Somalia is a direct threat to the UK's security.

With the Libya campaign seen as mission accomplished, Britain reiterates it is eyeing another conflict-torn African country – Somalia. The UK cites threats to its national security, but some analysts say this hides a self-interested strategic agenda.

Earlier this week, the UK’s international development minister, Andrew Mitchell, called for “urgent action” in the impoverished country, as “Somalia is a very direct threat to the security of the United Kingdom”, as quoted by Agence France Press.

It’s not the first time that Britain has highlighted the dangers emanating from the conflict-torn African state. In November, the British Prime Minister has called Somalia a “failed state that directly threatens British interests.” David Cameron has scheduled a London summit in February to bring together the countries currently active in the Horn of Africa to discuss how to address the situation. Key decisions are expected to be made on a number of issues, ranging from humanitarian aid to a possible military mission.

International development minister Andrew Mitchell, however, has ruled out any “intention of putting boots on the ground.”

But fears of an intervention have escalated against the backdrop of a claim by Britain's secret services that Somalia, one of the poorest states in the world, is a new training ground for terrorists. According to The Independent newspaper, MI5 chief Jonathan Evans has warned that Somalia has become the next destination after Pakistan for terrorist training.

Mitchell appeared to confirm MI5’s assertion, saying “there are probably more British passport holders engaged in terrorist training in Somalia, than in any other country in the world.”

The would-be jihadists residing in Britain are not just of Somali origin, but also hail from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yemen and North Africa.

There is a real risk, according to Jonathan Evans, that returnees from Somalia could carry out bomb attacks in British cities.

However, some analysts doubt that UK is motivated purely by concern about British tourists and aid workers being attacked and kidnapped in Somalia and the rise of piracy in the region.

Somalia holds vast oil and gas reserves and other natural resources, including uranium, which the US and other countries have had their eyes on for years.

Many also point also to Somalia’s strategic position, with critical oil transport roots crossing its territory to the Gulf of Aden.

Jeremy Corbin, Labour MP and UK “Stop the War” coalition activist, gave RT his explanation of the latest rhetoric.

“You usually find when the military strategists are planning a long-term intervention somewhere, they are looking at geological maps first and looking at political maps second,” he told RT’s Laura Smith. “And the oil, the gas is one of the biggest issues.”

Given the country’s status as the poorest in the world, the MP believes a very different strategy is called for.

“There is a huge Somali community round here that I represent, most of whom are from the South, but not all,” he said. “And they are not saying to me, ‘Please, intervene!’ They are saying,’Can we please have support to get a functioning system of government and peace in Somalia?’”

rt.com...
www.markacadey.net...
www.independent.co.uk...

This is like a BAD soap opera playing out before our eyes , check the stats, the oil and gas reserves of Somalia have sealed the fate of another country at the behest of the west.
Andrew Mitchell is my local MP , ex employee of the banking group Lazard, a cousin of the Rothschild bank.

We go in, invade, "liberate them from pirates", install a government (they do not have one atm), exploit their country's resources via the new "government", "we have helped then, look, they have a government now".

We pat ourselves on the back, they now have jobs (with very very very little pay).

If we didn't take advantage of the country in the first place (polluting their fishing waters) they would be fine. We caused them to become poor, we caused them to turn to piracy, we ruined their country, and now we'll do it again.

Two negatives making a right.

Shipping Insurance companys have probably realised it was much cheaper to bribe David Cameron to invade Somalia than have to keep paying out cheques to pirates all the time.

reply to post by Droidinvoid


Its just another excuse to go and invade a country, i think its because Afghanistan is over and Iraq will be over very soon and with the British being British we have to go to war with someone.

reply to post by wlasikiewicz


Afghanistan is over?

LOL that is a war that will never be over, empires go there to die.

reply to post by Trolloks


Yeah , pull up a seat in the new year , get the popcorn out , grab a beer ..........for it all to start over again , have to wait to see which news network shows the wrong protesters with the wrong flag in the background first

On May 1, 2003, Bush jnr announced the end of major combat operations in the Iraq War , within days the world was laughing at him , BUT he was correct in the fact that the oil reserves were under control , US control , so yes mission accomplished as he stated...looked to everyone like a big own goal statement , BUT to his string pullers,
it was ....JOB DONE.

reply to post by Droidinvoid


We very rarely realize that the MSM badmouths these Somalian pirates which in fact, they are protecting Somalia from a lot of the garbage that many European ships are throwing there. Somalia is a war torn nation because of the West, and it is heartbreaking that the West plays the divide and conquer game throughout the entire world.

It's a resources grab and nothing more.

And Somalia is an easy target too. We have so many Somali people in the UK, and many of them refuse to integrate. Their youth are - unfortunately - quite violent. So the British people will not have a problem with our government attacking their nation.

