Ilhan Omar's father, Nur Omar Mohamed, died from complications from Covid-19 in June 2020. Sahan Journal, a Minnesota news site, wrote that he was “an esteemed senior officer in the Somali National Army” and “loved by everyone.” That is . . . disputed. The Sahan Journal obituary quotes one of his longtime friends, “Yusuf Ismail Faraton, also a former Somali colonel and currently a delivery driver for U.S. Bank”: "He joined the Somali National Army after obtaining a military education in Russia, Faraton said. Thousands of Somali students in that decade received scholarships from the Soviet Union to train as medical doctors, technicians and military specialists. When he returned to Somalia, Nur began his climb in the military hierarchy, eventually becoming a colonel. During the 1977-1978 Somali-Ethiopian war, he led a regiment, Faraton said. “Nur played a significant role in the war,” he added. “He was one of the officers who were recognized for their work.” First, when Faraton says “Russia,” he means “the Soviet Union.” Second, when the article says “the 1977-1978 Somali-Ethiopian war,” it means the Somalian invasion of Ethiopia in support of a Somali-backed insurgency and “in hopes of conquering the Ogaden Desert region,” on behalf of Mohammed Siad Barre, who had seized power in a coup in 1969 and had declared Somalia a socialist republic. The Ogaden War was every bit as bloody as you would expect for Africa in the 1970s.