On February 7, 2019, Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, AFRICOM commander, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S. airstrikes alone would not defeat Al-Shabaab, the Al Qaeda-affiliated militant group with deep roots in Somalia. Instead, he said, local forces need to “step up.” He is right, so it is especially unfortunate that when local forces step up to rebuff Al-Shabaab, AFRICOM ignores them. Continue reading “Somaliland: Key to Winning America’s Longest War”
Category: Op-Ed
Somaliland President Turned Down Farmaajo’s Visit
In his annual constitutional speech before a joint session of the two houses of Somaliland parliament, President Muse Bihi Abdi gave a lengthy account of his recent official visit to Addis Abba where has met the Continue reading “Somaliland President Turned Down Farmaajo’s Visit”
Ethiopia’s Naive Peacemaking Could Lead to War
Ethiopian Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy is on a high. In October 2019, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize “for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea.” The committee also cited Abiy’s work more broadly — helping restore Djibouti-Eritrea ties, mediate a maritime dispute between Kenya and Somalia, and facilitate the peaceful transition in Sudan. Continue reading “Ethiopia’s Naive Peacemaking Could Lead to War”
Nation Building: The State of Intellectualism in Somaliland
Another year will soon come to an end in the life of the Somaliland Nation, so what are we to make of it? Let me begin by saying that, for some, Somaliland has taken a step or two backwards in many ways. After all, the nation is still not internationally recognized, the quality of the nation’s fledgling democracy Continue reading “Nation Building: The State of Intellectualism in Somaliland”
Disregarding Somaliland Case a Scar on UN and AU
Disregarding Somaliland Case a Scar on UN and AU
Continue reading “Disregarding Somaliland Case a Scar on UN and AU”
Forgiving Somalia’s Debt is an Abuse of US Taxpayers
President Trump campaigned against unnecessary U.S. commitments and publicly called out wasteful aid spending. Why, then, is he prepared to bail out Somalia, rated by Transparency International to be the world’s most corrupt country for more than a decade, to the tune of $1 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds? Continue reading “Forgiving Somalia’s Debt is an Abuse of US Taxpayers”
U.S. Africa Policy Cannot Afford Ignoring Somaliland
“Great nations do not fight endless wars,” President Donald Trump declared in his State of the Union address, even as he redoubled his commitment to “focus on counter-terrorism.” While many commentators describe Afghanistan—the war against which Trump railed—as America’s longest war, the battle against terrorists and warlords in Somalia has now run even longer. Continue reading “U.S. Africa Policy Cannot Afford Ignoring Somaliland”
Somaliland People’s Right to Self-Determination
The primary emergence of the principle of self-determination was materialized after the First World War (Shaw, 2003). It is possible to say that; self-determination was “the benchmark for peacemakers at Versailles”. The President of the United States of America Woodrow Wilson described the national self-determination as “an imperative principle of action” (Henry & Philip, 2000) . Continue reading “Somaliland People’s Right to Self-Determination”