By the time I finished my 3rd attempt and back-to-back reading of the latest FANTACY of Mr. Medhane Tadesse, one of the Ethiopian tribalist Government's primer Foreign Policy Advisor; I finally realized that there indeed exist what Psychologists call "Inferiority Complex of the HALLUCINATING mind." The word "Fanaticism" itself is derived from "Fantasy" which can be seen in the above Webster definition and it denotes the power or process of creating especially unrealistic or improbable accomplishments in response to psychologically needed fantasy and mental image or a series of mental images (as a daydream) so created to satisfy the pagan reality of adolescence. By this definition, it is safe to say that FANATICISM is the false fire of the overheated mind that habitually suffers from inferiority complex. As Psychiatrist Alfred Adler said, "the greater the feeling of inferiority that has been experienced (in this case the 700 years the Tigreans suffered under the unforgiving Amhara domination), the more powerful is the urge to CONQUEST and the more violent the EMOTIONAL AGITATION IS. And therein lies the mechanism of Mr. Medhanie's wandering mind why he was able to glibly advance such fantastic claim of Ethiopian's historical Military accomplishment pointedly concluded with yelling bravado and said, " Ethiopia is poised to become the center of gravity in sub-regional affairs. In fact Ethiopia should, for the sake of the region, play real politics by combining power and assertive diplomacy. Given its power, Ethiopia should be instrumental in the effort to institute the sub-regional rules of the game. This is so because Ethiopia can't afford to ignore its actual power. In other words, Ethiopia can and should write the rule of the game as it damn pleases. It should make sure that the game rules are strictly adhered by all the other neighbors in the region." To back up his claim, Mr. Medhanie left us with stern warning of a stepfather world, reminding us that " the variables which would enable Ethiopia to emerge economically a strong country are still in place. These include, inter-alia, natural resources, a dynamic population, seriousness of purpose, proper policies and an enlightened leadership." "To this effect," said Mr. Medhanie, " Eritrean leaders should know their proper place in the sub-region." I have no problem with his Nationalism. After all, all of us are Nationalists in variety of ways when the concern of our very own turf comes to play. What is at issue and the greatest problem I have with him centers on his attempt to write a falsified history. One can easily see his wholesale misrepresentation on the very claim Mr. Medhanie blindly made about "the Badme operation," which to his learned mind "is the first of its kind since 2nd World War." As if that mistake is not enough, he ended up comparing Operation "Sunset" with "Operation Overlord" under General Eisenhower and his deputy commander, Field Marshal Montgomery, an operation that was so vast in manpower and material that was never surpassed before and never after." Thus I shudder to think the innocent students who attend his class for such historical comparison is the most abominable misrepresentation of history I ever saw in my 30 years of reading. It is such a disgraceful FANTACY OF THE WORST KIND. Therefore try as I might, I will point out the errors of his Fantasy hopefully others will not be misled by his ignoramus reflection.
FANATACY- #1:
Operation Sun set is such a successful military operation. some may want to compare it with operation over-lord (D-Day) which liberated western France from a highly entrenched German army.
THE TRUTH:
This one is the greatest misrepresentation of history and in league with the "Kibra-Negest" creation. Any historian who wants to compare "Operation Overlord" with Woyane's Operation "Sunset" must be an absolutely ignorant of any commonsense and facts of history or he is deadly under the influence of the Colombian gold (King Cocaine). The truth is, on the eve of the commencing of "Operation Over-Lord" General Eisenhower, the Allied Commander and his deputy, Field Marshal Montgomery, had close to 3,000,000 soldiers under their command. They came from many countries, The United States, Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Holland, France, Denmark, Poland, and many members of the British colonies. The United States alone contributed to the operation some 1,627,000 army and airmen and 53,000 sailors. On the first day of the operation, General Eisenhower managed to land 150,000 ground troops supported by 1500 tanks, 12,000 fighter aircrafts, and 5,300 ships that bombarded the German army positions mercilessly all over Normandy. If indeed he is a historian, Mr. Medhanie should have known that operation "Over-Lord" is not counted in-terms of divisions and brigades as it was in his beloved operation "Sunset." It was in-terms of Armies and Corps, which in military terminology denote far higher position than merely that of "division." This was simply because between the 1st Army under General Omar Bradley and the 2nd Army under General Sir Miles Dempsey, there were more than 1.5 million fighting men covering an area from the furthest west coast of Normandy to the border with Belgium. Even if we have to concentrate our analysis to the major landing points of operation "Over-Lord" i.e. the coded named beaches of Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword; the operational area that was covered by the Allied forces could easily measured ten times the operational area of Badme.
By comparison, at best what Ethiopia had in-terms of men and material was about 150,000 ground forces, 1000 field guns (Stalin Organ and all that), 150 tanks, and the entire Ethiopian Air-Force with 120 fighter aircrafts and its 3,000 crews augmented with the 500 Russian technical Mercenaries which gave Ethiopia an edge in air superiority.
These arrays of Ethiopian power are certainly considerable by Sub-Sahara African standard with the exception of South Africa. And yet only a foolish historian would ever attempt to compare it with operation "Over-Lord." The blind dream of Mr. Medhanie notwithstanding, there is no way one can compare Operation "Sunset" with that of "Over-Lord" unless one wants to write a historical fiction for amusement. If Mr. Medhanie would teach such fiction to an American classroom, he would be immediately asked to relinquish his tenure and kicked out from the University altogether.
FANTACY- #2:
The Badme operation, the first of its kind after the Second World War, is the only large-scale successful conventional war operation.
THE TRUTH:
This claim too is not only false but plainly gibberish. If I am allowed to recount the wars of engagements that happened everywhere in the world since 2nd World War, there were many war operations that were far superior and lethal than that of Ethiopia's operation "Sunset." Here are the most important ones.
