The National Securityof a country are its people,military, political,economical, environmental,energy and natural resources, and Somalia is being decimated on all these fronts.

1. There cannot be sound and credible security without sincere , capable and dedicated political leadership; therefore, the present political leadership set up is unlikely to bring about credible and sustainable security in the country. The most senior members of the political leadership are pursuing different agendas ;sometimes not in the interest of the country and its people, but in their personal interest ,or to serve the interest of their foreign supporters who do not wishSomalia to be restored to its former self. Since the civilian governments, there weredisagreements between the president and the prime minister, but they were not in the scale or intensity which has become the hall mark and totally crippled even the little chores the TFG was capable of performing. One can recall the disagreements from time to time between President Adan Abdulle and Prime ministerAbdulrashid and those betwwenPresident Abdul rashid and Prime minister Egal,butsuccessivespeakerswere never involved inthose disagreements ; on the contrary, on many occassionsthey weretrusted peace makersbehind the scenes. SinceArta, thethree most senior members of the TFG were consumed fighting each other and had no time for establishing a credible security force with the necessary resources, directives,manpower and training to take onthe insurgents.

Inorder to over come this recurring serious problem of constant conflict between the three top figures of the political system, the office of the President and that of the Prime minister be merged and one individual should , obviously the president, be head of state as well as government and accountable to the countryfor the success or failure of histerm in office. With regard to the speaker, he should confine himself to his legislative duties and ceasebeing part of the executive branch. These minor changes could be made in theCharterto take effect at the end of the current cycle of thetransitional period in August, 2012.Our political leaders appear to be always running away from the problems in the country, which they are expected to constantly attend toand solve. They seem to create every opportunity to be away for some time from the country and its numerous problem, little realizing that that problems will be there when they return.

On 21st October 1969, the Somali national army took over the country , and then coopted the police and custodial corps as junior partners inorder to broadenits base. This was the time the inclusive name of"Armed Forces" was concocted, for the general consumptionof the public.The Somali armed forces have experinced a devastating fall from grace; they took over a country with all institutions intact and, after 22 years of rule, left a country with no institutions and the society most vulnerable.

2. The reconstructed Somali state would need a credible professional , highly disciplined security force , trained in the maintenance of law and order , capable of combatting insurgency and crinimality, and adequately schooled in the strict observance of the law and respect for human rights. Such a force needs to be properly vetted and competently led , initially by mentally and physically fit former members of the armed forces, who have not been implicated or perceived to have been implicatedin the death, destruction, displacement and otherform ofabuse. The force should be properly housed, paid, equipped and provided with the necssary welfare.The suggested Somali security force at the initial stage will have to be paid by the IC as theTFG has no means of meeting this obligation, as it does not generate the necssary income due to the insecurity situation in the country. I am infornmed the presentpayment by IC is inadequate, irregular for long periods of time and that is one of the principlereasons members of the security forces regularlydesert their units with their arms or join the insurgency,or locate themselves andexact income from the miserable people ofany area who can ill afford such extortion. I am also informed that the vast majority the present components of the existing armed forces have been recruited from the milias of warlordsand theranks they hold and the position they occupy were negotiated by former warlords, or their clan; therefore , they have reason to be loyal to a national agenda, when they their position and advancements was secured for themby their clan . I am also informed that composition of what is called national security forces disproportionnately come from certain ethnic groups and cannot be called by any stretch ofimagination asnational security forces.

One often hears clashes between the sameor different units of the security forces over the spoils of the recurring extortion of the people. This sort of criminality is due to lack of discipline,poor leadership at all levels,flawed trainingand recruitment. A legitimate question that comes to mind is: What has become of the thousands of security forces trained in Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia Uganda Kenya and elsewhere,in Which many millions were expended by EU and other nations?Whythe country is not benefitting and why suchhighly publicizedtraining ended up to no avail for the benefit of thecountry. A cynical question to ask is: Where theypurposely mistrained toprolong the chaos? The only force security training, conducted locally is that of what can be called thenucleus of futureSomali Navy or Coast Guard,and it appears to have beena success, because the training was carried out byprofessional former SomaliNavy officers,under the able leadership of Admiral Guuto Farah Ahmed Omer[Farah Qare], and itcelebrated its 50 th. anniversary with a parade with an impeccable white uniformon the 10th of this month. I am told, the force has a strenght of 1000 men, but it lacks arms,boats, equipment, workshops and other necessities to be operational, to take on the pirates. It is a land based coast guard with nothing other tha their uniform.

