October 23, 2009 (Americanchronicle)
Sophia Tesfamariam
On my flight back from London, UK, I decided to catch up on my reading and
began by going through some articles that were compiled for me by a friend.
It was amongst the pile that I found the piece on Somalia by J. Peter Pham;
it turned out to be yet another lazy analysis… I say lazy because his entire
piece was a patching together of "cut and paste" paragraphs collected from
various dubious self-serving sources. Pham´s incoherent piece was an
elaborate apologia for Meles Zenawi,
the only terrorist lurking in the Horn
of Africa, who bears full responsibility for the carnage in Somalia. Pham
has become one of the most vocal apologists for the minority regime in
Ethiopia and his latest "cut and paste" piece is a regurgitation of the
regime´s often heard narration (tantrums), as it scrambles to get itself out
of yet another self-created quagmire.
Those of us who have been observing development in the Horn region know
Meles Zenawi´s modus operandi. This latest piece by Pham is a desperate and
transparent attempt to divert attention away from the ill-advised, illegal
and immoral US-backed Ethiopian invasion and 2-year occupation of Somalia,
and international crimes committed by Meles Zenawi´s regime in Somalia.
Sanctioning Eritrea (for not toeing Washington´s line on Somalia) is
supposed to give Meles Zenawi a respite from his self created quagmire. For
Pham and his cohorts, blaming Eritrea is somehow supposed to absolve Meles
and those responsible for the crimes committed in Somalia. It may take time,
but sooner or later, Meles Zenawi and his handlers will pay for the
destruction of Somalia and the deaths of thousands of innocent Somalis. It
is Meles Zenawi´s hands that are drenched with the blood of Somalis, not
Eritrea´s. Pham is barking up the wrong tree.
My first instinct was to ignore the dishonest individual and his "cut and
paste" propaganda piece, which he attempts to pass of for an intellectual
analysis on Somalia. But since there may be some lawmakers who might take
his statements for fact and believe his misinformation, once in a while, as
we have done in the past, it's important that Eritreans, Ethiopians and
Somalis, as citizens of the Horn, call him out and expose his hypocrisy and
intellectual dishonesty. This ordained Catholic priest (a credential rarely
mentioned in his articles) has traded his priestly collar for a "falfalina"
(bow tie), and replaced the morals and teachings of the Catholic Church,
with lies and deceptions in his new found (much more lucrative) vocation as
a hired gun (or is it hired pen). This embedded priest exposes the ugly side
of academia and how much US Foreign Policy is damaged by self serving,
morally bankrupt operatives such as Pham who have no qualms about deceiving
the US public and lawmakers in order to advance their own illicit (often
illegal) agendas.
Horn residents are not surprised by J. Peter Pham's latest piece in defense
of Meles Zenawi and the minority regime in Ethiopia. One of the
"intellectuals for hire" that has provided the minority regime political
shield in Washington with "testimonies in Congress", Pham has deliberately
lied to, and misled, lawmakers and the American public with is faulty
analysis on Somalia, Somaliland, the UIC and more. Pham´s thinking is not
just beyond the pale, it´s willfully dangerous and evil. This self appointed
"expert" on Africa believes his brief stint as a "Vatican envoy to East
Africa" gives him the credentials to write at will, without providing a
single shred of evidence to support his far fetched assertions. "Cut and
paste" paragraphs fit together to fit Meles Zenawi´s narratives will not cut
it. Distorting the facts, omitting the truth and fabricating lies is not a
Christian thing to do…as a former priest, he ought to know better.
It is no secret that Pham is closely associated with the conservative
neocolonialist cartel; a dubious alliance of fundamentally different and
even ideologically opposed religious and political factions such as the
coalition of evangelical Christians (also known as the New Christian Right)
and the aggressive political ideologues commonly known as the
Neoconservatives who have launched an unprecedented evil campaign against
Eritrea for the last 10 years in order to advance their hegemonic agendas in
the region. Pham is also closely associated with Joseph Greibosky, the
author of several erroneous reports on Eritrea and Iran and whose
organization, the Institute for Religion and Public Policy, enjoyed a
lucrative arrangement-to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars –with
the Bush Administration´s State Department.
As a consultant for U.S. intelligence agencies who has helped place former
students in intelligence positions, Pham knows a thing or two about that
industry and its connections in Somalia. Pham, more than anybody else, knows
that Eritrea has no interest in destabilizing Somalia. Despite what Jendayi
E. Frazer and her cohorts purport, neither she, nor her hired guns have been
able to provide any evidence to back up their evil allegations against
Eritrea. It has been almost three years since Frazer and her accomplices
fabricated the outlandish UN reports on Somalia, and to this day, neither
Frazer nor her accomplices(Ethiopia, Kenya and the illegitimate TNGs), or
any other independent party has been able to substantiate its contents-none.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN Envoy for Somalia for Somalia, has admitted as
much.
Pham, who in a recent Washington Post article had the audacity to preach to
President Barack Obama about the law, continues to justify Meles Zenawi's
lawlessness and belligerence in Somalia and numerous violations of
international law and over two dozen UN Security Council resolutions.
Exposing his bias and pro-Ethiopia stance, distorting the facts and
deliberately omitting from his latest piece, the Final and Binding decision
of the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) which was delivered on 13
April 2002, which unequivocally awarded Badme, the casus belli for the
1998-2000 border conflict to Eritrea, Pham attempts to divert the issue by
mentioning the Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission (EECC), a body that chose
to address an issue in 2005 that was outside of its Algiers Agreement
mandate.
