The United States stands at a crossroads in its foreign policy. With the nightmares of Afghanistan and Iraq starting to fade as our troops withdraw, the nation needs to start rethinking its place in the world. Failed states are emerging left and right and the Obama Administration and thus America as a whole must choose the direction that American humanitarianism and interests abroad will take moving forward. With the recent plea from the AU for increased UN troop presence and naval aid in the fight for a stable Somalia, comes a new, yet old question for the White House. Are we going to go back into Somalia?
The answer should be a resounding yes. Just as was the case in 1992, the UN has proven ineffectual in stabilizing the region. With its volunteered troops the multilateral organization cannot seem to control the strife in Somalia, and needs larger, i.e. American, military backing. America and the skittish failure of its UNOSOM I and II in the 90s, has played a huge role in the creation of modern Somalia. Al-Shabaab and its fundamentalism are the byproduct of the warlord militias of the 90s attempting to spread anti-Western thought in the nation. The perceived failure of American intervention forces to liberate the Somali people from the violence and corruption of the 1991 Civil War has pushed the country in an increasingly extremist direction.
The Underwear Bomber threat of the last holiday season stands as a stark reminder of the danger to Americans posed by a fundamentalism in the African states. While Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a Nigerian, Somali extremists are providing al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups with a plentitude of new recruits. With the porous borders of a nation without an organized government and its close proximity to fellow extremist refuge Yemen, Somalia stands as a haven for violent anti-Western radicals. With a government that only controls blocks of the capital city, the country stands as one of the most lawless places on earth and has been ranked as the most corrupt nation on the planet.
America has played a large role in the creation of the mess in Somalia, and it now should stand near the top of nation’s foreign policy priority list to amend past errors in the country. The United States has been in a limbo since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, continuing its operations in the Middle East while leaving conflict in the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia untouched. With the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the nation must finally decide the direction it is going to take in the world. Will we return to the humanitarian initiative of the 1990s or will we forge off in some new aloof direction?
Many Americans have called for a decreased US presence in international conflicts, citing the loss of American life in wars that are unrelated to the interests of the American people. This “keep our troops at home” argument has emerged before; the result was Rwanda and 800,000 people murdered in 100 days. America, like it or not is the richest and most militaristically potent nation in the world, with this power comes a great deal of responsibility in the international community. As I previously said the UN cannot act efficiently in areas of conflict without American troops (and American funds) to bolster the effort. With economic and security interests in every corner of the Earth, Americans need to recognize that their nation is not living up to its duties in the international arena. As it stands Pakistan and Bangladesh contribute more soldiers for international peacekeeping than any other nations and America stands a dismal 70th on the list. This must change.
America needs to confront the issue of American lives versus international stability and the nation’s security. Since the deaths of 19 American troops stationed in Somalia in 1993, the country has pulled back in terms of UN aid and focused more on manipulating NATO. This move has seen mixed to poor results in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan and it is time to return to the fold of the United Nations. With the improved training and equipment of the American military the UN’s peacekeepers could emerge as an effective force in stopping instability around the world. And Somalia stands as one of the nations that most immediately needs aid.
With piracy as the only viable economic model for much of the nation, the US needs to work with the UN and impart a naval blockade upon Somalia while working at a grassroots level to create local industries. Eliminating piracy will only further the instability in the region by forcing moderate coastal peoples into the folds of anti-Western organizations like Al-Shabaab. Economic development must coincide with humanitarian initiatives, as the root cause of most of the nation’s instability is the government’s failure to address the issue of rampant poverty.
Somalia is a brewing security nightmare for the US; that is clear. It cannot be ignored as the conflict in the Congo has because it houses a large and violent anti-American radical movement that is using violence to impose a version of Sharia law so harsh that it has been deemed unislamic and openly hostile to native Sufi Islam. America must work with the UN militia, something it has not done well over the last decade and a half, and invest in local solutions.
It is time to learn from Iraq and Afghanistan and begin upon a new path in humanitarian intervention. Western neoimperialism is not the solution; the last two decades have shown that. It’s time for a grassroots coalition approach. America needs to think of its own security while respecting the indigenous cultures of those whom they are aiding. As NGOs like Tostan have in tackling issues in Africa, America and the UN should look to collaborate on a local level in turning back al-Shabaab and developing a stable government in Somalia. A grassroots approach benefits twofold; it prevents the specter of Western imperialism from arising among the locals and turning public opinion against the interveners (as was the case in Iraq and Afghanistan) and it creates a greater connection between foreign peacekeepers and natives, a key to reducing civilian casualties.
It is time for America to finish what it started in 1993. Somalia and its people need and deserve a stable government and the opportunity to develop and flourish in a stable society. The growing crisis in Somalia is America’s opportunity to work with the UN and help make the world a safer and more stable place. Now is the time to act, the calls of the AU should be answered in full and the most powerful nation in the Western world should live up to its “responsibility to protect.” American troops should enter Mogadishu, but under the blue helmets of the United Nations Peacekeeping force.
Photocredit: AP/Mohamed Sheikh Nor