Baadida nin baa kula dooni daalna kaa badane

haddana aan jeclayninaad heshiddaa'im abidkaa

3.Long time ago,our politicians in place who aremostlyhighly educatedshould have realized the real intention of ourneibhors , EU ,US and their allies do not wish to invest in the creation of robust security force for the country,That could bebecome one day a threat to their neighbors.If they want to build a credible security forcesthey know how.I am unble tofigure out why our leaders in place, past and present, arecondoning this obvious farce.The exception to this prevalent situation is perhaps Turkey, which has become a new and important player on the scene.So far, Turkeyis very sincere and committed to do something about the tragedy of Somalia, and setting an excellent example for others, because it is putting its money ,expertise and personnel on the line.We should thank Allah for the unsolicited involvement of Turkey in our affairs. The initialtraining we need for our security forces courses is ready to be provided by Turkey, locally, so the disorientation and possible exploitationof our impressionable young men by ourneighbors will notbe a constant headage to us. There is no better place to train the officer corps of our security force other thanTurkey, which hasone of the best reputation in this field.TheTFG has just to ask the turks for this training.It is of paramount importance that a full protection be afforded the wonderful turks helping us, as itis very likely that domestic as well foreign enemies of Somaliawill try to target them inorder to drive them awayand sabotage the wonderful, hugebrotherly work the are under taking in the country.

4.The super power of the world,our adopted country, USA, appears to have outsourced the security and political dispensation of Somaliato the super power of the region,Ethiopia. Unfortunately, Ethiopia sees this as a golden opportunity that hasever come its way, and is determined to ensure Somalia remainsweak, fragmented and each part is indirectly ruled by it.

Ethiopia, by any stretch of the imagination can never bepart of the solutionof the 21 year chaos of Somalia; itcould be said it is the major problem. For example, nearly every Warlord was financed , supplied with arms and other logistics by Ethiopia , when UN arms embargo was in place. Not a word was raised protesting against theflagarant violationofthe UN resolution.The atrocities committed by Ethiopian troops between 2006 and2009 , in Somalia, which was nothing short of genocide was nixed by US to be investigated, evenwhe nthe call for internationalprobe came from UN humantarian organizations.On the other hand the repeated plea of the TFG to the UN to lift arms embargo, so itcould equip its security forces fallson deaf years.Strangely enough, nearly all theWarlords were discarded when they outlived their usefulness. However, they could be sleeping clients who could be activated when the need arises.To paraphrase a 19th. century British politician: Ethiopia has permanent interests but not permanent friends and the permanent interest is to ensure Somaliaremains weak and fragmented under thehegemony of regional super power Ethiopia with kenya in tow.

5.Eritrea. It is called the pariah state of the horn, as itis always in conflict withone of itsneighbors,Is believed to be theconduit of logistics, moneyand arms to the insurgents, which are suspected to originate from Iran and rich gulf non-governmentalsources. This suspicion remains unproven till date, and if true,those whoshould be inthe know are not sharing it. As there is no common border between Somalia a nd Eritrea and never has been any disagreement between our countries. Eritrea, contrary to the policy of Ethiopia, wishes to seea strongunited Somalia, so that ,if the border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia turns in to ahot war, one day, the huge manpower advantage of Ethiopia is notmassed at the Eritrean front, but some willremain on the on the Somalia front, or it is paying us back forour support for its long struggle for independence. Our political leaders are heaping abuses and unproven accusations againstEritrea in order to be inthe good books of our indirect rulers. No one has, even cladistinely, thank them for their un wavering support.

