasion of Somalia has exposed many individuals who were claiming to be opponents of the fascist regime. They exposed themselves to be either politically naive, or have a soft heart for Woyanne. They were just looking for some excuse to jump on the Woyanne bandwagon.
After shutting down all independent newspapers in the country, blocking access to web journals, and jailing journalists, the Woyannes have unleashed an intense worldwide propaganda campaign to convince Ethiopians and the world that the U.S. and Ethiopia are facing a threat from Islamic terrorists. Not surprisingly, a few gullible Ethiopians and others were duped. It is excusable for politically unsophisticated persons to be persuaded by such propaganda. But for U.S. officials such as Jendayi Frazer, it should be unacceptable. Ethiopian-Americans and every one who stands for peace and justice need to urge their Senators and Congressman to demand the immediate resignation of Jendayi Frazer from her position as chief of U.S. policy on Africa.
Ethiopians currently find themselves under the brutal occupation of the Woyanne murderers and looters while the legitimate leaders of Ethiopia are languishing in Woyanne jails. If there is any war, it should be against the Woyanne occupation forces. Let’s intensify support to our freedom fighters–EPPF, ENUF, OLF, and ONLF.
After terrorizing the people of Ethiopia for the past 15 years, Woyannes are exporting their brand of terrorism to a neighboring country. It is therefore necessary for Ethiopians around the world to start coordinating their struggle with Somalis and other people of the region.