Had Pham done his homework, instead of parroting Meles Zenawi's tantrums, he
would have known that the Algiers Agreement, in addition to the EEBC and
EECC, also called for the establishment of a Commission by the African Union
and the Secretary General of the United Nations, whose mandate was to
investigate the origins of the conflict. The African Union, now an appendage
of Menelik Palace has yet to fulfill its obligations under the Algiers
Agreements-ditto for the UN. Ethiopia continues to occupy sovereign Eritrean
territories, including Badme, in violation of international law.
Eritrea´s principled position on Somalia has been consistent from day one.
As far back as 1993, Eritrea has been consistently calling for
non-interference in the internal affairs of Somalia and has repeatedly
called on the international community to respect Somalia´s sovereignty and
territorial integrity. Eritrea does not recognize the Transitional National
Government of Somalia, not because of the individuals involved, but because
it is an illegitimate regime that has been imposed on the Somali people
against their wishes. The previous externally imposed TNGs that have been
"propped up" in Mogadishu have been repeatedly rejected by the Somali
people, who want to choose their own leaders. Eritrea's non-recognition of
the externally established TNG is not what is destabilizing Somalia; rather
it is the Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia and the installing of
illegitimate TNGs in Somalia that will be amenable to the West and its
allies that has threatened the peace, security and stability in the region.
Like Meles Zenawi, Pham is a flip flopping street smart "intellectual for
hire" and knows how to sell his services. The man has no principles. He says
one thing today and something different tomorrow, as long as it suits his
handlers. There was a time when Pham opposed externally imposed TNGs in
Somalia. Here is an excerpt from a piece he wrote before his conversion. On
25 May 2007, in a piece he wrote for the National Review, he said:
"…If anything, the very existence of the TFG – or any central government
which in the Somali context is always viewed as an imposition from the
outside – is a provocation that invites resistance and gives destabilizing
forces an easy entry…"
In another article ("Do Not Resuscitate," The National Interest Mar.-Apr.
2008) Pham went further to explain why an externally imposed TNG in Somalia
would not work. He wrote:
"…It should be clear that the way forward in imported states is not to
mindlessly repeat mantras about dialogue aimed at shoring up "transitional
governments" that are congenitally incapable of governing. Rather, what is
needed is the clarity of vision and the political courage to squarely face
the facts on the ground. The interests of the international community, as
well as those of great powers (like the United States) most likely to become
involved in the conflicted regions like the Horn of Africa, require security
and stability. That will not be achieved by propping up inherently
illegitimate and destabilizing regimes constructed at some international
conference center…"
In a June 2009 article he mocked the TNG led by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed:
"…Even as it was struggling to maintain control of what little bits of its
capital it still holds, the TFG continues the charade of being a sovereign
government…"
This embedded priest ought to know about charades.
On 02 Jul 09 Pham wrote the following in World Defense Review:
"…What this approach ignores, however, is that if the failure so far of no
fewer than fourteen internationally-sponsored attempts at establishing a
national government indicates anything, it is the futility—indeed, hubris—of
the notion that outsiders can impose a regime on Somalia, even if it is
staffed with presumably moderate Somalis duly vetted and anointed by the
international community. Instead, in the context of the decentralized
reality among the Somali, the concerned international community in general
and the United States in particular need to invest the time and resources to
seek out local partners who are actually capable of partnering to create a
modicum of stability—societal, economic, and, ultimately,
governmental—rather than throwing money and arms at a "Transitional Federal
Government" which, as a former U.S. ambassador who dealt with Somali issues
told me last week, "is neither transitional, nor federal, nor a
government."…"
Is Pham going to accuse this anonymous "former US ambassador", as he did
Eritrea, of being a spoiler, of destabilizing the Horn region? I doubt that.
Pham's latest hypocritical piece is a perfect example of the dangers
inherent in using "intellectuals for hire". In pursuit of myopic political
agendas such greedy, fame seeking individuals like Pham who have no qualms
manipulating and distorting the fact lack scholarly integrity and
credibility. Seldom held to account for the ramifications of their writings
which are always shaped to advance a particular agenda-in this case,
absolution of Meles Zenawi's regime for its numerous international crimes,
these "intellectuals for hire" have damaged US credibility and integrity in
the world. US Policy for Africa is incoherent and racist because of self
serving "advisors" and "analysts" like Pham.
This Islam phobic, incoherent US policy for Somalia is precisely what is
threatening to destabilize the entire region. Pham and the other
"intellectuals for hire" should be held accountable for the fire they helped
fuel in Somalia with their faulty "analysis" and incessant lobbying on
behalf of the regime in Ethiopia. With Meles Zenawi, Jendayi E. Frazer
instigated and planned the invasion and occupation of Somalia. The
pulverization of Somali villages and farms, the deaths of over 12000
innocent civilians, the displacement of over 2 million Somalis, the extra
judicial massacres of individuals labeled by Pham and others as being
"fundamentalists" and "extremists", the indiscriminate bombings of Somali
markets etc. etc. that followed is the cause behind the greatest
humanitarian disaster in the history of Somalia.
The Obama Administration can do itself a favor by investigating Pham´s role
in this sordid and destructive affair and ask him why he is hell bent on
fueling the carnage in Somalia and campaigning for the dismemberment of
Somalia. Whose interests/agenda is he promoting? Certainly, his agenda is
not in the best interest of the United States or Somalia…
The rule of law must prevail over the law of the jungle
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