Just over a year ago we reported on Chanda Creasy, a courageous yoga coach, who had previously managed to work with militants in Africa, making her way up to the position of special assistant to CIA director on global operations. Recently, we found new details of Chanda’s trip to Somalia in 2009, corroborating our assumptions about her role as a case officer who maintained arms/money supplies to local warlords. We strongly recommend that you read our previous articles: (1) CIA: Black Market of Arms Trade. Part 1, and (2) How an “Average” Yoga Coach Managed to Become a Head of CIA Division Responsible for Arms Transfers to Militants in Africa and Middle East.

First of all, it is worth saying that the CIA began its expansion in Somalia around the 1960s, using an extensive set of tools of political influence, such as kidnapping, operating black sites, promoting Somali politicians and funding warlords. Specifically, the last point was seen as a way to avoid re-sending American troops after the Black Hawk Down incident.

The CIA’s first attempts to form a combat-capable unit in Somalia were recorded back in the 2000s. The agency’s efforts led to the creation of the so-called Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter Terrorism (ARPCT) in 2006 to fight Islamic militant groups. According to the International Crisis Group, the CIA funneled between $100,000 and $150,000 per month to the ARPCT leadership.

Despite decent funding and supplies, however, the ARPCT was crushed by the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), another militant group in Somalia, whose leadership had previously been found to have ties to al-Qaeda. It also should be noted that, right after the defeat, most ARPCT warlords immediately swore allegiance to their opponent.

Given that the ICU’s goal to build a Sharia-law state resonated strongly with the local population, such a scenario was totally expected. But not for the CIA leadership, who apparently still believed that money alone could ensure victory on the battlefield: After it became clear that the ARPCT project was a complete failure, the CIA switched to financing another militant group in Somalia—Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a (ASWJ).

What is known about this paramilitary group?

A cursory study shows that ASWJ was formed in 1991 as an opposition to Salafists in Somalia, such as Al-Shabaab (al-Qaeda branch). The group opposed capital punishment, stoning, limb amputation, as well as banning music.

One might get the impression of these militants as moderate Muslims. However, if you read local media, which is almost non-existent there, the situation appears much different. For example, Somali Hiiraan claimed that ASWJ killed many young people under the pretext that they were Al-Shabaab sympathizers. The media also stated that ASWJ militants did not observe either the Islamic ethics of war or any other convention, such as the Geneva Conventions.

“I was shocked to see ASWJ’s fighters dragging many corpses of Al-Shabaab fighters in the dusty streets…These dead bodies were left at the city center to rot…ASWJ do not observe either the Islamic ethics of war or any other convention.”

In 2011, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General reported that there had been numerous cases of the use of child soldiers by ASWJ and the TFG in their fight against terrorists.

So, it appears that ASWJ militants were not inherently different from Al-Shabaab terrorists after all; both groups used Islam as a bargaining chip to expand their political influence in Somalia.

According to our source, it was also common for these two groups’ members to switch sides from time to time. There was also nothing wrong for ASWJ commanders to cooperate with the ICU. 

Having previously been recruited by the CIA, one of ASWJ’s leaders, Mohamed Dheere, worked closely and, according to Markus Virgil Hoehne of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, was on good terms with ICU leader Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. 

Later, Mohamed Dheere joined the ARPCT and waged war against his friend. However, after the defeat, the CIA sent his spy back to the ASWJ.

The agency also did not hesitate to waste money on ASWJ, completely forgetting the lesson learned from confronting the ICU. That is why an almost similar story happened with ASWJ: By June 2009 Al-Shabaab nearly captured the capital, and millions of dollars in ASWJ training and equipment seemed to vanish in the haze. In this regard, the CIA had requested emergency assistance from the Pentagon to equip ASWJ with U.S. guns.

But how could this be done, given that Congress would never have authorized arms shipments to such dubious militants as the ASWJ? It was necessary for the CIA to find a reasonable argument for such a step. And it was found.

