Comments on: 5,960 Civilians Killed In Mogadishu In '07

Banned Rights Group Says Nearly 8,000 Wounded, Over 700,000 Displaced From Somalia Capital

[whatithink-2009]

Free trade is what helps countries prosper. There is a reason why trade rules have been created where raw material out of Africa has very low tariffs but finished goods out of Africa are imposed huge tariffs. There is a reason why the African farmer gets two cents on that $5 coffee you get at Starbucks.

[keithle1]

Africa. Never a dull moment. Always something going on. Usually bad.

$660 billion has been pumped into Africa over the years. What does the rest of the world have to show for it? Not much if anything.

Maybe USA should stay out of Africa. Let them deal with everything themselves. Unless of course the country in Africa has oil or something we need for strategic purposes.

[whatithink-2009]

Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 to Divide Africa

"The Berlin Conference was Africa''s undoing in more ways than one. The colonial powers superimposed their domains on the African continent. By the time independence returned to Africa in 1950, the realm had acquired a legacy of political fragmentation that could neither be eliminated nor made to operate satisfactorily."

[whatithink-2009]

nameverify,

Get real. The British left neither of those places in the same way they left most of Africa. In fact, I remember the Hong Kong handover to China. It was well orchestrated and the intent was not to leave it plundered. In fact much effort has been made even with the U.S. not to plunder East Asia, hence the Korean war and the Vietnam conflict. South Korea has had preferred trading status with the U.S. for decades.

[whatithink-2009]

runningralph,

You miss a vital point. Anyone can be a terrorist. We are not immune. Fighting terrorism is fighting a losing battle. In fact, in our quest to fight terrorism, we create it.

[whatithink-2009]

I Didn''t Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation by Michela Wrong

Darwin''s Nightmare - documentary - 2007

Cry Sea - documentary - 2007

[runningralph]

whatithink,
Like i said before, you must have some inside info. What I do know is that the US didn''t forgive Japan for Pearl Harbor, we DEFEATED them. Nobody in the US is trying to punish Somalia or get revenge on Somalia. However you are correct about the grudge. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you! You are also correct in that not all Somalis were involved in the attacks against US forces. It was widespread though, and the celebration at the sight of our dead soldier showed that hatred of the US runs deep in the populace. That hatred stems from Americans being infidels.
I wasn''t aware the OBL had anything to do with events in Somalia. I didn''t hear about him until 9/11.
But he is cut from the same cloth. You are also correct that we never said we hate all Iraqis. Neither did we say we hate all Somalis. Who is laughing at children dying? Where did that come from?
Is that some more of your inside info? And America is mostly Christian, but not all. We have separation of religion and government over here. Remember that? We are a great nation, and most of us claim to be Christian.
What happened in Somalia did NOT happen because of US policy there. It happened DESPITE US policy. Now the only policy we have is to fight terrorism. That policy goes all over not just in Somalia. The US has not gotten involved in the chaos, so far it has stayed out of the chaos. As far as internal politics in Somalia, we have no solutions.

[whatithink-2009]

Do you even realize fishing makes up a large amount of work in Western African countries and that European shipping boats have been going into Western African waters and stealing fish? Did you know that subsidies that we are giving to farmers in this country are hurting African farmers? Have you heard of trade agreements? Do you know that most African nations are excluded from these trade agreements and the trade agreements are what has helped countries like China and India to get out of their poverty? Did you know trade rules have made it almost impossible for African suppliers to sell finished goods outside of Africa other than raw material that is sold well below finished goods value because they''ve been excluded from trade agreements?

Do you know anything?

[whatithink-2009]

nameverify,

There is nothing wrong with African cultures. There is something wrong with you. East Asian countries did not have the same level of plunder as African countries and not for as long. Japan closed itself off to the world for a reason. What we even call an African country was not created by Africans, but Europeans.

Have you heard of the Marshal Plan? Do you know how much investment went into Europe and Japan after the war? Africa has been saddled with debt. Most African countries have to give most of their money to Western countries than they have to fund education or infrastructure. Someone made an analysis once and found out that for every aid dollar that goes to many African country four times the amount is given back to Western countries in the form of debt repayments.

[denn034]

Those Islamic insurgents want total control so, unless the government surrenders then this''ll continue. One might be able to broker a ceasefire with a power sharing arrangement of some sort though.