6.Kenya is a new comer in to the Somali quagmire . Kenya should be thanked for housing and caring for a huge number of Somali refugees in its territory for a number of years.When one considers the numerous problems that refugees bring alongwith them, the patience and the huge resources KENYAmust expend to care for these refugees is highly appreciated. However, Kenya appears to be attempting to take advantage of the present weakness of Somalia and judging Somali leaders are ready to sell part of their country and its resources to even the lowest bidder. You have the attempt to divest ofSomalia a large junk of its territorial waters with infamous MOU, the establishment of Azania, and the naked invasion of the country on the pretext that Alshabab are kidnapping tourists from Kenya and thereby endangering the economically important tourist trade. I am unware that Alshabab has past history ofkidnapping tourists for ransom.We should remember that thearea Kenya wishes to seize andnownamed Azania, was at one time part of Kenya under British colonial rule, till it wassededto Italy on or about 1925, as a gift for participating on the side of Britain during First World War. Armay oohintu orgiga ka weyntahay?

7.Djibouti. Proved to be a great and brotherly neighbor and was/isalways stood up to be counted in our time of misery and misfortune. May the Almighty reward them fpr their efforts on our behalf

8.USA being our adopted country and being the onlysuper power remaining in the world, we are appleaing to it, to seriously get involved in the reconstruction and revival of Somalia, and not confine itself mainlytoissues ofcounter terrorismand humantarian issues of famine and refugees. Outsourcing Somalisecurity and political dispensation to our neighbors has been a total disaster, andis aggravating theagony and choas in the country.The US is abletoeliminate selected leadershiptargetswithin Alshabab, especially foreign elemntswith precision weapons, since appears to have access to invaluable information about the precisemovement of Alshabab leadership. Why not from time to time target Alshabab concentration [battle] front lines?Sincethe UShas incomparable assets world wide and the area , perhaps it willpersuade itself to chair the intelligence committee of the countries in the Horn, where the information on terrorism , which isa threat to all, could be shared and better coordination and cooperation would result. With the recent announcement that Alshabab has become a full fleged member or one of the franchises of Alqaeda, this islikely to be acosmetic change, and the onlylikely exception being the introduction of additional foreign fighters to the country.

Finally, it isincumbent on us as citizens, or legal residents of this country , which gave usrefuge, peace and freedom, and much more. to do our level best toguide and counsel our few misinformed and misguided youth whereever and wheneverwe encounter them or know about their existence, that Alshabab is nothing but criminal gang executing non Islamic foreignidealogy and are existenial threat to Somalia and its people's progress and welfare, before they could bea threat to other people's and nations.

Amism and other foreign Forces

9.AMISM. African Union peacekeepers are expected to double their presentstrenght of 9500to more than 17000. The AU and ambassador Mahiga have asked the Security Council to approve the funding of 5700 to the current 9500. Kenya and Ethiopia have launched their invasions without their knowledge or consent of the TFG, no matter what was announced subsequently by the Somali side.Governments in the region earn for$ 1000.00 for each peace keeper per month and it has become profitable business for african government and military consultants to seek funding from the UN for neutralizingor containing theproblem within Somalia.Note that thereal mission is not to decisively defeat the insurgents but to contain it. Imagine , if half of this force was Somali, Somali led, properly trained and equipped,and paid regularly half the sum paidto the imported soldier who knows nothing about the country and its people; the insurgency would have beendefeated long time ago and sanity restored to the country. Burundi and Uganda Who are contributors to thepeace keeper force neverdecrease their contributions, butrather one hears they able to send more.It is a profitble business for the soldiers and country. No wonder , Kenya recently announced that itintends to contribute 4600 to the peace keeping of Somalia.It is laughable to hear on the air waves and press Amism announcing in advancethat they areplaning to attack and take over Afgoye from theShabab, as, if their strategy is not to defeatShabab. In the business of military strategy and tactics, surprise is the mother of success and advance knowledge of your moves and intentions is courting defeat.