On June 21, 2009, the TFG and ASWJ leaders signed an agreement on mutually beneficial cooperation, under which ASWJ would fight against Al-Shabaab if they were given certain ministerial posts in the cabinet and a number of MPs in the federal parliament.

Five days later, on June 26, 2009, Reuters reported that the Pentagon had delivered 40 tons of weapons and ammunition to the TFG army, the size of which was equal to two U.S. battalions.

Eventually, after three years of confrontation and with the support of the U.S. military, Al-Shabaab’s influence in the region was significantly diminished, finally allowing the CIA to install a “legitimate” federal government. The official ceremony included the Somali president’s visit to his patrons at the State Department, where he was warmly welcomed by then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

And now for the most interesting part: Chanda’s role in this whole story

We have obtained a DipTel from the CIA station in Kenya, dated July 17, 2009. The cable was a vetting request for specific ASWJ field commanders. According to the message, these warlords were supposed to “facilitate the Somali Transitional Federal Government possible future provision of U.S.-origin security assistance to ASWJ.”

The cable provided last name, first name, date of birth, and job title of field commanders. Among them we found Mohamed Dheere, CIA-backed ARPCT commander and close friend of ICU bosses. That time the agency put him to the second most important position in the entire ASWJ structure.

The funny thing is that the Post “has found no derogatory information” on these individuals.

True professionals indeed.

And who do you think was the contact person in Somalia, who oversaw the whole thing? It was already familiar to us Chanda Creasy, a yoga master from Washington, D.C. What a coincidence!

So, as you can see, the war on terrorism declared in 2000 is not always aimed at destroying these same terrorists. In many cases this is a simple and convenient pretext to invade a Third World country and install a puppet government there. And Somalia is the best example of this.

Nowadays, the CIA does not even hide the fact that the Somali government is completely under the CIA’s control as, a few months ago, CIA Director William Burns visited Somalia, where he discussed with the same president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud “regional issues of mutual interest and enhancing Somalia-U.S. strategic partnership in critical areas, including the fight against international terrorism.” [Emphasis added.]

Their joint photo clearly shows what they think of constant civilian casualties and millions of dollars wasted.

---

CovertAction Magazine is made possible by subscriptions, orders and donations from readers like you.

Blow the Whistle on U.S. Imperialism

Click the whistle and donate

When you donate to CovertAction Magazine, you are supporting investigative journalism. Your contributions go directly to supporting the development, production, editing, and dissemination of the Magazine.

CovertAction Magazine does not receive corporate or government sponsorship. Yet, we hold a steadfast commitment to providing compensation for writers, editorial and technical support. Your support helps facilitate this compensation as well as increase the caliber of this work.

Please make a donation by clicking on the donate logo above and enter the amount and your credit or debit card information.

CovertAction Institute, Inc. (CAI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and your gift is tax-deductible for federal income purposes. CAI’s tax-exempt ID number is 87-2461683.

We sincerely thank you for your support.

---

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s). CovertAction Institute, Inc. (CAI), including its Board of Directors (BD), Editorial Board (EB), Advisory Board (AB), staff, volunteers and its projects (including CovertAction Magazine) are not responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. This article also does not necessarily represent the views the BD, the EB, the AB, staff, volunteers, or any members of its projects.

Differing viewpoints: CAM publishes articles with differing viewpoints in an effort to nurture vibrant debate and thoughtful critical analysis. Feel free to comment on the articles in the comment section and/or send your letters to the Editors, which we will publish in the Letters column.

Copyrighted Material: This web site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. As a not-for-profit charitable organization incorporated in the State of New York, we are making such material available in an effort to advance the understanding of humanity’s problems and hopefully to help find solutions for those problems. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. You can read more about ‘fair use’ and US Copyright Law at the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School.

Republishing: CovertAction Magazine (CAM) grants permission to cross-post CAM articles on not-for-profit community internet sites as long as the source is acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original CovertAction Magazine article. Also, kindly let us know at info@CovertActionMagazine.com. For publication of CAM articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: info@CovertActionMagazine.com.

By using this site, you agree to these terms above.

---

About the Author