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Ferocity of conflict threatens Somalia

STEPHANIE NOLEN

Globe and Mail Update

Latest comment posted at 11:40 PM EDT 01/01/08

Unprecedented escalation in violence and worsening humanitarian crisis have earned little notice in the West, writes the Globe's Stephanie Nolen ...Read the full article

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  1. J.C. Davies from Canada writes:
    Clans = tribes = tribalism (the source of Africa's problems).
  2. Chris Canuck from Canada writes: J.C. Davies -- Thank you. You have simplified an extraordinarily complex situation for all of us. Is there another situation that you would like to work similar magic on by removing hundreds of years of history, the ideological activities of first world nations and basic economics from in order to reduce it to a simple equation?
  3. S B from Woodbridge, Canada writes: J. C. Davies:

    Yes, it is true that the Tribalism is flamed between different tribal groups. But Ms. Nolen "conveniently" missing a "HUGE" factor in Somalian politics. The Big Oil companies.

    There are Big oil companies sucking oil for free from this "so called" country. They fund the tribes with weapons and flame the violence between them. simple divide and conquer technique while they sell 15 dollar barrel of oil for 96 dollars.

    Here are some links for you to read so you won't post "stereotype" comments.

    http://www.raceandhistory.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl/noframes/read/15

    http://www.ringnebula.com/project-censored/1994/1994-story2.htm

    http://www.projectcensored.org/publications/2004/10.html
  4. Richard Roskell from Canada writes: It's difficult to overstate how much I deplore the behavior of the U.S. and- by extension- the U.N. Security Council with regards to Somalia.

    Prior to this past year, Somalis had finally managed to find a uniting force for their country, one which was not clan-based. Slowly but surely the clans submitted themselves to the restrictions of sharia law.

    Islam is the only uniting institution left in Somalia. Everything else has been torn down to rubble. If you deny Somalis the right to unite under their religion, you leave them in chaos.

    Ethiopia was given the green light to invade by the U.S.A., which provided considerable military assistance: right down to C-130 gunships and naval interception. Not a peep came out of the U.N. about the invasion; everyone was suddenly busy with other matters. There never was a threat to Ethiopian sovereignty; it was nothing more than a proxy invasion on behalf of Western countries who couldn't abide an Islamic-style government in Somalia.

    Today, the death toll in Somalia is enormous. That's in contrast to the relatively peaceful conditions which had prevailed under the Islamic Courts. The Somalis should have been left alone to unify their country under their religion. It was their right; and it was and remains the only way the country will achieve peace and stability.
  5. S B from Woodbridge, Canada writes: Richard, peace is very unlikely until the oil runs out!
  6. James Cyr from Balmertown Ontario, Canada writes: The best thing that can happen is for Western leaders to get it through their thick heads that intervention only prolongs the agony. Stop giving African countries foreign aid, and stop supplying arms to warring tribes. Foreign policy is and always has been insane!
  7. Kathleen Degelder from AberdeenUSA, Canada writes: Bill Clinton's legacy.
  8. Kathleen Degelder from AberdeenUSA, Canada writes: Bill Clinton's legacy.
  9. Mei-Xing Xu from Canada writes: Kathleen the country was on the right path and security was being established under the Islamic Courts, airports being re opened, piracy punished, businesses returning. Then your country in arrogance persuaded and prodded Ethiopia to invade and occupy. So this would be Bush's legacy.


    Perhaps you could persuade your government to quit sticking its nose in other countries affairs, and take care of the slums and ghettos in your country, maybe secure your south border , which ironically your country can't even do in peacetime.
  10. Roop Misir from Toronto, Canada writes: Is there likely to be peace on Earth if we leave people to sort things out for themselves?
  11. LJ Brody from Canada writes: Note to Stephanie Nolen, we are giving it little notice because we are a major contributing factor (see Richard Roskell's excellent post above), and nobody wants to have to own up to our own misdeeds.

    More importantly, even if our hands were clean on this, people in the West don't care what happens to Africans. As Nick Nolte's character in Hotel Rwanda said "you people aren't even Ni@@ers to us, you're just Africans"
  12. CatMan Due from Canada writes: Mei-Xing Xu from Canada writes...what a pile of crap you write! The very premise of the article is to invite the West ...and by extension the USA in invade this nation. Everywhere ISLAM rules we see war and conflict, perhaps that is where you should focus your prejudice. Canada has had peace with the United States forever, and will forever. America has never interfered or caused conflict in Canada. WHY NOT? Thank God America is our neighbor and not an Islamic country!!!!!!! Blaming America makes me sick, blame yourself and Islam.
  13. Richard Roskell from Canada writes: S B from Woodbridge, generally-speaking you may be right. It's pretty hard to run a war without petroleum products. :)

    Still, Somalia has zero oil production and zero known oil reserves. Their per capita GDP is about $600 per year- about 1/3 of Haiti's. How hard could it be just to let them sort themselves out, then positively influence matters in the right direction? All it would take is a pittance in aid. Haven't Somalis suffered long enough?
  14. Sceptical Observer from Canada writes: S B from Woodbridge, Canada writes: J. C. Davies:

    Yes, it is true that the Tribalism is flamed between different tribal groups. But Ms. Nolen "conveniently" missing a "HUGE" factor in Somalian politics. The Big Oil companies.

    There are Big oil companies sucking oil for free from this "so called" country. They fund the tribes with weapons and flame the violence between them.
    >>>How come that the same (Very) BIG OIL Companies can't create similar situation in Canada? It is very easy to blame the West for every act of tribal violence in Africa. But this violence was there for hundreds years without any Western intervention. I didn't know that Somalia has a lot of oil.

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