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Ethiopian Soldiers in Somalia

Sunday, 31 December 2006
What has Prime Minister Meles Zenawi gotten the soldiers of the Ethiopian defense forces into with his irresponsible and aggressive foray in Somalia? Are they going to be facing an insurgency similar to the type in Iraq as some Somali pundits are suggesting? Whatever one?s position is on this war in Somalia, the Ethiopian soldiers that are in Somalia deserve our full sympathy for they are dying for a dubious cause that was never properly debated and approved by their civilian compatriots. They have been put in harm?s way because Meles Zenawi is more than willing to use their unarmored bodies in a war that will only benefit him by diverting world attention for his brutal regime. Some of the media picture of the Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia shows them not even wearing helmets. The Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia are mostly peasants, pastoralists and the urban unemployed. They areMuslim and Christian, Oromo, Sidama, Tigray, Amahara, Afar, Beni Shangul and even Somali. They have been sent to war by a political leadership that they did not vote for, does not allow them to own land, join unions or express opinions that is contrary to Comrade Meles's pseudo-Marxist ideology of Revolutionary Democracy. Incredibly, one commentator on an American blog called Pajamas Media said that one of the reasons the Ethiopian army is winning the war against the Islamic Courts because they (unlike the US military in Iraq or Afghanistan) are not under the scrutiny of the international media and are therefore unconcerned about civilian casualties. Let us ignore for a moment his bizarre and immoral implication that the way to win any war is by fighting with minimal concern for civilian casualties. What Pajamas media has done is completely miss an obvious truth. The truth is that that Meles Zenawi is not concerned about Ethiopian army casualties and has no qualms about sending Ethiopian soldiers in harm?s way unnecessarily. Also, what Meles does not have to worry about is the scrutiny of an independent Ethiopian media because thanks to him-there are none! Aweys showed no regard when he sent poorly trained and poorly armed Somali teenagers to their death. At least the independent Somali media has acknowledged their tragic death and told their story. Where are the reports of what Ethiopian soldiers are going through in Somalia? Who is holding Meles accountable for the death of 500 Ethiopian soldiers (per Meles) to date? Full Story........
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 January 2007 )