drone attacks in Somalia / WP |
Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
By now, the fact that retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clarke went public about a plan he encountered at the Pentagon to attack seven countries in five years, is no longer major news. After all, Clarke revealed this information in 2006, years after the illegal and lie-based war on Iraq was launched and years after it was too late to stop it.
Clarke’s revelation is particularly interesting considering the fact that the plan, apparently behind schedule if his dates are correct, also mentioned Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Lebanon, and Iran as target countries of American Neo-Con aggression.
In 2006, at the Univesity of Alabama, in regards to a conversation he had with another general at the Pentagon, Clarke stated:
I said, “Are we still going to invade Iraq?” “Yes, Sir,” he said, “but it’s worse than that.” I said, “How do you mean?” He held up this piece of paper. He said, “I just got this memo today or yesterday from the office of the Secretary of Defense upstairs. It’s a… five-year plan. We’re going to take down seven countries in five years. We’re going to start with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, then Libya, Somalia, Sudan, we’re going to come back and get Iran in five years. I said, “Is that classified, that paper?” He said, “Yes Sir.” I said, “Well, don’t show it to me, because I want to be able to talk about it.”
The war in Iraq needs no introduction as it has been a facet of the geopolitical landscape since 2003, every year becoming more and more a fact of life for Americans and, unfortunately, for the Iraqi victims as well.
In addition, the travesty of the destabilization, bombing, and potential occupation of Libya is well known to anyone who has even passively kept up with the latest imperialist notions of the United States and the rest of the Anglo-American empire.
Considering the progression of current events, one would be hard pressed to ignore the classified memo that Clarke is referring to, especially considering that both Iraq and Libya have been decimated since the time when it was allegedly produced. Not only that, but the constant warmongering over Iran (for virtually any reason) and the increase in propaganda aimed at Syria and its president Assad, lends even more credence to the fact that there is, indeed, a hit list of countries that will inevitably be invaded given the availability of resources and the public support to do so.
Obviously, this wishlist spans parties, administrations, and political persuasions, as one part, Iraq, was initiated under the “Neo-Con” Bush regime while another part was initiated in the form of Libya under “Neo-Lib” Obama.
But what of the other nations mentioned in the memo?
What of Somalia for instance?
The fact is that, while not reported nearly as much on the mainstream or even the alternative media, the Anglo-American/New World Order crew has been conducting sustained destabilization efforts and military bombing campaigns in Somalia for some time.
Much like the continued (and illegal) attacks launched across the Afghan border into Pakistan, the United States is now directing drone aircraft into Somalia for the stated purpose of targeted assassinations.
In a story reported by the Washington Post entitled, U.S. Drone Targets Two Leaders of Somali Group Allied With al-Qaeda, Official Says, it is confirmed that the United States sent in drones allegedly to kill “leading members” of the Somali-based terrorist organization “al-Shabab” in June. Al-Shabab is a considered a “terrorist” group by the United States and other “coalition” countries, but, at best, it is one that is solely focused within Somali borders as it has been fighting a continual battle with the official Somali government.
Claiming that the group was now planning attacks outside of Somalia, an official with the Obama administration said, “They have become somewhat emboldened of late and, as a result, we have become more focused on inhibiting their activities.”
Of course, anyone who has even cursory knowledge of international terrorism would find this explanation questionable. The United States has been engaged in a continuous effort to destabilize, infiltrate, and reconstruct Somalia in its own image for years.
Indeed, the bombing of the fragile African nation did not begin with Obama.
In 2007, the United States, under George W. Bush, engaged in air strikes that resulted not just in the death of a number of innocent Somalians, but also in the death of Canadian and British citizens.
For years, the United States has funded various warlords who are fighting the weak and unpopular Somali government, an action which has further destabilized the society, endangered Somalis, and pushed the nation further and further back into the stone age. At this point, Somalia can be considered nothing more than a “failed state.”
Ironically, however, the US is destabilizing an already puppet government whose own politicians have called for US boots on the ground in order to fight against the “terrorist” threat. But of course this would play into the hands of the rogue US imperialists and the rest of the Anglo-American empire in the end. What better pretext would there be for invasion and occupation of Somalia than a failed state which has dissolved into civil war, complete with a fledgling government fighting a losing battle against “al-Qaeda” and begging the West for support.
Perhaps these are some of the reasons why the Somali government is so unpopular at home to begin with. It may be possible that the citizenry of Somalia are not as ignorant as their Western counterparts, even if their country is enveloped in chaos. Perhaps the lack of progress and the subsequent lack of television and video games has allowed the Somali people to not only distrust the warlords and national government, but also the imperial forces who seek to dominate them from the outside.
