It was the year 2006, the first time that General Gabre was catapulted into the vortex of Somalia’s messy politics as the top Ethiopian commander in Somalia. This was the darkest era in Somalia’s war trajectory, when Ethiopian forces illegally invaded southern Somalia with the invitation of then warlord President, Abdullahi Yusuf and his rapacious prime minister, Mohamed Ali Ghedi in order to defeat the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) that was then in control in the capital and much of the south of Somalia. General Gabre made his lasting mark during the early days of the invasion after allegedly was confronted by President Abdullahi Yusuf who became rather conflicted with the Ethiopian forces’ indiscriminate use of heavy weapons in civilian neighbors in the capital, where tens of thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands more were forced to flee. Reportedly, General Gabre became so furious of such challenge to his authority that he allegedly slapped the President across the face repeatedly, until he fell to the ground as General Gabre held a pistol on his temple, mind you in front of his security detail who didn’t lift a finger. And as legend has it, that very incident put the fear of God in the heart of every Somali politician to never challenge against the ruthless General Gabre. Some say he is now ready to get back into Somalia for round two.