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| Africa Horn |
| Enemy spots US marines by talking |
| 2010-09-27 |
| Interesting interview from a great Reuters correspondent who toughs it out in Somalia instead of running away like so many of his countrymen.This is instructive. Learn from it. lesson 1) the somalis fought because they *thought* you were trying to colonise them. lesson 2) don't chit chat. 5 Questions for a Somali Veteran of the 'Black Hawk Down' Battle By Abdinasir Mohamed Guled Abdinasir Mohamed Guled spends five minutes asking a veteran of the 'Black Hawk Down' battle in Mogadishu five questions. What is your name and where are you from? My name is Mohamed Ghelle, I come from the Mudug region in central Somalia What did you do during the battle against the Americans? I was one of the fighters who defeated the Americans, I was a commander for one of the units who firmly fought the Americans. It was a great experience for me to fight them because I understand how their tactics and soldiers are. I was wounded by an aircraft one day when they fired a missile near our trench but some of our soldiers who were in a nearby trench shot down the aircraft and burnt it. They were fighting hard like Ethiopians in 1977, but Americans get thirsty sooner and suffer more then the tough Ethiopians. Also, Americans can be heard by their enemies when they are chatting. They always shout when one is injured and that informs their enemies where they are. Why did you fight? Why I fought was because Americans wanted to colonize and bully us, so as a freedom fighter I could not tolerate that since no one wants colonization for his country. Are your children soldiers? How does this make you feel? No, my children are not soldiers, they are students and I don't want them to be soldiers now, but yes if colonization comes. If you could talk to an American veteran who fought against you what would you say? If I would speak to an American veteran who fought against us I would say to him, what is the experience you have gotten from war in Somalia? Would you like to come again to Somalia? What was your worst day of fighting? What was the best custom you have learned in Somalia? What was your plan to colonize Somalia after we defeated the British colonial forces? Are you ready for a friendship and a way to return to Somalia without using a gun and misguided politics? I would say to you, Americans are good people and compassionate people but the cheating politics of your government leads to the targeting of your citizens. So stop that crazy idea. |
| Posted by:anon1 |
| #7 Geez, Mo. Too bad you didn't get to see this show... Oakley was careful to say, ``This is not a threat,'' but then he laid out a chilling scenario. He offered it as friendly advice. ``I have no plan for this, and I'll do everything I can to prevent it, but what will happen if a few weeks go by and Mr. Durant is not released? Not only will you lose any credit you may get now, but we will decide that we have to rescue him. I guarantee you we are not going to pay or trade for him in any way, shape or form. . . . ``So what we'll decide is we have to rescue him, and whether we have the right place or the wrong place, there's going to be a fight with your people. The minute the guns start again, all restraint on the U.S. side goes. Just look at the stuff coming in here now. An aircraft carrier, tanks, gunships . . . the works. Once the fighting starts, all this pent-up anger is going to be released. This whole part of the city will be destroyed, men, women, children, camels, cats, dogs, goats, donkeys, everything. . . . That would really be tragic for all of us, but that's what will happen.'' The Somalis delivered his message and ``friendly advice'' to Aidid, in hiding, who offered to hand the pilot right over. Oakley asked them to delay for a few hours to give him time to leave the country. He told them to turn Durant over to Howe, and he flew back to Washington. Come to think about it, too bad we didn't either. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-09-27 20:35 |
| #6 This obsession with colonialism shows that this guy does not understand his enemy. The US is not a colonial power and, even if it were, his country would be better off within a colonial system vs. warlordism. His brilliant analysis is that our soldiers might make too much noise calling for help. Sounds like an understandable facet of coming from a society that values the lives of fellow citizens and comrades in arms. He also seems to think that a battle in which his side suffered casualties at nearly a 100:1 ratio to our own was a victory. And, it would have been a higher ratio had we not been relying on UN forces for support. Suffice to say that, in addition to our technical and societal advantages, we understand our enemies far better than this individual does. |
| Posted by: JAB 2010-09-27 20:24 |
| #5 So we can send all the "refugees" back now? |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2010-09-27 15:08 |
| #4 The only Somali colonisation is being done by the losers who turn up in the West claiming asylum and often end up making headlines for all the wrong reasons. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2010-09-27 12:57 |
| #3 ...as opposed to the 'colonies' of Germany, Japan, South Korea, etc. The Philippines may be iffy, but it would still beat being a 'independent' Somalia, except in the south with the usual [gee, just like Somalia] muzzies. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-09-27 10:46 |
| #2 Well, it worked. Instead of a recipient of American aid, your country has been the world's worst shithole for decades now. |
| Posted by: gromky 2010-09-27 10:37 |
| #1 What a waste of a country. Makes Yemen and Pakistan look half decent. |
| Posted by: Paul2 2010-09-27 09:50 |