US proxy war against Somalia endangers millions; Obama silent (again)

Glen Ford of the Black Agenda Report writes:

"The United States is directly complicit in what the United Nations has called the 'worst humanitarian disaster' in Africa.

"The Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, launched in late 2006 with massive air, naval and logistical support from the Americans, has resulted in the displacement of 3.5 million people, 700,000 from the capital city of Mogadishu, alone.

"More than two-and-a-half million Somalis face starvation – a figure that could rise to three-and-a-half million by the end of this year.

"A recent Amnesty International report on human rights violations in Somalia, said Ethiopian soldiers have begun “slaughtering Somalis like goats” – meaning, killing them by cutting their throats. Amnesty International’s Deputy Africa Director put it this way: 'The people of Somalia are being killed, raped, tortured; looting is widespread and entire neighborhoods are being destroyed.'

"The U.S. has made Ethiopia its hit man in the Horn of Africa, a decision that is guaranteed to destabilize the entire region. That’s part of the American modus operandi: to create chaos – always resulting in mass deaths among the poor – in order to declare Africans unfit to run their own affairs.

"This is a theme that plays well among U.S. corporate media, who have dutifully pushed the Bush line on Zimbabwe, but go months without even mentioning the American-made crisis in Somalia.

"Democratic Party leadership is no better, including presidential nominee-to-be Barack Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, Somalia’s neighbor. Obama, the Speaker of the House and the top Democrat in the Senate are all mum on U.S. crimes against the Somali people."