In-terms of mass human application, the Badme operation can never equal the Chinese massive counter-attack (all in all 300,000) against the forces of General Douglas MacArthur in the Korean War that drove the MacArthure forces all the way form the border of China and North Korea to the Southern tip of South Korea. This successful counter attack led to the first Geneva Peace conference that ended the Korean War. Where did the so called success of Badme led other than to the Woyane army burial ground at Tserona
In-terms of sheer human courage, the Kudos should go to the Vietcong who single handedly fired up ground battles in more than 40 cities and towns all over South Vietnam, coordinated to start at the same appointed hour, including the bold attempt by Vietcong rangers to capture the American Ambassador and his stuff live, hence the memorable firefight in the American Embassy compound. This sheer human courage by the Vietcong convinced President Johnson to resign from Office and his successor, President Nixon, to pursue for peace. Where did Badme lead, oh! It led to the bombing of innocent kindergarten kids in the classrooms of Adi-Keyih as Woyane's answer to the thorough defeat of the Ethiopian army at Tserona.
In-terms of successful conventional warfare, the recognition should go to operation Bader of the war of 1973, mounted by President Sadat and his war Minister, General Ismail. This operation, more than anything and more than at anytime, convinced Israeli politico-generals that Israel is no more invincible militarily. As a matter of fact, one of the Israeli troop's memorable quotations was: "We taught the Egyptian how to fight and they taught us how to lie." This was in relation to the Israeli government spokesperson lying to World media that the Israeli Air Force was winning while in fact they were taking a terrible beating from Egyptian missile crews. Contrary to this Egyptian achievement, where did operation "Sunset" led?? It only led to a huge celebration in the street of Addis Ababa while the Army was dizzied from the merciless beating it took by EDF where its entry to Badme became questionable over time. As a matter of fact, the Woyane clique have yet to show the Badme area to Foreign Journalists if there was indeed a merit to their win in operation "Sunset."
In-terms of tactical success, Badme can never be compared to the Israel Air Force win of the June 1967 war. In mere 2 hours, the Israeli Air force managed to destroy the entire Air Force of Egypt and hence why Israel was successful in that war. Where did Badme led? The Woyane clique ended up blaming the Ethiopian Air force crew for not helping the ground forces as they were expected. This was after the Tserona debacle where a determined EDF showed its courage and tenacity that can only come from voluntary citizens Army.
In-terms of field guns and Tank battles, the Badme operation is minuscule compared to the armor battle between the Egyptian and Israeli forces in the 1973 war, which between them, they had deployed more than 3,000 tanks and field guns. In one single engagement, Sunday October 14, 1973, more tanks and field guns were used than the celebrated battle of Alamein (2ed World War) that was fought out by the forces of Field Marshal Montgomery representing Great Britain and her Commonwealth and Field Marshal Irwin Rommel representing the Axis powers. In that battle, historians recorded that more than 1,600 tanks were used. In the 1973 war, I remember hearing commentators saying that the October 14 engagement was only surpassed by the battle of Kursk (2nd World War) in western Russia between the Forces of Field Marshals Rokosovisky and Koniev on the Russian side and Field Marshal Eric Von Mainstien on the German side. Mainstien lost that engagement and that was the beginning of the end of Hitler's war-machine in the Eastern front.
Comparing to all this facts, there is nothing to brag about Operation "Sunset" particularly when one is reminded that the EDF withdraw from Badme intact as it was proved by the successful counterattack at Tserona. Thus the claim that since "Second World War," the Badme engagement "is the only large-scale successful conventional war operation" is flat-out nonsense that should shame its proponents.
FANTACY- #3:
The Germans were in a highly entrenched positions.
THE TRUTH:
This statement was pointedly written to hoodwink readers into believing that the Eritrean army was well entrenched as was the German army thereby making the comparison of operation "Sunset" to that of operation "Over-Lord" justifiable. Be that as it may, sometimes I wonder whether I should say Mr. Medhanie never read 2nd World War books. How he could be so out of line is beyond me. Had he known the facts of the Normandy invasion, he would have never attempted to write about the German army since what he wrote was contrary to the truth.
And the truth, as it happened at that time and unlike Mr. Medhanie's claim, is explicitly written in the history books of 2nd World War, the fact that the German army were in a terrible confusion due to the miscalculation of the German war planners in guessing the major places of the Allied landing. Hitler was completely in the dark or should we say completely deceived by the successful Allied espionage and counter-intelligence work that fed him to think that Allied landing is going to be at Pas_De_Calais opposite to Dover. In addition to Allied espionage and counter-intelligence work, another raison-d'etat for Hitler guessing was because Pas_De_Calais to Dover is shortest distance in the English channel where as the true landing was far to the south at the beaches of Normandy. Prior to the engagement, Rommel correctly guessed it that Normandy is the landing to watch. To the surprise of Anglo-American war planners, the overall Commander of German Western defense, Field Marshal Gerd Von Rundstadt, and Hitler were blinded by the Allies misinformation thus Hitler countermanded Rommel to follow Field Marshal Rundstadt and there, the majority of the German army, more than 40 divisions, ended up at the Pas_De_Calais area. By the time the German Army realized the mistake, they tried to move in mass from Pas_De_Calais to the main landing in Normandy. Since they traveled in the open road to make a quick foothold, they ended up being a playground of the Allied Air force, which hit them so hard that in the final analysis, they suffered upward of 250,000 men dead, wounded, and captured. If the German Army was well entrenched as Mr. Medhanie erroneously informed us, I have no doubt in my mind that the 2nd World War may never have ended in May 1945 as it did. Even if Hitler's defeat was insight by the beginning 1944 due to the terrible beating the German army took in the hand of the Russians at Kursk and Stalingrad; with well-prepared German western defense, the war may have dragged for a year or two. Thus the idea that the Germans were well entrenched is simply guesswork and merely shows Woyane historical stupidity.
