As french a french of somali origins, im very saddened to see my homeland without hope and futur, but i realy do believe things will and can only get better, because first somalia is rich in mineral resource and also because somalia is very strategic. all the turmoil and troubles in somalia is fuelled by the west especially america. when there was chaos and anarchy in somalia, nobody cared. when those warlords and criminals were taking somalia on the brink of total instinction, they never tried to help. But the great people of somalia had enough and chose to go back to their roots and use their relegion as the only solution to get out of the hell in which they were living in. the islmaist came to power and cleaned the the whole south somalia in just 6 months, the country was the right track again. But as i said before, the west certainy dont want to see a strong and stable somalia for many reasons. especialy now that the country is chosing islamic conservatism. they would rather support brutal regimes like the one they put in place in ethiopia. The west needs to understand 1 thing, somalia is very different from most african countries. somalia wil never accept the modern colonialism that is imposed on most of our fellow africans. We only accept the destiny that god has for us. They never understood that during the colonial period. somalis are proud people they will never accept washington to meddle in their affairs and control somalia like they do troughout the world.somalia will stand up again and will be as powerfull as they were in the 70’s.

This is the kind of behavior that continues to damage people’s perception of Islam. These people pretend to be true followers of Islam yet they continue to show the world everything Islam teaches them about peace has no effect on them.

fight fire with fire, send whatever it takes to keep safe our lads and goods safe……..

Somalia is just the worst failed state on this planet,they don’t have the concept of living in peace nor do they want it,best solution to the piracy,annihilate all the coastal “pirate towns”with all the ships and boats,everything that floats, kill as many of those pirates as possible,leave a burned out waste land behind,trust me these guys understand only “that kind of language”not negotiations or diplomacy,coz frankly the world has gotten sick of Somalia PERIOD!!

Now the world is sh!ting their pipp out. They get it when it comes to them ahhh. lol. There is nothing so called pirates problem there, but American made chaos problem. Somalia had seen 6 months very peaceful months but thanks to American and their slaves like Ethiopia, Somalia is on chaos. What do you want to see from poor people if you use their costs taxless? Do you want that they should just smell the chinchin and let you pass away. lol! The west particulary American are eating what they cooked long ago and stop to cry like a child now.
The solution is easy if they really wanted to solve the problem! Leave the Somalis alone and let them manage their internal political differences by theirselves, then they will clean the costs from pirates. Like you see, this will be the only one solution no matter how many wrong policy you fellow.

PS: I said you, because ya´ll just think selfish.

Somalis are ‘Muslim’ not ‘Islamists’. There are no terrorists in Somalia. What you have are two Somali groups opposing each other (a continuation of a civil war). I think some people like to forget history and assume that Muslims have a monopoly on killing. The fact is causing indiscriminate fear and killing civilians is not the preserve of some fanatic group claiming to be acting for their Muslim faith. The inquisitions, crusades, colonial exploits in Africa, bombings of large civilian populations in Japan during the second world war, Vietnamese war (including the secret operation in Loas which killed a third of the population) are a few other examples of people being ‘terrorized’ by none jihadis (another term used too often, poorly defined and misunderstood) .

No one needs to worry about ‘Islamist’ taking over Somalia because anyone who is familiar with Somali history knows they already took over for a brief period in 2006. Those who are hostile to a political system with real Islamic values seem to use the term “Islamists” as a negative and associate it with any political group which claims to be acting according to the Islamic faith and is in power (legitimately or not) across different geographical locations where you find a Muslim population.

The fact is that the all Somalis would describe themselves as followers of Islam. The Muslim faith is one of things Somalis all share. Those who describe the Union of Islamic Courts as a new Somali “Islamist” group are completely out of depth in terms of their understanding of the situation in Somalia.

‘The Union of Islamic Court’ DID bring law and order to Somalia, which was a country in a state of civil war for over 16 years. I do not know if it is because of the fact they are very public about their Islamic beliefs or the fact Somalis were able to find a solution to their own problems. I hope readers do not ascribe to the notion that other countries need to solve the problems of Africa. For whatever reasons, the journalists do not want to recognize this important development in Somali history and as a result the masses in European and America are misinformed (dragging Somalia into their misconstrued notions of Islam).

In fact, when the discussion of the instability in Somali comes up most international journalists seem to glaze over the semblance of law and order brought about in the short terms the Union of Islamic Courts was in power. Well it is not something the Somalis can so easily forget because as soon as the Union of Islamic Courts was forced out of Mogadishu the lawlessness returned. Then news comes today that the Union of Islmaic Courts confirm they could easily deal with the pirates in Somalia. Some might be skeptical that this is possible (hopefully it is not because you believe only an international force can help the Somalis solve a domestic problem – it is in Africa after all).

If anyone has researched the culture of the Somali people, you will know that there is a narcotic (Khat) which has been allowed to persist in Somalia. The import and sale of Khat is depended on my farmers in Kenya and Ethiopia and they have benefited from its increase during the instability in Somali. It was a significant accomplishment of the Union of Islamic Courts to be able to ban outright the sale of Khat and then be able to enforce it in Mogadishu to the point the Kenyan and Ethiopian farmers were protesting. This was a decision they made even though they faced far more internal opposition then they would by ending piracy (the sale of Khat was also very profitable for sellers in Somalia).

The external meddling of the situation in Somalia is the cause of the instability. The Union of The Islamic Courts will regain control because they are able to draw on a shared aspect of Somali culture. Certainly, the tribal and clan based splits have led to support for other groups but as the instability continues, the Somali people will reflect on what was possible with the Union of Islamic Courts and their support base will continue to grow among the population.

The Transitional Federal Government of Somali (which has not been voted on by anyone – so it not the ‘legitimate government of Somali’ as some reports incorrectly state) has been in power since the Union of Islamic Courts were ousted and have been largely ineffectual. The fact they are about to be toppled is due to their own incompetence.

Again, the solution to the problem is to let the Somalis solve their own problems. Somalis are generally self reliant (internal trades continues despite the instability and the economy has been maintained even without a central bank or government). There are a few Muslim aid agencies in the country but before this recent conflict you would not find Oxfam or some other charity making an appeal to save Mohamed for $3/month.

If the Union of Islamic Courts is able to stop the pirates then the rest of the world has to take responsibility for the illegal fishing and dumping of waste into Somali waters. This has provided a justification for the pirates (many of them are fisherman who are no longer able to earn their livelihood due to the plundering of Somali waters by international ships). The UN, NATO and other naval bodies operating near the Somali coast have to do more to combat illegal fishing so that these pirates can have no reason to ransom ships for a living. Of course, they are unwilling to do that because many of the illegal ships come from countries who are party to those organizations. At some point, however, they are going to realize that not stopping their illegal fishing boats puts their commercial vessels at risk.

Sending in troops is only going to be met with resistance. If the Union of Islamic Courts are not resistant to the formation of political parties then a representation government will come from the Somali people (without international interference).

These AK47 totting “fishermen” should be dealt with the same way any violent criminal who’s threatening life is dealt with. Give them a warning and then kill them. Problem solved.