Those of you who know me will know that I don't make racial generalizations, but we have thousands of people originally from Somalia living in our immediate area here, and they are a very reclusive. I speak from experience when I say that they rarely speak English, their kids threaten and attack others, and from discussions I've had with those in local government (it was part of my role in my previous employment) they are having millions of £'s spent on their "integration" and lowering the crime committed by their teenagers, and it isn't working.

I'm one of those people who hates the xenophobic attitudes of others in my country. I understand that Britain only exists as a result of conquests, invasions and migration of people. I understand more than the average person the value that comes from immigration into this country, with people from all over the world doing the jobs that our British-born youth think are "below" them. And I totally support the idea that people come here for a better life, primarily because we have allowed our military and corporations to rape their own country.

But, from my experience, the Somali community in the UK is not conducive to our way of life the way we are. We cannot further our nation and communities with segregated groups who come here and then shut themselves off from the rest of us while their kids behave the way they do throughout our society.

Originally posted by Ixtab
Shipping Insurance companys have probably realised it was much cheaper to bribe David Cameron to invade Somalia than have to keep paying out cheques to pirates all the time.

it's also much cheaper to build hidden panic rooms with 1inch steel plate walls in these giant multi-million dollar super ships carrying billions of dollars in trade and oil.

put the whole crew in these things, stop the ship and wait for the navy seals to show up to kick ass.

Originally posted by Ixtab
reply to post by wlasikiewicz

 

Afghanistan is over?

LOL that is a war that will never be over, empires go there to die.

just like america, even it's empire is half-assed.

Originally posted by Droidinvoid
The UK cites threats to its national security, but some analysts say this hides a self-interested strategic agenda.

Since when has the pursuit of national security been detached from a "self-interested strategic agenda"?

reply to post by Droidinvoid


I got my second good laugh for the day now, the first one was the thread that said Barrack Obummer was the "best president in history!"

This is an atypical resource grab on a much less intense scale than Libya. I expect we'll see more of these as the Rothschilds, IMF an UN bring more third world countries into the debt slavery "corral." What's really funny is that Somalia is a threat to the UK. I mean c'mon, seriously, what are they going to do? Show up in wooden boats and a few zodiacs and storm the white cliffs of Dover? Or maybe they will come up the Thames and knock over the City of London, unheard and unseen? And what's to pirate anyway, the UK is bankrupt like pretty much every other country and colony on the planet, they just don't know it yet. Ships are a lot less costly to secure and even I could by a laser guided multi-cell missile launcher back in 1989/90 directly from the military when I was looking at buying a large sailboat and sailing the Indian Ocean. 'Ello UK, anyone in there? It's 2011 duh.

Next we'll see "Antarctica new UK security risk! Penguins arming for revolt to take back Falklands." Dumb@ss governments!

No offense to the OP as I loved the headline, but this UK security idea being promoted is just patently stupid.

Cheers - Dave

reply to post by detachedindividual

They sound rather a lot like some of the British ex-pat communities in certain parts of Spain.

Seriously though, I know what you mean, my home town has a lot of Somalis too. Trouble is a lot of people resented them from the moment they arrived, so integrating becomes harder. Around here they also get accused of doing stuff they haven't actually done. I've worked with a couple of them over the years and I found them perfectly OK to be honest. Some of them are devout Muslims and that is almost always a barrier to integration. The
more secular ones are generally easier to get along with, it depends on the ratio of religious to secular in your local Somali community. Round here it's about 50-50.

Since a lot of them have come here from the civil war, you do also get people here from rival factions, and on occasions that may spill over into rivalry or violence here, too, though I don't know if this happens often. I think the biggest security threat would be the rising Islamization of some Somali youth.

I would think the biggest threat to UK security is..........MI5 itself.

Originally posted by playswithmachines
I would think the biggest threat to UK security is..........MI5 itself.

The biggest risk to the UK's security is probably the fraudulent activities of The City of London Corporation.

reply to post by Droidinvoid


Britain is growing scared that America is waking up to the fact that BP and other Euro Oil companies are freezing America to keep Europe warm. So the Euro-trash have to find a new avenue for fill their imperialistic addiction of oil, given that the oil they stole from the USA and Iraq isn't enough for them.

Originally posted by korathin
reply to post by Droidinvoid

 

Britain is growing scared that America is waking up to the fact that BP and other Euro Oil companies are freezing America to keep Europe warm. So the Euro-trash have to find a new avenue for fill their imperialistic addiction of oil, given that the oil they stole from the USA and Iraq isn't enough for them.

Well now, what about all the oil America has in its own backyard? I don't think america would let anyone 'steal' its oil, no matter where it is produced.
As for Somalia,with all the Dollars the pirates are raking in, why is the country still poor?