FANTACY- #4:
In terms of the possible obstacles it should have faced, the machinations and deceptions applied as well as the tactical, organizational and technological variables displayed, the operation is unparalleled in the history of modern warfare since W.W.II. This fact explains why Ethiopia presided over the only successful, most swift large-scale conventional (high-tech) war in contemporary world history.
THE TRUTH:
Pfffff!!!! I wish Mr. Medhanie knows what real high-tech armaments are! If anything the Badme operation is only compared to the battle of Somme in 1st World War. There is nothing high-tech about it. What is so sad about this segment is the claim that the Badme operation is unparalleled in the history of modern warfare since W.W.II, which clearly show the blind recklessness of Woyane supporters. This again explains the jaundiced nature of history that Mr. Medhanie currently has at disposal. The fact is, since 2nd World War, there had been many high-tech wars that easily surpass operation "Sunset" in both quality and quantity. Here are the main ones.
In-terms of Electronic-Counter-Measure (ECM) deception, Badme can never equal the Israeli Air Force success in eliminating Syrian Missile deployment in the Beckaa Valley in the Lebanon war of 1982. Within one day, the Israeli managed to destroy all Syrian Missiles and 82 Syrian Fighter Aircrafts with only one lose of theirs. This lope sided win for Israel was achieved because Israeli pilots can shoot a target from a distance of 40 miles. Most likely the Israeli must have been using the Harm missile with its ubiquitous ability to radar lock and shoot supplemented with Drone decoys and Satellite data available to the pilot.
In-terms of mechanical high-tech deception, the kudos should go to the Water cannons the Egyptian army used to punch several holes into the impenetrable Barlev line. Prior to the 1973 war, the Israeli intelligence knew that the Egyptian army was practicing with the water cannons. To the delight of the Egyptians, the Israelis wrongly concluded that the Egyptians were practicing for high way clean up in preparation for the yearly sandstorms. Using these water cannons, the Egyptian army managed to capture all but one strong holds of the Barlev-line, all in the same day, and one a hell of an achievement in light of the well-known Israeli armor superiority deployed in that area.
In-terms of real high-tech armaments, operation "Sunset" can never be close to the display of armaments seen in the Gulf War. If anything that war was a laboratory demonstration for any smart bombs and laser guided missiles the NATO countries accumulated for the last 40 years in their race with the Warsaw Pact countries. From the United States alone, there were planes that have never seen real heavy duty combat, warplanes such as the F15E-eagle, the F16B-falcon, the F117-stealth bomber, the sea born F18-hornet, the F14B tomcat, armed with their Sidewinder, Harm, and Phoenix missiles. Also on the deployment line was the satellite guided Cruse missile. From the army, there was the M1A1 tank battle with its night fighting capability, the Apache Helicopter gunship and its tank busting hell-fire missile. All in all the United States had more than 1,000 Aircrafts deployed in the Gulf War. So too was the more than 500,000 fighting men armed to the teeth under the commanded of General Norman Schwarzkoph with more than 3,000 tanks and not to mention the 200,000 or so that came from other countries.
By my counting, the Gulf war was a golden opportunity for all the merchants of death of this World. Even the most sane and civilized countries such as Sweden joined that happy sales demo to insure the rest of the world is seeing their modern armaments. The poor Iraqis led by an idiotic leadership went into the war blindly against the array of worldwide high-tech demo. As expected the Iraqi Army ended up being burned and buried deep under the sand with no counter-fire-fight to show off. The technological mismatch was so vast even the modern Miarrage-4 and Mig-29 Jets, from France and Russia respectively, that were being used by the Iraqi Air-Force were found not to be up to the task of challenging Saudi Arabia's F15D, a slightly aged aircraft than the modern F15E of the American Air-Force.
Another factor that should be taken into account is the professionalism of the troops. For example the Iraqis owned the French Excoset missile that came with the Miarage-4. While the same missile was effectively used by the Argentine Air force against the British forces at the Falkland war, the Iraqi pilots never showed similar flair and guts as the Argi-pilots did. Quality of Armaments is also another factor. The Mig-29 & the SU-27 the Serbian Air force owned didn't fair better in a head to head match with the American F15E and F16B. The Su-27 is a primer fighter-bomber that is currently owned by the Ethiopian Air force. I am sure I am going to dismay Mr. Medhanie but I wouldn't even venture to give it one-hour life time survival facing American planes particularly the F14-tomcat with its phoenix missile that can shoot from 100 miles distance. Talk about Ethiopian 'high-tech'! Pfff! Lucky you that your enemy is a poor country known as Eritrea.
The mysterious aspect about Mr. Medhanie is how in the world he could have forgotten the above recent events. Is the Gulf war such distant event that he forgot what went on in that war. Of course for people who have not seen much, what Ethiopia arrayed against Eritrea could be seen as vast and unconquerable war machine. So Ethiopia came on top fighting against a country whose Air-Force is a mere toddler with no more than 12 to 15 fighter Air-Crafts; this Mr. Medhanie firmly taught to be first class military ingenuity "unparalleled in the history of modern warfare since W.W.II." Ah! The sin of the mouthful boast! And where was this marvel of high-tech wizardry when the Eritrean Defense Forces soundly trounced the Woyane Army at Tserona. The truth is, what Ethiopia possessed, a 30 years old techno-gadget, may be adequate against poor countries like Eritrea. But it can never be compared head to head against modern American missiles empowered by the ultra fast DSP chips and laser guided tracking systems. The learned mind of the Woyane, if they are learned at all, should know that they have more than 100 years time to cover before their blind claim become a reality. Therefore the talk of the Ethiopian army high-tech wizardry is not only incorrect but also absurd in any shape or form.
FANTACY- #5:
It was again Ethiopian victory at Gundet and Gura, which resulted in the frustration and eventual demise of successive Egyptian governments. Eritrean scholars should be reminded that Egypt lost its independence due to her blind invasion of Ethiopian territory.
