In the 1970s, Mogadishu was one of the worst postings for Western diplomats. The American embassy and residence of the ambassador faced 24-hour surveillance & continuous bugging carried out by Soviet trained Somali intelligence operatives.

Some like the American ambassador John L. loughran who was in Mogadishu from 1975-1979 considered the city to be worse than even Moscow for Western diplomats. At the time, Somalia was a communist nation and the US was seen as a threat to the communist revolution of Barre.

Of course, all of this changed following the Somalia-Ethiopia war of 1979 when the Soviets switched sides and supported Ethiopia, leaving Somalia scrambling for allies. The US quickly & happily filled the void left by the Soviets.

But the 1980s were a time of tumultuous anarchy in Somalia and the regime was facing uprising from numerous rebel groups. The US became a critical supporter of the regime; shipping arms and weapons to the dictatorship.

At the time, the Somali embassy in Washington DC, played a crucial role in making this American support a reality as Somalia contracted number of Republican lobbyists for sell its case to the Reagan Administration; among them was Paul Manafort https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/31/donald-trump-paul-manafort-riva-levinson-book

At the time, the current Somali President @M_Farmaajo was a senior member of the embassy staff in Washington DC & developed close appreciation for the Republican lobbyists & the Reagan administration.

The Barre regime itself was highly indebted to the Reagan administration as shown in the book The Family by Jeff Sharlet. A video of Mr. Sharlet explaining the extent the Barre regime went to gain arms recently went viral among Somalis.

The weapons given by the US were used to commit some of Africa’s most heinous human right violations and massacres & hastened the fragmentation of Somalia into clan fiefdoms.

After the fall of the regime, the current president @M_Farmaajo sought asylum in the United States were he became a lifelong Republican and has followed the Barre regime’s reliance on shady republican operatives to sell his message in DC.

Soon after winning the presidency in 2017, @M_Farmaajo contracted the controversial Roger Stone to lobby for drone strikes in Somalia https://www.thedailybeast.com/roger-stones-new-gig-lobbying-for-drone-strikes-in-somalia

Another republican operative contracted to lobby on behalf of @M_Farmaajo was the New York based Republican Michael Caputo who’s current serving in the Trump administration https://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/12986/2019-08-26/trump-connected-caputo-speaks-for-somalia.html

In the 1970s in Mogadishu, the US was the odd one out, and it seems fate had made a remarkable swing today where the US is often the singular ally of the current gov’t among Western countries despite ongoing human rights violations and political violence carried out by the gov’t

Like in the 1980s, American engagement in Somalia are influenced by competition with big powers, namely China and the struggle to keep China off the Horn of Africa & its hedging its bets on a deeply unpopular, violent & unsustainable regime.

Today, select members of @HSNQ_NISA are trained and financed by Qatar on listening devices and other surveillance equipment to eavesdrop on members of the political opposition. https://twitter.com/adancabdulle/status/1272070839400370176?s=21 https://twitter.com/adancabdulle/status/1272070839400370176

France & the UK are often mentioned as the countries that supply @HSNQ_NISA with these equipments