US’s return to Somalia brings memories of past debacles

Jan 09, 2007 (NAIROBI) — More than a decade ago, Somalia was the site of a low point in America’s history of nation-building, with clan militiamen shooting down two Black Hawk helicopters and killing 18 U.S. servicemen

Now, the United States is engaged in Somalia again. This time, its goals and tactics are more limited — chasing terrorists, with air power but no large deployment on the ground.

On Monday, a U.S. Air Force Spectre gunship hunted suspected al-Qaida suspects in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that left 225 people dead. U.S. and other counterterrorism experts long have feared ungoverned Somalia could become a haven for al-Qaida, pushed out of Afghanistan and under pressure in Iraq.

The U.S. had gone into Somalia more than a decade ago as part of a massive U.N. relief operation for thousands of civilians left starving because of fighting, and sent in Blackhawk helicopters to try to quell a dangerous Somali warlord.

In 1993, Somali clan militiamen shot down two Black Hawk helicopters and killed 18 U.S. servicemen in fighting portrayed in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.”

After that, former U.S. President Bill Clinton ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The U.N. peacekeeping operation in Somalia was scaled back and eventually abandoned in 1995.

The images of Somali gunmen dragging the bodies of U.S. soldiers through the streets became an icon for those opposed to U.S. involvement overseas. Clinton promised to never again deploy troops unless there was a clear U.S. national interest.

The U.S. government largely turned its back on Somalia, as clan violence and anarchy prevented any government from taking power. The country became the prototypical failed state with warlords dividing the country into fiefdoms and young gunmen killing, raping and stealing with almost complete impunity.

A lone U.S. diplomat was assigned to keep track of Somalia from neighboring Kenya, but little serious attention was paid until the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Suddenly the danger of lawless countries became evident and the Pentagon feared that terrorists fleeing U.S. attacks in Afghanistan would go to Somalia.

In 2002, the U.S. deployed Marines to a former French foreign legion base in Djibouti, a country the size of Massachusetts located on the Bab el Mandab strait where the Red Sea opens into the Indian Ocean. Djibouti also borders Somalia and is the traditional gateway between Africa and the Arabic Peninsula.

The Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, with about 1,800 people, has seen its mission evolve from capturing or killing terrorists to training local military forces, providing aid to the needy and gathering intelligence.

In Yemen and Kenya, the task force trained new coast guards and recently gave Kenya three patrol boats. In Djibouti and Ethiopia, U.S. troops train soldiers to better guard their borders. The task force also has built medical clinics in rural parts of Tanzania and Uganda, and provided training for physicians in Yemen and soldiers in Djibouti.

While the task force has seen its mission change, the CIA in 2003 continued to hunt al-Qaida suspects hiding in Somalia, using clan warlords as proxies. At least two Arab al-Qaida suspects were turned over to the CIA, The Associated Press learned from Kenyan officials and Somalis working with the warlords.

In 2004, the United Nations anointed a transitional federal government to take over the country, the 14th attempt since 1991 to establish the rule of law in Somalia. But the Mogadishu warlords refused to cooperate and the government ended up in the central town of Baidoa, 250 kilometers (150 miles) from the capital.

In January 2006, Islamic militants with alleged ties to al-Qaida began to fight the warlords _ who were backed by the CIA _ and by August controlled most of the country. Despite peace efforts, the Islamic militia advanced on Baidoa and Ethiopia intervened on Dec. 24, after months of consultations with top U.S. diplomatic and military officials.

Now the United States is calling for a peacekeeping operation for Somalia. First with Africa troops, and possibly later with a U.N. force, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Tuesday, to support the government.

The United States has pledged US$40 million (A30 million) in political, humanitarian and peacekeeping assistance to Somalia.

The return of the Spectre gunships demonstrated that the United States will not allow the Somali Islamic movement, with its ties to al-Qaida, to threaten the government with a guerrilla war, and threaten Somali’s chances of having legitimate rule. A mission remarkably like the one in 1993, the last time Spectre’s fired on Somalia.

(AP)