THE TRUTH:
This too is another false claim. First and foremost Mr. Medhanie should know that Egypt never lost her independence totally and became a colony of Great Britain. To be sure, the British were heavily involved in the daily affair of Egypt. But total domination as say in Kenya or Ghana, never. Even if we would have to take Mr. Medhanie's claim at face value, the reason why Egypt lost her independence was never because of the Gura and Gundet's war. The truth was something different and it was centered on the race that went on between Britain and France about who captures Fashoda first. Great Britain always had an imperial ambition to build a colonial railway system from Cairo to Cape-Town and the French had also an ambition to build their empire from East to West Africa. Since the Fashoda area was the main intersection of both ambitions, who controls first became a matter of national pride and honor for both countries. As the Fashoda race became very heated, the British used that excuse to make Egypt as quasi-colonial state and a major stepping-stone to the Fashoda endeavor. The Opening of the Suez Canal as commercial interest is also another impetus for the British to control the commercial and political segment of Egyptian society. Additionally, Great Britain also used the rise of Mahdi Sudan as a third excuse to control both Egypt and the Sudan particularly after the Mahdist forces killed General Charles Gordon, the governor of Equatoria and the Khartoum area. After Gordon's death, the British government subsequently sent General Herbert Kitchener to subdue the Mahdist forces where they succeeded in ending the Mahdist rebellion in the Sudan.
The so-called Gundet and Gura battles did not even measure up as regional events and needless to say they were never the true causes that destabilized Egypt to the extent of losing her sovereignty. Mr. Medhanie is entitled to FANTASIZE AS HE WISHES. And yet as far as the truth and the facts of Egyptian history are concerned, it can never measure up with a high degree of certainty. The Woyane learned minds would do well to remember that in writing falsified history, they made their self-respect on the line of questioning. All I could say is they owe it to their self-respect to write a worthy and factual history. No amount of zeal to destroy Eritrea can change the true history of events that happened long time ago and Mr. Medhanie would certainly benefit to remember this simple fact.
FANTACY- #6:
Ethiopia's military muscle displayed at Adwa was one of the reasons, which facilitated the colonization of the Sudan.
THE TRUTH:
As usual this claim too is completely false. The reason the Sudan became a colony of Great Britain was the fact that the Mahdist did not play their cards well in-terms of modern warfare tactics. In battle after battle they engaged against the British, the reckless courage they displayed was so heart wrenching that during the battle of Omdurman against the forces of Kitchener, even the 23 years old lieutenant Winston Churchill was moved to acclaim their raw courage after witnessing the Mahdist forces marching head-on to face the most advanced armaments British Technology ever produced, particularly the Maxim field guns. Thus Churchill admiringly wrote, "the whole earth and sides of the hill seemed to move and the sun, glinting on many hostile spear-points, spread a sparkling dust of cloud Never shall I see such a sight again I was in great awe."
The forces of the Mahdi fought the British with such courage and determination and yet with none of the tactics, which modern warfare requires. Thus in the final analysis, they ended up availing themselves to be a playground of British modern technology of the day which they possess none at all. Even then, General Gordon's death in previous engagement was a hard blow to the prestige of the British ruling class for up to that moment; no Queen Victoria's Imperial Officer was put to death in such manner. As a result, the Mahdist courage was so admired by the British literary class that Kipling, that arch-supporter of imperialism, was moved to write the following stanza as cockney tribute to the Mahdist forces' in-your-face attitude. Partially, here is what Kipling wrote
'E rushes at the smoke when we let drive,In the single battle of Omdurman alone, more than 50,000 soldiers of the Mahdi were lost to Kitchener's modern armaments. With this lose; the Sudan effectively became a British colony. The claim that "Ethiopia's military muscle displayed at Adwa was one of the reasons, which facilitated the colonization of the Sudan," in my humble opinion, is a mere fantasy of Woyane adherents.
An' before we know, 'e's 'ackin' at our 'ead;
'E's a injia-rubber idiot on the spree,
'E's the on'y thing that doesn't give a damin,
For a Regiment o' British infanteree!
So 'ere's to you Fuzzy-Wazzy, at your home in the Soundan.
You'e a pore benighted 'eathen but a first class fightin' man;
An ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wazzy with your 'ayrick 'ead of 'air -
You big black boudin' beggar - for you broke a British square!
Mr. Medhanie certainly will not wish to tell us the true nature of post Adwa relationship between Menelik and the Mahdist Khelifa. The truth was, right after the Battle of Adwa, Menelik was mortally afraid that the Khelifa would come after him knowing the war booty Menelik got from the Italians was something worthy of fight. To mollify the Khelifa and make him think that Ethiopia sooner or later will submit to the wish of the Mahdi's religious dogma, Menelik sent envoys after envoys to Khartoum not to mention Ras Mengesha Yowhanis, before even the blood of his father's head had dried. As one of the most trusted Menelik advisors, Ras Mengesha put Menelik's main message to the Khelifa's ear which the gist of it said, "your enemy is our enemy and our enemy is your enemy, and we should stand together as firm allies" and as a gesture of goodwill, Ras Mengesha presented the Khelifa "arms and ammunitions." The task of Menelik's envoys were to flatter the Khelifa, which among other things, they told him, he was one and only "His Majesty's superior, venerable, and dear friend." With that kind of glib that was always present in the Ethiopian diplomatic baggage, they were able to pull the diplomatic wool over the Khelifa's eyes. This wonderfully hooked the Khelifa into thinking that Menelik is firmly in his wagon. And as such, the Khelifa was greatly pleased to see the son of his former enemy (Emperor Yowhanis) pleading with him for friendship. This entire age-old Ethiopian diplomatic trick made the Khelifa to warmly receive Menelik envoys. Special arrangement was made for their meat to be slaughtered according to Christian rules and for their tongues to be loosened and their hearts warmed, despite the Muslim prohibition of Alcohol, multiple barrels of date wine were offered. This diplomatic trick indeed worked to Menelik's advantage because the Khelifa thereafter concentrated his power fighting the hated British.