The Amism force in the country should inform the Somali people and IC about theirmandate and exit strategy.It is now open ended

11.Piracy. Under the mission of fighting Somalipiracy the navies of 24 countries arepatrolling the waters adjacent to Somaliaand for inexplicable reasons are unable to eliminate this scourge. The pirates who do not possesother thanrickety boats and small arms are in the majority of cases menacingvital tradesealanes with immunity by seizing ships and crew for ransom. The world navies patrolling theseareas are costing billion of dollars . If police stations that already existalong the shore line in the Indian oceanand the red sea, are refurbished, given communication equipment and minimumreliable transport; and few reliable motor boats with communication with thoseon shore and other ships in the area; and somalies manning those police stations and boats are trained and reasonably paidin the proper use of these equipment, it is believed that thescourge could beeliminated within a short time.Every oneknows every one else in those areas and there is no way for pirates to flourish, because they would have metmore thantheir match in the reorganized, trainedand adequagtely equippedsecurity forceon shore and off shore.The IC should make modest investmentin creating employmentopportunities for theyouthin the area, by training them in the modern method of fishing,how toprerseve their catches and supplying them with necessary fishing tools.

12.British Conference on Somalia. Afteran elapse of 21 years what suddenly awakened the BritishLion to the Somali problemis a mystery , especially at a time when the scale, frequency and success of Somalipiracyis on the decline. Britain for a long timetried to avoid Somali issues,because in her imperial past she is often accused for dimemberment ofSomali territory and givinga large partto Ethiopia, whilest it was supposed to hold in trust for the Somali peoplebywritten agreement with somali clans.It was out of the blue when Prime Minister David Cameron said in a speech on the occassion of the Lord Mayor's banquet on 14th of November: "Somalia is a failed state that directly threatens British interests. Tourists and aid workers are kidnapped, young British minds poisoned by radicalism, mass migration and vital trade routes disrupted".Whatever motivated their intervention at this latehour any intervention is welcome, especially when it comes from a permanent member of thesecurity council. It is possible Britain is acting as a frontfor the western nations, who may have concluded that time ripe to tackle the Somali porblem. The agenda, the participants, the duration of the conference and outcome are predetermined. Somali stake holders have no say or input in the outcome of the conference. It is logical to say , that since Somalis miserably failed to find their own solution for their problems , the IC will impose itssolution on them.One can speculate that what motivated the British isthe scourge of piracy in the area,since Britain is one of the major trading nations and the home of the biggest shipping Insurance companies. In addition, since the London is hosting the Summer Olympics this year and, since there arereports for some time , some of which came from British intelligence, that there areabout 50 young men of Somali origin, holding British Passports, who arefighting on the side of the Shabab, some of whom could sneak back to Britain and commit terrorist acts immediately before ,or at time of the games, for maximum propaganda effect.The British have recently announced that that they are sending military training team to Mogdishu to train Amism peacekeeping force. What about training Somali forces who are badly in need of training? Amism in Somalia is supposed to be adequately trained, otherwise they should not be here.

It is very likely that the London Conference would appoint a number of states to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the conference; therefore, we should lobby that Turkey and tiny state of Qadar be the implementors of the recommendations, which are expected to include reconstruction and reconciliation. Both these nations have a track record to their put theirmoneyand expertise where their mouths happenedto be. To the best of mybelief they areone of the fewnations who can talk to both sides to the conflict and they seem toenjoy the confidence of the Somali people.

Recommendations:

A. Establish one unified security force with the name "National Security Force."under civilian authority.

B. The NSF will be under one command and it will have its various wings: Police wing, para military wing , coast guard wing, intelligence wing, logisticsetc.asneeded. The object being to direct all security resources of the country for early elimination and timely application of the forces under ones disposal against the insurgents.

