I write this letter as a Somaliland citizen that values the ancient, cultural, religious, kinship, commercial and geographic ties that bind the peoples of Somaliland and Arabia. However, I must, in all honesty, clarify that I speak for no one except myself, although I believe that many Somalilander...
I have just read Sophia Tesfamariam´s diatribe of character assassination and vilification against Professor Peter Pham on American Chronicle entitled "ETHIOPIA-Meles Zenawi's latest ´Intellectual for Hire´ Exposes Himself" and dated 23 October 2009. Ms Tesfamariam´s rant do...
While international diplomacy is focused elsewhere, it seems likely that the Al-Shabaab terrorist group (which is the Al-Qaeda franchisee in the Horn of Africa) will take over the failed state of Somalia and kick out the fictional, Western-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG). This paper presents some thoughts on how to counter Al-Shabaab's looming success and prevent Somalia from becoming the new 'Afghanistan', i.e. the nexus and home base of Al-Qaeda.