As history of the regional area can show with certainty, the Ethiopians are lucky that the British took care of the rising Mahdist power. Else their forefathers would have seen more Metemas and more head cutting. If it were not for the British threat against the Mahdi, Menelik's tricky diplomatic game play would not have worked for too long to continually persuade the Khelifa from conquering Ethiopia and bringing it to the wish of Allah - the Mahdist way. Therefore, Mr. Medhanie should thank the Mahdist for Killing general Gordon, which brought the retaliation of the Kitchner forces to the Sudan and thus the fateful end of the Mahdist rebellion. Otherwise, Adwa or not, the Mahdist would have repeated what they did to Nugis Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam at the battle of Sar-Waha, which they ended up burning Gonder and that of Metema, which they ended up vanquishing the Tigrian hegemonic power over Ethiopia for the next 100 years.
FANTACY- #7:
Eritrean leaders should know their proper place in the sub-region and should be reminded of the sad story of Siad Barre and Somalia. Siad Barre created a highly militarized state identical to that of Eritrea today. The only difference between the two is that numerically the Eritrean army is far superior to the then Somali army. As was expected, shortly after Siad Barre attacked Ethiopia the Somali army was to suffer a catastrophic military defeat. The sad thing about it is that Siad Barre and Somalia never recovered from that disastrous defeat. Then followed the issue of the failed state.
THE TRUTH:
There are two questions that Mr. Medhanie camouflaged them conveniently to make his points seem sincere and orderly and these questions are: (A) Did Ethiopia defeat Somalia by the sheer force of her own manpower and material alone? And (B) Was the defeat of the Somalia Army in the Ogaden war the sole cause of the destruction of the Somali State?
Mr. Medhanie is certainly entitled to fantasize in any shape or form he wished. The truth is, if it was not for the wholesale intervention of the Soviet Union, Cuba, South Yemen, East Germany and all the Warsaw Pact countries, the Ogaden War would have been much more bloodier than what Ethiopia experienced at that time. By November 1977, the Soviet Union provided not only massive amount of Military equipment but also Soviet advisors to fill the roles ranging from training officers to pilots for combat missions in Migs and Helicopter gun-ships. Moreover, Cuban troops whose numbers peaked at 17,000 after early 1978, spearheaded the Ogaden war counteroffensive that began in March of that year. Combat operation during the counteroffensive was orchestrated by the "National Revolutionary Operations Command" consisting of two Soviet generals, one Cuban general, and Mengistu Hailmariam. The overall mission commander of the offensive was General Petrov and his deputy was general Oachewa. In reality the Russian general plan was very masterful. He hop scotched all the Tanks and Heavy guns to the Somali border and ordered the Cuban division to do a pincer movement and head straight to the border via Balie while the balk of the Somali army was still waiting to do the fight in the Harrer - Jijega area. Once Said Barre realized that his army is surrounded and that his neck is on the line in a matter of a day, he ordered a full withdrawal of his army to the UN recognized Somali border and declared cease-fire. With the war news that Russian advisors and Cuban troops are in the border, the Somali army melted in such disorderly manner that it became an easy pick for the Cuban army and the their South Yemenis equals. And thus ended the Somalia intervention in the Ogaden.
As for the death of the Somali State, here too, Mr. Medhanie is in error. The Somali State died because of its deadly application of clan based culture and none what so ever because of Ethiopia's military might. The Somali man, for the most part, is very narrow minded and only cares about his immediate families and needless to say that his world does not even venture to go beyond great grandfather families. He is also too obsessed in enjoying life at the present hour. Working side by side with his neighbors for the benefit of tomorrow and for the future good of society doesn't concern him. The saddest thing is he thinks highly of himself regardless of the superficiality of his existence. The mysterious thing about Somalia men is, individually, they are brilliant, intuitive, generous to fault, and I, personally, wouldn't mind to go to war side by side with a Somalia man. The problem is, the moment the two numbers are changed to three, he is immediately overcomes with suspicion and when the number is changed to four, he will immediately declare World War. The reality is the force of two men can build no country. One needs three, four, and five on and on. With out going further, this reality, I think, was what killed the Somali State and I am sure Mr. Medhanie knows the truth.
As for his comment about "Eritrean leaders need to learn from the sad story of Siad Barre and Somalia!" He himself said " May be I was naive but I did not expect Eritreans in general and the intelligentsia in particular to continue to support this war." Indeed he is nave to expect that Eritrea and Eritreans would fall to disorder and confusion from Woyane pressure in such a short order. If there were anything I would like to add to his admission of naivet, it would be only my prayer to God to give Mr. Medhanie His wisdom so that he may come to his sense and his sensibilities augmented by the reality of peace and reconciliation. There is no alternative to peace and reconciliation and the sooner the Woyane intelligentsia learns this truth, the safe will be their future existence. Else the continuation of this blind and senseless war is going to be another Metema all over again, which certainly will invite the restoration of the hated centralist Ankoberites and their diabolic me-only-exist hegemonic power. If this is what Mr. Medhanie wanted to see, so be it. By the grace of God, Eritrea will prevail any way.
FANTACY- #8:
Simply put so far Ethiopia did not use its force in its fullest sense. Ethiopian military leaders are still selective in approaching the war. The special relations with the Eritrean people seem to have made Ethiopian war strategists to be overly careful in dealing with the conflict. This fact is clearly known even by Eritrean leaders.
