Abstract: | The author argues that the civil war in Somalia was fomented and executed by a few opportunistic leaders, who viewed politics as merely another mechanism for self-aggrandizement and employed whatever political rhetoric that worked for them in any given situation. He illustrates his point by examining the various eruptions and movements that perturbed the nation since the early nineteen sixties, viz. the mutiny by Hassan-Keyd Abdille in December 1961; the attempt of Mohamud Sheikh Osman (Iro) to overthrow the government; the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) of Colonel Abdullahi Yusef Ahmed; the Somali National Movement (SNM); and the United Somali Congress (USC). Notes, ref. |