That seems to have come at the expense of something just as important.
I am taking about diversity in PEOPLE SKILLS aka "interpersonal skills." If someone is hyper, it's good to balance with calm members. If someone is more self-absorbed, it's good to balance with more intuitive members. If extrovert, needsmore laid back members...if very good at details and gets tunnel vision, good to have someone in the team really great at the big picture.
IF YOU HOLD UP YOUR HAND AND LOOK AT FOUR OF YOUR FINGERS, AS DIFFERENT AS THEY ARE IN HEIGHT AND SIZE ARE HUMANS SIMILARLY DIFFERENT.
You can say the same exact thing that is meant to be beneficial to two different people standing right next to each other, and they might perceive it differently based on how you "spoke" or "acted" or "expressed".
2. The reason why I said Farmaajo seems self-absorbed to me and the fact that I can even think that or see that as a member of the public is a failure on the part of his team (either because yes man and won't or not diverse in interprrsonal skills and can't) is because (A.) he has showed shocking level of "hands off/distance" or disregard for mitigating any perceived threat to reconciliaition and (B.) if he couldn't see that, someone in his circle should have stepped in and drilled home that point.
3. I agree with you exactly ON THE DISTINCTION between saboteurs like Abdirahman Abdishakur and the real and credible opposition like Hassan Sheekh/Sheekh Sharif.
When I say I, AS A SUPPORTER OF PRESIDENT FARMAAJO, "perceived" a shocking level of disregard for preventing any threat to reconciliation, I am talking about exactly the failure of Farmaajo to NIP THE HASSAN SHEEKH/SHEEKH SHARIF issue (among others) in the butt and quickly do whatever possible to make the issue about DIFFERENCE IN OPINION not anything remotelt connected to abuse of power or tribalism or any of the issues that fueled the civil war.
Even if Farmaajo WAS TOO PROUD to do it, his pride should have been sacrificed for the good of advancing reconciliation.
Unfortunately, I think isolating the failute to "public relations" is underestimating the existential threat presented by threats to reconciliation for Somalia in particular.
Truthfully I have not been happy or satisfied by Farmaajo's handling of various number of occurrences of this nature and I think it has been his single greatest deficit.
Everything in moderation is always the best. Too hands on and micromanaging is stiffling and too hands off and aloof is literally being absent.
4. Finally, the troops thing; Jowhar and Balcad were LIBERATED and among the first places outside of Mogadishu. For 10 YEARS, 10 GOD DAMN YEARS, the so called army was primarily in the Benadir Region. I mean really put this into perspective. In 2030, is the army only supposed to STILL BE IN BENADIR?
As you know SECURITY REFORM is the single biggest legacy of this government. Security reform is more than just fighting. It is also about STRATEGY. Extensive RESEARCH has found two major reasons for Al Shabaab's persistence in the center of the country...a sort of triangle between Kismaayo -Baidoa -Ceelbuur.
A. FIRST REASON is the amount of diversity of clans, dialects, and even societies (practically all so called "minority groups" from Somali Bantu to farming cooperatives) present that feel EXCLUDED and MARGINALIZED. They are the biggest source of fighters and recruiters and even safe havens for Shabab. These people have EQUALITY and even dignity to be honest under Shabab who make no distinction based on all the whimsical social conditions we have put in place here on earth. The Somali Bantu or Eyle boy is the same as the Abgaal or Hawiye boy in the neighborhood. Maybe even more important on account of Shabaab dependent on the minority communities. These is why EVERYTIME THOSE AREAS WERE "CAPTURED, " THEY FELL BACK TO Shabaab the minute AMISOM and SNA moved on. That is because there is a POLITICAL AND SOCIO-CULTURAL more unique and prevalent here separate than all the other issues that were feeding insecurity generally.
2. The other reason is THE LANDSCAPE BELONGED TO SHABAAB AND NOT THE SNA AND AMISOM. Picture this when police come to a crime scene, what is the first thing they say?
100% every single time the first step is always "SPREAD OUT, SEAL OFF THE PERIMETER.
If you don't have the perimeters, what is the SCENE in CRIME SCENE? What is the ZONE in BATTLE ZONE? It is ridiculous just how much money, time, and resources have been wasted on such a predictable failure.
You control the perimeters and YOU CONTROL THE LANDSCAPES. You have the access points, the supply lines, you are always in offense NOT defense.
The perimeter has to be controlled from Central Somalia to Beled-Weyne to Bakool to Beled-Xaawo to Ceel-Waaq to Diif to Kismaayo to the Indian Ocean going up coast to Barawe to Mogadishu to Hobyo.
Once the perimeter is full under control, the SNA will move from EVERY SINGLE DIRECTION WITH SHABAAB NOWHERE TO RUN, ESCAPE, GET BACK UP, HIDE.
This time when the heartland is CAPTURED, the government also has a very strong and equitable INCLUSIVE STABILIZATION program.
Central Somalia and Gedo are really just the GUINEA PIGS to test the program out in less challenging condition (the area in central Somalia it has been tested is practically all Habar Gidir and Gedo is practically all Marehan).
The REAL challenge will be the "Gosha" area of Jubbaland (from Jamame and Jilib to Saakoow), the two Shabelle regions (Lower and Middle Shabelle) and the Hiran Region with the entire half west of the Shabelle River.
It is going to be very rocky interesting to see how this goes.
