The move toward open war shifted public opinion into the secessionist camp, and Arkansas declared its secession from the Union on May 6, 1861.

If tenacity and hard work alone can bring international recognition, which was abundant in the secessionist camp, the one-clan state of "Somaliland" would have been celebrated in Hargeisa and Burao many years ago.

The worst hypocrisy known to mankind is alive and kicking in the secessionist camp.