Nevertheless, in addition to the drone bombings and air strikes, the United States has also tacitly supported Ethiopa in its past conflicts with Somalia. This occurred most notably when the US lent moral and political support to Ethiopia when it sent 15,000 troops into destroy the then acting government of Somalia.
Let us also not forget the failed attempt at direct US involvement, when the United States sought to insert itself into a civil war and support certain warlords for their own political purposes. Apparently, the New World Order got a bit ahead of itself as several soldiers were killed and their bodies dragged through the streets in celebration, thus ending open combat in this field to a large extent. That is, at least for the time being.
These missions, however, are clearly not humanitarian in nature. They have nothing to do with strengthening the government of a failed state or raising the living standards of the people who live there. Neither does it have anything to do with protecting the West from “al Qaeda.” These missions are actually much more about the opening of a new market for international corporate oil companies under the direction of the UN and the Anglo-Americans, as well as establishing permanent control over a nation of people who have had a history of rebellion against outside rule as well as their own constant civil unrest.
It should also be clear that the attempted (and mostly successful) raping of Somalia by the Anglo-American empire is not a new idea. The piracy directed at the fledgling country goes back centuries, specifically back to the British empire and continues to the present day. More recently, both the Clinton and the H.W. Bush administrations were instrumental in the continued subservience of Somalia and the sweeping away of any chances of any real form of comfortable standards of living for its people. This should not be surprising considering the fact that this has been the policy toward Africa for centuries.
Although the history of the US in Somali affairs has been rich, the issue that should raise the biggest red flag is the fact that al-Shabab, the “terrorist” organization being used to justify the drone strikes in June, is being linked to American born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an obvious agent of the CIA. Al-Awlaki has been linked to such false flag operations as the Ft. Hood shooting, the underwear bomber, and the Times Square bombing. Any terrorist act or actor that is closely linked with him should be taken with a very fine grain of salt. At best, these individuals are merely simple-minded dupes. At worst, they are direct tools of the same intelligence agency.
The fact that al-Shabab is being linked with al-Awlaki should raise serious questions as to the level of connection to and control over the al-Shabab terrorist network by Western intelligence agencies such as the CIA, MI-6, or Mossad to name a few.
Al Qaeda has consistently acted as a convenient excuse for blatantly unconstitutional and immoral activity by the United States government and that of the rest of the Anglo-American empire. It has been used to justify the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the bombing of Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. It has been used as a justification for the destruction of Libya and, in true Orwellian fashion, has been used as a tool to achieve this goal.
The real reason behind these crimes against humanity (unjustified military actions) are much different than those promoted in the corporate media and by the governments themselves. It is worth noting that, as drones rain bombs down upon innocent people, vulturous oil companies are waiting in the wings and drooling over what they will inherit as soon as the empire affords them safe access. Indeed, it is worth noting that corporations such as Conoco, Amoco, and Philips all held exploration licenses in Somalia as far back as the ’80s, calling into question just how “humanitarian” the subsequent military mission was in 1991.
As the LA Times reported, “corporate and scientific documents disclosed that the American companies are well positioned to pursue Somalia’s most promising potential oil reserves the moment the nation is pacified.” Of course, by “pacified” it is meant that the nation has been completely overthrown and overrun by the foreign invaders under a number of possible pretenses for conquest.
Although the level of oil present in Somalia is not publicly known for sure, considering the sophisticated level of technology present amongst governments and corporations in this day and age, to say that the level of oil is unknown would be quite naïve. There is little doubt that these corporations and the governments they are part of know exactly how much oil lies beneath the sands of Somalia.
There is little doubt then, that Somalia will experience the same kind of nation “pacifying” that Iraq has experienced in recent years. See here and here.
For those with a strong stomach, you can see what is truly meant by pacifying a nation, as it translates on the ground here, here, and here.
Taking a broader view in terms of direct military involvement, it now appears that the sights of the global reich have been set on Syria, a fact which is not surprising to those who have followed the geopolitical aims of the New World Order system for any length of time. After Syria, only Iran stands as a legitimate obstacle to complete domination of the Middle East.
Whatever one might think of Wesley Clarke, or of his revelation of the plans of the empire (he is a war criminal in his own right), one cannot deny that current events have followed a clear path strikingly similar to the one he mentioned in 2006. Only a resistance mounted by the residents of the empire can bring these wars to an end, as well as the amalgamation and subsequent world government that will result from them.
Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Mullins, South Carolina. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Francis Marion University where he earned the Pee Dee Electric Scholar’s Award as an undergraduate. He has had numerous articles published dealing with a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, and civil liberties. He also the author of Codex Alimentarius – The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies and Five Sense Solutions.
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