Somalia And Foreign Military Interventionism

Without doubt, we—the Somali people—must praise the Almighty for the unilateral withdrawal of the Ethiopian armed forces from the Banaadir region of Somalia. The military invasion, and brutal occupation, of Somali territory by the a foreign power represents a stain upon the dignity of the Somali people, and the fact that this particular nightmare seems to be receding is certainly a wonderful thing. However, we—the Somali people—must learn from the past and we must realise that nothing, in terms of military affairs, is ever absolute. We must realise that we should never again find ourselves in a position where a section of the Somali community can openly invite the armed forces, of a foreign power, to enter the Somali national territory. Armies are, by definition, trained to kill people. Therefore, one must question the motive—not to mention the morality—of seeking the support of a foreign army at the expense of one's own people? What could be more base than finding peace inside Somalia at the end of the barrel of an Ethiopian gun? By our faith, we must not tolerate the subjugation of the Somali people by any foreign army. Somali society has been fractured and dysfunctional for three decades now. Despite this fact, nothing can justify the military occupation of the Somali national territory by any invading army. We, the Somali people, must put our political differences aside if we intend to avoid a repeat of the horrors of military occupation in the future.

During both this decade and the last, the Somali people have suffered at the hands of foreign military interventionists. In the first instance, an unholy military coalition spoke of safeguarding the humanitarian needs of the Somali people whilst they killed innocent Somali civilians by the thousand. In the second, and more recent instance, military interventionist ideology determined that the Somali national territory had become a “safe haven” for international terrorism. This has resulted, once again, in the needless deaths of thousands of innocent Somali civilians. Military interventionism is a hallmark of Western politics when it comes to dealing with certain regions of the world. Military interventionism is a recurring theme throughout the past five centuries of human history. From the tactics of gunboat diplomacy to the deployment of thousands of boots on the ground, military interventionism is an ancient imperial privilege. However, it is most distressing to learn that the stated aims of military interventionist theory have neither been met or satisfied by the military interventions that have cruelly devastated Somali society in recent years. Neither the humanitarian needs of the Somali people nor the so-called safe havens for international terrorism have ever been influenced one way or another by the tactics employed by the military interventionists of the world. Therefore, the time has come for all concerned to realise that violence, in the form of military intervention, shall never resolve the unique political problems of the Somali nation.

Both Somalis and non-Somalis must learn to recognise the fact that violence, in the form of military intervention, only serves to divide the people of the Somali nation. Indeed, the political division of the people of Somalia only serves the interests of the Ethiopian government, the chief military interventionists inside Somalia during the past decade. We, the noble Somali people, must realise that just as the armed forces of Ethiopia exit the military theatre of present day Mogadishu, they stealthily enter another theatre of military activity. Nothing is irreversible in this world, and it is quite clear that the Ethiopian armed forces have decided to modify their tactics, and to return to first principles. The Ethiopian armed forces, for the foreseeable future, shall resume the practice of primarily arming and supporting various friendly militia inside Somalia. Where the tactics of direct military intervention have failed them, the Ethiopian high command hope to exploit the political divisions already present within Somali urban society to their best advantage. In recent weeks, we have already seen an intensification of military activity in the Bay, Bakool, and Gedo regions of Somalia. This, it seems, is a welcome return to low-intensity warfare from the perspective of the Ethiopian armed forces. Perhaps, this new policy serves as a best means of defence—from the perspective of the Ethiopian government—when it finds itself confronted by hostile Somali forces. In any event, the hostility of certain Somali groups is nothing if not the fruit of years of foreign military interventionism inside the Somali national territory. It is the responsibility of all Somalis to recognise this fact, and to take measures that shall prevent future foreign military interventions inside the Somali national territory.