By Moktar Debbabi
The Somali Parliament discusses the idea of bringing in foreign troops to restore security. On the other side, news speaks about consultations between Yemen, the EU and the USA to contain the situation in Somalia. This means that the Somali Government, governing Beidwa town only, has found that the only solution to resolve the crisis taking grip of a starving nation is internationalising the issue through the intervention of the UN Security Council, and behind it the USA.
The Somali Government has resorted to this option despite the possible bad consequences only because the Arab League and all other Arab institutions abandoned their role in saving Somalia since the fall of President Zied Berri, in addition to the weak role being taken by the African Union towards this issue compared to its actions in Sudan, Chad, Congo, among others, as though Somalia is not an African country.
Moving toward internationalising the crisis is likely to worsen the situation. In fact, UN forces had entered Somalia before but later left following its failure to manage the security and humanitarian issues. Besides, the existence of US troops among the foreign forces would add fuel to the crisis. US forces left this country after an explosion that took the lives of a number of marines. The Salafist militias taking control of Mogadishu vowed to confront the foreign forces.
To tell the truth, the American existence in any place in the world, especially in the Arab and Islamic regions, has become one of the main causes of the proliferation and strengthening of Salafist trends that raise arms and kill as if death is their raison d’être. Salafist elements are drawn by the existence of American troops, which provides for them justification for killing. Indeed, the American existence has become synonymous with anarchy, organised killing, hatred and a great incentive for the expansion of the base of terrorism.
Accordingly, the Somali Parliament’s demand to invite foreign troops amounts to prolonging the state of anarchy. Also, pro-Qaeda forces would join in; and we cannot expect anything good from the American and European existence since it has utterly failed in Iraq at all levels: political, military and financial, despite the 200,000 troops there, the size of forces that the USA, Britain and their allies are not willing to send to Somalia.
Hence, we expect the Arab League to go beyond condemning the anarchy and expressing regret for the lost lives, and propose a reconciliation initiative similar to that proposed for Iraq. Such initiative has to be purely Arab – i.e. not influenced by American or European desires. All Somali factions and groups should be gathered in a national debate without pre-conditions to find a solution capable of ending a 20-year war, to start rebuilding a new state.
It is very important to stress that to continue being passive to what happens in Somalia would mean handing this country over to Al-Qaeda; then Arabs have to expect a flood of terrorists as is the case now in both Iraq and Afghanistan.zopinionz
The Somali Government has resorted to this option despite the possible bad consequences only because the Arab League and all other Arab institutions abandoned their role in saving Somalia since the fall of President Zied Berri, in addition to the weak role being taken by the African Union towards this issue compared to its actions in Sudan, Chad, Congo, among others, as though Somalia is not an African country.
Moving toward internationalising the crisis is likely to worsen the situation. In fact, UN forces had entered Somalia before but later left following its failure to manage the security and humanitarian issues. Besides, the existence of US troops among the foreign forces would add fuel to the crisis. US forces left this country after an explosion that took the lives of a number of marines. The Salafist militias taking control of Mogadishu vowed to confront the foreign forces.
To tell the truth, the American existence in any place in the world, especially in the Arab and Islamic regions, has become one of the main causes of the proliferation and strengthening of Salafist trends that raise arms and kill as if death is their raison d’être. Salafist elements are drawn by the existence of American troops, which provides for them justification for killing. Indeed, the American existence has become synonymous with anarchy, organised killing, hatred and a great incentive for the expansion of the base of terrorism.
Accordingly, the Somali Parliament’s demand to invite foreign troops amounts to prolonging the state of anarchy. Also, pro-Qaeda forces would join in; and we cannot expect anything good from the American and European existence since it has utterly failed in Iraq at all levels: political, military and financial, despite the 200,000 troops there, the size of forces that the USA, Britain and their allies are not willing to send to Somalia.
Hence, we expect the Arab League to go beyond condemning the anarchy and expressing regret for the lost lives, and propose a reconciliation initiative similar to that proposed for Iraq. Such initiative has to be purely Arab – i.e. not influenced by American or European desires. All Somali factions and groups should be gathered in a national debate without pre-conditions to find a solution capable of ending a 20-year war, to start rebuilding a new state.
It is very important to stress that to continue being passive to what happens in Somalia would mean handing this country over to Al-Qaeda; then Arabs have to expect a flood of terrorists as is the case now in both Iraq and Afghanistan.zopinionz
Source: Alarab Online, June 29, 2006