C. Have the commanders of the different branches of the NSF recruited ,appointed and promoted on the basis of professional merit.This will necessitate the waiving of 4.5 formula,in orderto have the best man for the job, irrespective whether, he is from the former army , police or custodial corps and irrespective from which clan he hails from.When you have pacified the country and restored law and order and able togenerate adequate income , then and only then you can pursue your fancies in establishing your armies, Navies, Air Forces, POLICE forces , Custodial Corps, with their different equipment , uniform and insignias to your hearts content. Even then, you will have what you can afford. When the IC seeshowserious you are in building yourself, some will take interest in you and help you.

D Ensure that the training of non-commission officers and recruits takes place within the country and trained by qualified Somali personnel under the supervision of the Turks.

D1.It goes without saying that paralell to rebuilding a credible security force, there should be a justice system that can restore confidenceand reliability, in the presently non existent, justice system. It is ideally preferable toswallow our empty pride and seek the servicesof distinguished foreign Muslimjurists to fill the highest positions inourjustice system, till such time we are in a positionto produce individuals with unassailable andirreproachable qualifications in jurisprudence and impartial dispensation of justice to all.It should be recalledthat our leaders, on independence,saw wisdom in retainingthe services of foreign judges , including the chief justice, till the military took over of the country and dispensed with their services.

E. The international force in the country should inform the Somali people and the world about their mandate and exit stategy.At present their mandate appears to be open ended.

F. It is necessry to ensure t.hat indiscrinimate shelling of civilians is unacceptable under any circumstances ,as it is counter productive andwins recruits for theinsurgents.

G.Since every conflictwith the exception of very few, ended in dialogue, serious, genuine and persistent efforts should be madeopening a dialogue with the insurgents inside and outside the country , in order to bring to anend this unfortunate partof our history. The first step being a crediblecease fire.The disingenous offer of the TFG thatit isready to talk to Alshabab provided they put down their arms is a non-starter, as after they disarm themselves there nothing to talk about and both sides know this.

H. Protect the national resources as part of the security of the country. Therefore, neither national nor regional authorities nor private individuals have the right to grant foreigners illegal access to Somali natural resources. Moreover, any current or ongoing negotiations of that kind should be aborted. The transitional period is being extended by 4 years come August,2012, no matter what name it is given .Due to the security situation prevalent in the country no credible elections could be held and those nominated to chose the reduced members of parliament will themselves be nominated by the President, Prime Minister, Speaker of parliament and selected few regional authorities. Since there appears to bea scramble by nations , groups and individualsto take possession of the meagre resources of the country, any agreement entered into with present authorities any where in the country should be madeinvalid, till it is finally approved by a parliament elected bythe Somali people, as a result of free andfair elections.

I. Terminate any presence of foreign security companies to Somalia. This is a severe threat to

,the reconciliation,rebuilding of the state , security,and general welfare.

We, in th Diasporahave miserably failed to play the pivotal and positive role we could have played by virtue of our economic clout and education,in finding asolution for the diasterous situationourcountry of birth has beenin over 20 years. On account of the remittances weregularly send back home, which is the lifelineof many and is reported one billion dollars a year; our united voice would have carried cosiderable weight. But unfotunately, we are fragmented and divided as the people back home and unable to muster a collective voiceto influence the policies and actions of our adopted country toward our country of birth,or jointly muster the courage and far sightedness to bring about an acceptable just solution back home.Perhaps,with determination and unitedvoice we couldhave found a solution for the country. Most of us who went back and joined the government have changed nothing for the betterbut melted in to the quagmire andbecame part of the on going problem. We are labelled as the over educateddiaspora group whose mission is to improve their Resumesand make a quickdollar to pay our mortgages in our countries of adoption or residence.Source from statistics that 96% of direct bilateral aid to the TFG was goingt astray comes from the investigative report for 2009-10 by TFG'sPublic finance management unit. This was the time our diaspora dream team was in place.Do we deserve this label? I am sure that there are individuals among us who are sincere and dedicated to change things for the better and areprepared to put their liveson the line for their devastatedcountry.

J. Finally, the responsibility of finding a solution squarely rests on the Somali people and this responsibility cannot be shared or transfeered;but others can eitherhinder or help in the search for a solution.

Thank youall,

Ahmed Jama