THE TRUTH:
Special relations Wow! I swear to God Mr. Medhanie is trying to out Greek, the Greek comedians. The sad thing is: what we are engaging in is not hide and sick. It is war and as such his amateurish saying cannot be passed as mere comedy. If I am allowed to speak the truth, the Ethiopian State thus far applied the full military and economic power it has at it disposal. Mr. Medhanie claim notwithstanding, as everyone knows, nothing is spared toward the possibility of extinguishing Eritrea and Eritreans from the face of the earth. With no hold bar, the Woyane terrorized and killed children at Adi Keyih elementary school; firebombed 150 houses in Shambuko to break the moral of Eritrean civilians and thereby change them to destitution; bombed Massawa harbor in order to strangulate Eritrea economically; stole hard earned wealth that surpass billions of birr that belong to Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin, in broad daylight, as the World was watching, and then deported 65,000 of them; sent thousands of Eritrean and Ethiopian of Eritrean origin to an inhuman prison camps which are replicas of Stalinist Gulag; and repeatedly bombed the water reservoir of Assab knowing full-well that the city of Assab is one a hell of an inferno where no one can survive 24 hours without water.
Putting Mr. Medhanie senseless comedy on the sideline, let alone to care about the people of Eritrea, the Woyane clique don't even bother about the safety and the human right of other Ethiopians who live outside Tigray. What exist in the Ethiopian state of today is a very cruel government that sent thousands of innocent Oromos and other minorities to death as "Fengi-Regach" in both Tserona and Badme battle fronts, so that their cherished Tigrean Officers will not be harmed from land-mines.
And then that premature advertisement of vise-foreign Minster, Takeda Alemu, telling Woyane faithful in Washington DC that the city of Assab will be under the Ethiopian Army control in a matter of a day. To that effect, the Woyane clique sent one of their inner-circle honchos, General Tsadkan, to represent the expected glory of capturing Assab for the good of Greater Tigray and it was so planned hopefully to become a model of stern warning demonstration of "weyolih (if you dare to move one step, your head)" to the wobbling Amhara mentality. When the battle heated up and the Woyane army miserably lost the firefight to control Bure, general Tsadkan turned his face away from Assab and in no time frantically headed toward Shewa. Word of mouth has it that the general escaped with the fastest speed acceleration that ever witnessed in the behavior of a HIGH RANKING MILITARY OFFICER. The speed of general Tsadkan was so fast, with legs so reactive as that of Abeba Bekilla, the many thousands wounded soldiers that were left behind to mend for themselves and later on were captured by the EDF didn't know that their commanding general has already run away to save his neck. For those who saw general Tsadkan as he was passing the town of Deberezaiti but didn't have a clue of the bad news that was in the offing, it engendered a pride and a kind of Phillipdise feeling at the battle of Marathon where the Greeks fought against the Persians. The only difference was, general Tsadkan was running to tell the bad news of the Woyanie army while Phillipides run to tell the good news of the Greek win.
All the above being said, the idea that " Ethiopia did not use its force in its fullest sense because Ethiopian military leaders are still selective in approaching the war" is simply reprehensible story hardly fit to be recounted even in a junior high school setting. It is regrettably laughable and amateurish camouflage that will "NOT" win hearts and minds of Ethiopians except the diehard supporters of the tribalist government of Woyanie.
FANTACY- #9:
The fact that Ethiopia's Military Omnipotence is clearly known even by Eritrean leaders. The desperate search for a savior on the part of the Eritrean leadership is one part of the story.
THE TRUTH:
Searching for a savior. Geeee !! Since when was Eritreans started to look for a savior. Not in Bahri Negassi Issaq's time; not in Ras Woldemicheal Time; not in the Federation era, certainly not in the liberation era; and by tradition I don't think the present Government has done it or will do it in the future. It simply is not the Eritrean character to look for help in time of trouble. If anything, throughout the many years of our suffering, it is the avoidance of the practical art of willing-&-dealing in our best interest that denied us from achieving a big power protection. For example, what divine right does tiny Djibouti has more than Eritrea to not only exist but to live in peace and to enjoy life to the fullest without any fear from the big Orwellian brother to the west. If it was not for the French protection, wasn't Djibouti fated to suffer from the same curse of the Ethiopian demon as we Eritreans has suffered for a longtime. If Eritrean leaders are the type of people who wills and deals as most African leaders do, then the appropriate time to do it was right after independence and perhaps with the right protector, Ethiopia would have never instigated this unjust war. Sad to say it, we Eritreans are not by any means suspicious people and being surrounded by ravanchist wolves, not to be suspicious in an appropriate time has mightily blinded us to our fullest shame. The Woyanie clique intimately knew the happy-go-lucky nature of Eritreans and the lazy attitude of our character to never bother making friends and connections with people in high places. "Eritreans thought," again to our shame, that "if we just do our work the godly way and don't seek things that doesn't belong to us by right, everything will fall in its proper place being fully understood by others." The tragedy is, the World doesn't work in this manner. To our rude surprise, the Woyanie clique took full advantage of this innocence. So talk about savior for Eritrea Highly unlikely!!!
The truth is, Mr. Medhanie, it is you, Ethiopian folks, who look for a savior at the faintest sign of trouble. As a matter of fact Ethiopia should be called one of the luckiest country in the entire world that got help at different times and from different peoples. Here are the many helps that Ethiopian leaders got for the last 500 years.
