All US efforts have been directed at preventing the emergence of an independent government in Somalia. The occupation of Somalia by its client state enables the Ethiopia's US-backed invasion of Somalia late last December supposedly to crush Muslim terrorists' there - was actually a bid to bolster the strategic position of the US in the region. Norman Traub explains.
The invasion followed the dispatch to Somalia of thousands of troops, armed with heavy weapons and tanks, in support of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The TFG was based in the small western town of Baidoa and was recognised by the African Union and internationally.
Ethiopia's actions came after the take-over of the capital, Mogadishu, by the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) earlier last year. The Ethiopians and the US accused the leadership of the ICU of being terrorists and linked to al-Qaida.
The US had earlier pressured the UN Security Council to authorise regional peacekeeping force to enter Somalia to protect the TFG and "restore peace and stability". This was despite the fact that the UN has no right under its charter to intervene on behalf of one of the parties struggling for political supremacy. The subsequent invasion by Ethiopian troops was a clear violation of international law.
The US became directly involved in this illegal war when its helicopter gunships and an AC-130 jet were involved in a bombing campaign of villages near the Somalia-Kenya border, killing many civilians.
Then came confirmation from the US Navy that it had moved an aircraft carrier and other ships to the Somali coast. The US has a huge military base in neighbouring Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, from where the jet took off.
General John Abizaid, commander of US forces in the Middle East, is believed to have given Ethiopia the go ahead for the invasion when he visited Addis Ababa in early December. The Ethiopians were assured that the US would provide arms, fuel and other logistical support for the invasion.
There has been no central government in Somalia since the country's long term dictator, Syad Barre was overthrown in 1991 by armed, rebel, clan-based groups. After Syad Barre fled Somalia, the country descended into anarchy as fighting ensued between and within these groups. One of these groups, the Somali National Movement, declared Northern Somalia's independence as the Somaliland Republic, but it was never recognised.
Another of the groups, the United Somali Congress split in two, the leader of one of the factions, General Aideed, gaining control of US to obtain a direct foothold in this highly strategic part of the world. Mogadishu.
The warlords went on the rampage as each fought for control over territory with noone in overall control of the country.
The misery of the population exacerbated by drought and starvation Millions of Somalis fled to Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen Djibouti and further afield.
Two years ago Somalia's neighbouring states, grouped together as the InterGovernmental Authority on Development, facilitated the formation of the Transitional Federal Government. Many TFG members were warlords or former warlords, who had been living outside Somalia.
When the TFG transferred to Somalia, the warlords continued with business as usual. Mogadishu and the rest of the country were plagued by violence as each warlord struggled for overall control.
The TFG, beholden to the warlords, did not enjoy popular legitimacy and was unable to move beyond Baidoa.
In a situation where there was no effective government, the Somali people, angered and frustrated by the lack of security in their lives, turned to their own organisations. In this overwhelmingly Muslim country, many looked to their religion and religious bodies, with varied opinions, for guidance.
At the time of the invasion Ethiopian soldier: who is he really working for? Secretary General of the Pan African Movement Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem* described the Islamic Courts Union as "the umbrella under which ordinary Somalis have united to get rid of militias and warlords backed by various foreign interests".
He urged caution on those who dismissed the ICU as yet another "Muslim fundamentalist" group. The ease with which they had moved from Mogadishu to other areas of the country suggested that they were becoming a popular movement able to bring security and peace based on notions of the Islamic rule of law and social justice.
'Who is the terrorist in Somalia, Tajudeen AbdulRaheem asked, those who have held the people to ransom for two decades, or those who have chased them away?'
Now that the ICU has been defeated, the warlords have begun carving up the country again and violence and criminal activity against the population are increasing.
Armed acts of resistance against the invasion are occurring and are bound to intensify.
All US efforts have been directed at preventing the emergence of an independent government in Somalia.
The US, through its military base in Djibouti, controls the maritime zone through which a quarter of the world's oil production passes. It is also in close proximity to the Sudanese oil pipeline.
The occupation of Somalia by its client state enables the US to obtain a direct foothold in this highly strategic part of the world."
The attack of Ethiopia and the US on Somalia has been condemned in Africa and all over the world and can only further destabilise this volatile region.
*Tajudeen Abdul- Raheem, Kilombo p36 Dec.06.