It has got no two names. This is a defeat. You send your forces to a mission. They engage in a series of battles. Instead of routing the enemy altogether, they did not even hold ground, they retreat. What do you call that? DEFEAT. It does not matter that the weather was the reason. That was no excuse for neither Hitler nor Napoleon. The obvious is what matters in military results. Our forces came back to where they started from. That is absolutely shameful.
Now the question is who is responsible? As far as I am concerned it is the Government, and the buck stops at the top. It is the presiden's lack of judgment and leadership that put Somaliland in a precarious situation. If this government can not handle a simple battle. If their coordination and organization is so disarrayed. If their preparation is so poor that the Minister, the chief of staff and the President did not have the same understanding of what the mission was all about. If they did not have clear ideas about the climate, the weather, the distance, the terrain, the inhabitants of the area, the strength of the enemy. Then why did they send the mission in the first place.? What a bunch of grown up boys in military fatigues.
The more reflective question is how these pretenders can lead a total war with the belligerent South, a war that will surely happen sooner or later!!! . It makes me remember the battle of Midway, where the whole Japanese navy was chased away by two American carriers. Yet again. I have never witnessed a poorer military performance in the history of human warfare since the Persian King was defeated by 300 Greeks.
Now is it any consolation that the Minister of Defense was sacked. That is a poor show of escapegoating The Minister is the President's choice for leading the battle. He did in the best way he could. He has nothing to be blamed for. The blame is on who decided to wage the military action, without any preparation of war gaming, and without any clear lines of communications, backup and logistics. That is the President. The blame is on who authorized the forces to go, without taking into consideration all the ramifications of his action. That is the President. There is no half ways in warring matters. It is either war or no war. The fact that the Somaliland forces were not given the go ahead in places that they have the superior advantage, like the sool area, shows that Mr. Rayale was fighting a half war, an insincere war for media consumption, and it all boom ranged on his face. He made Somaliland the laughing stock of world talk shows and teashop conversations.
Now again the president sent another group of ministers to go and bring him a victory, that is absolutely ridiculous. What advantage does one group of ministers have over another group of ministers? Is it a drama of some sort? Let us be serious for one moment Mr. Rayale. Somaliland is full of military minds of proven records. If you want to defend our democracy, our borders and our nation you go to them regardless of the political party they belong to, and for the heavens sake either lead the nation or in the name of God please go.!!!
Mohamud Tani
mohamudtmohamud_t@yahoo.com
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