| TYPE OF WAR | TYPE OF HELP AND FROM WHERE? | |
| 1 | The fight against Mohammed Gragn | Portuguese troops and armaments. |
| 2 | The battle of Adwa | Russian training Officers and Russian and French armaments. |
| 3 | The 1935 Mussolini invasion | Swedish and Black American Pilots. |
| 4 | The 1941 Italian eviction from Ethiopia | British Commonwealth Forces. |
| 5 | The 1940th UN fight to acquire Eritrea | Anglo-American diplomacy to the fullest. |
| 6 | Pre-1976 fight against the ELF | American communication experts out of Kagnew Station & Israeli Commando Trainers. |
| 7 | Post-1976 fight against the EPLF | Russia, Cuba, South Yemen, East Germany and the whole Warsaw-Pact countries. |
| 8 | Woyane's War against Eritrea | Russian avionics mercenaries. So is the diplomatic help from Gail Smith at the National Security and Susan Rice and David Shin at the State Department. |
And therefore Mr. Medhanie, I wish we Eritreans were as lucky as you folks who enjoyed a savior at every turn of bad events. And believe me, the day Eritreans learned the art of getting a savior as Ethiopian leaders have done it marvelously from time immemorial as a hedge to be able to swim safely in this troubled world. That will be the day Eritrea safety will be cemented forever. I must admit to your heartfelt that Eritreans are too clumsy to make simple connections and friends and much less to garner a savior. This will remain one of the primer reasons why Ethiopia will never stop encroaching Eritrea illegally. Of course it is for us to learn and to be suspiciously alert or else we will continue to suffer from the demons to our South.
FANATACY- #10:
Had it not been for the senility within which most Eritrean scholars are operating, Ethiopia's military victory at Badme is a lesson from which Eritreans must have learned a lot.
THE TRUTH:
No Mr. Medhanie, seniles are those Ethiopian intellectuals who blindly boast about unmerited and questionable military win at Badme. No one exemplifies such a wholesale senility of intellect in the broadest sense of the word than a historian who atrociously compares "Operation Sunset" to that of operation "Over-Lord." And If I were to be in the place of Mr. Medhanie, I would worry about the mental faculty of my historical holding. Because the kind of history Mr. Medhanie presented us in this piece, without doubt, is unhelpful toward the endeavor of peace as it is amply demonstrated in the proceeding pages and regrettably to the shame of Ethiopia's scholarship, the claim was historically invalid and grossly inaccurate presented with such graceless bravado. If Mr. Medhanie thinks that the win in Badme is a lesson to be learned, then how is it possible the defeated Eritrean army managed to thoroughly trounce the Ethiopia army at Tserona. Why indeed the EDF still remain a potent force and formidable threat to the existence of Ankober's extension cords such as Siye, Gebru Asrat, Abay Tsehaye, Siyium Mesfin... The truth is a defeated army doesn't rise as quickly as the EDF demonstrated at Tserona, which is why Badme cannot be called a total win for the Woyanie army.
The important thing that Mr. Medhane desirously tried to obfuscate was the fact that a defeated army always needs time to heal its wounds and to replenish its armaments and in some cases, it may even give up pursuing the endeavor altogether. No defeated army in modern times has managed to rise so quickly to assert its raw power, much-less to administer a crushing blow to an enemy that is two times more in men and material and yet such was the experience of the EDF at Tserona where even Amhara Journalist (Genanaw for example) frankly admitted. The Argentineans did not challenge the British after their lose at the Falkland war. The Iraqis did dare to invade Kuwait again. The Iranians never raised a single gun after their defeat by the Iraqis. It doesn't mean that Eritrea is any stronger, morally as well as materially, than the nations I mentioned. It all means that the Eritrean armed forces were never defeated at Badme in the true military sense of the word unlike Mr. Medhanie's repeated claim. No amount of philosophy in "Military Science" can explain the fact that an army can lose in one month and will win big in the following month and this is one simple fact that Mr. Medhanie should have entertained before he wrote his shameful piece.
There is one fact that Mr. Medhanie needs to learn from the experience of Soviet era historians. In their zeal to promote Communism, Marxist/Leninist political grandees want out of their way to claim what was not in existence thus far, from the creation of a new Soviet man to surpassing and burying the West economically. To that effect, the Communist bureaucrats created all kind of sham statistics to support the Communist system's hearsay. The Soviet Historians of the day believed them and blindly promoted the clarity of ideas of the Communist system. As the lying piled up so high and became so heavy, the system finally crushed from its very own weight and came down to earth with roaring sound. In today's Woyanie, I see similar situation developing and I have no doubt in my mind that in the long run, the Woyanie kililazed system of falsification of truth is going to come to earth with roaring sound. In that day, I would hate to be in the shoe of Mr. Medhanie.
Lastly, it is now an article of faith for majority of Ethiopian intellectuals to never pass without lambasting Eritrea intellectuals, be it in radio interview or in writing. Mafia, seniles, opportunists, yes-men, and many more invectives have been thrown at us for sticking with what is right and honorable. The Ethiopian intellectuals are so much used to be on top of the pedestal of power, the moment they see someone with opposing view, they run in bigotry and cultural xenophobia.
The main point Ethiopian intellectuals are forgetting is, and here I can only speak for myself although I do believe most Eritrea intellectuals are solidly on that wagon, I personally have vested interest to cherish and to protect the memory of those heroes and heroines whose bones are scattered throughout the terrain, forests, and deserts of Eritrea, from Nakfa to Assab and from Badme to Massawa. I have my family with them but the fact that I have my loved ones among them, in my eyes, is immaterial for all are my brothers and sisters. Thus my covenant is nonnegotiable regardless of the venom that comes from Ethiopian intellectuals. To me, the cherished memory of those heroes and heroines is paramount and deeply engraved in the largest part of my heart, never to be erased, and never to be compromised. Regardless of the many days that I spent penning the defense of their memory, I am visibly and painfully aware that it can never be equaled to all the suffering they went through so that future Eritrean generations will have the possibility to live free and enjoy the fruit of his or her labor unhampered by Abyssinia Warlords. It is a gift and gratitude that is next to impossible to pay back and as holy in my eyes and as equivalent to the stone where the Ten Commandments are written. The meaning of this covenant is so precious and the feeling of it no less in its intensity than what Abraham Lincoln felt about his countrymen who gave their life at the battle of Gettysburg. Here is in part what Lincoln said in his Gettysburg address:
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work, which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
So then our devotion is not for Isaias or any Eritrean government official as Ethiopian intellectuals erroneously claimed to their shame, rather, it is a devotion singly directed and strongly primed to uphold and to protect the work of those heroes and heroines wherever they have fallen and pass their memory intact to future generations lest we forget and be forgotten by the rest of World.
For us, Eritrean Intellectuals, the way we feel about our land and about our Eritrea, are in similar fashion to what William Shakespeare felt about his beloved England at the time when Elizabethan England was so much pressured to submit to the will of Continental Catholic Europe (the Spanish Armada and all that). As a community of free men and women with citizen's army on its side, we are no less devoted and obligated than what Shakespeare resoundingly resonated in "Richard II, Act 2, and Scene 1."
"This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of Majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of the wall,
Or as a moat defensive to the house,
Against the envy of the less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England!
And therefore, if an Eritrean Intellectual is to roar about his "blessed plot, his beloved earth, his unshakable realm, his land of heroes and heroines, his one and only Eritrea," it is not as such a sign of senility but an expression of deeply held affection acknowledged to the fullest sense of human response. Unlike the bones of the thousands of Fenji_Regach that are haply discarded and deeply cursed by Ethiopian Intellectuals, the bones of Eritrean heroes and heroines who brought to reality the independence of this "blessed plot," are held with respect and admiration by the smallest kid in the block to the oldest pensioner. And Mr. Medhanie should know that this is not because of his wearied claim of "a scenario of failed society," rather, it is a proclamation of an unquestionable resolve to continue to stay free and to hold evil enemies at bay from transgressing into our holy-land. I must also add that this covenant is also reinvigorated in the strongest term ever since the evil Woyanie exposed for what they are, a mini third Reich with black face and with its racist agenda in all its manifestations whose judgment about the individual human being is centered on "the color and make up of the eye." In the mind of all Eritreans, the Woyanie clique are no less dementors than one finds in the latest trilogy of J.K, Rowling (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). This clique, this Woyanie, has left and are still leaving indelibly the saddest memory in every consciousness of Eritreans. As Harry Potter felt about his prison guard dementors, the Woyanie dementors "breed unbridled hatred where ever they go. They are well known in creating decay and despair. They drain peace, hope, and happiness out of humans who comes too close to them Get near to this dementors and every good feeling, and every happy memory will be sucked out of you as the 65,000 Eritrean deportees ruddily found out. These crooks absolutely have no sense of shame. They even boast about the grand theft raid they did over the property of innocent Eritrean. One of their supporters, a certain Haile Sellassie Girmay, wrote with frank pride saying 'AN AGAME IS A PERSON FROM TIGRAY WHO TAKES ERITREANS, MIND YOU NOT ONLY THEIR CLOTHS BUT THEIR SOULS, FOR THE CLNEAR.' The grand larceny they did over innocent Eritreans is so accepted inside the Woyanie gang's community, they even put Haile Sellassie's article in the front page of their Web-Sites -'WALTA.' With the Woyanie clique, even the well meaning is left with nothing but the worst experience of life as many Ethiopian minority members like the Oromo unhappily experienced." And no wonder the peace process is hobbled up by their strange and larcenous character.
Every time the Woyanie clique comes to my mind, there is this Roman saying - "colubrem in sinu fovere / to cherish a serpent in one's bosom" - that simultaneously roars to my consciousness. This colorful phrase had its origin in the Greek folklore. As the Greek myth has it, a farmer one morning picked up a frozen snake and put it into his bosom to warm it up. When the creature was revived by the warmth of the farmer's body, it promptly bit the farmer. Enough to make some of us turn away from any person who happens to be in a dire need.
Eritreans, too, foolishly saved the neck of the Woyanie serpents not only from being wiped out by the Dergue forces at the battle of Shirre-Inda-Sellassie, but we also dutifully put them into the sit of Menelik's palace. Once the clique felt secure in their Addis palaces, they haply exhibited their serpent-self and promptly bit us to the extent that Eritreans were dragged to inter into a forced war and mayhems. The one single worst Woyanie crime that can never be forgiven nor forgotten is not the damage they did on the Eritrean economy or any other manmade material, it is rather the spiritual damage and enmity they are leaving behind between the two peoples - Ethiopians and Eritreans - which will take generations to erase. The spiritual damage among peoples is not all. The crippling war induced poverty daily experienced by millions of young children who will be affected for the rest of their life is also one of the crimes that the Woyanie clique should be held accountable.
As for the Woyanie clique war mongering supporters, one need not spend sleepless nights. After all, what they exhibited thus far is only malicious intent and better-said, historically inaccurate anecdotes. As the Romans say - in arena aedificas - one need not worry about a person whose expertise is to blindly build a castle in the sand. That is how I judged Mr. Medhanie flimsy history, which, more than anything, proved his foolishness beyond shadow. To those who are not well versed in the 19th and 20th century history of war, Mr. Medhanie analysis on present day Eritrea tempo quandary may be taken as a given fact. But one's the upper cover of Mr. Medhanie history is shredded to pieces and the inner grain and make up of his holding is visible uncovered; one sees his unmistakably wholesale historical ignorance and his childish analysis to the extent of comparing "Operation Sunset" to that of "Operation Over-Lord." Mr. Medhanie, in his heart of hearts, definitely thinks that he is writing political history that affects the destiny of Eritrea. The truth is, no amount of historical haberdasher from Woyanie supporter is going to change Eritrea courage and destiny to stay free. The sad thing is, and I must say, it is this type of intellectual bankruptcy that is denying the two peoples from engaging in peaceful coexistence. My prayer and hope is for them to understand that no one can gain from more death and mayhem, hence it is in the best interest of their continual existence to accept the peace deal that came out from OAU's Algeria conference. God have mercy upon all of us! With this I rest my case.