Obama's Foreign Policy On Somalia

[Faarax-Brawn]

During the confirmation hearing of Mrs Clinton, Somalia was featured prominently. Sen.Feingold(god bless his soul), brought up Somalia as he always does. This is what she said:

 

FEINGOLD: Well, thanks much, Mr. Chairman.

 

Thank you for your patience, Senator Clinton. Just a couple other topics. You and I discussed Somalia, and I've been long concerned about the deepening crisis there, particularly its implications for our national security.

 

Just this last month, several senior officials, including CIA Director Hayden and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen, said that Al Qaida is extending its reach in Somalia and engaging extremists there to revitalize its operations.

 

As I told you, I met with many leading figures in Somalia during a recent December trip to Djibouti. Those meetings reinforced my belief that while Somalis are a moderate people, the situation is now far worse than it was two years ago, and the current administration's approach to Somalia is at least partly to blame.

 

What's your view on -- on what's gone wrong with that and how -- how we can fix it? Give me a little sense of what you think some of the key components are, understanding you haven't had a chance to get into all of this at this point.

 

CLINTON: Senator, as you and I discussed, Somalia is strategically located. I think it was you who asked me if I knew how far Yemen was from Somalia. If it wasn't you, it was some smart person who asked me that.

 

FEINGOLD: I didn't know. I had to ask my staff and -- quite surprised to learn it was 20 miles.

 

CLINTON: Twenty miles. And so the idea that Somalia is just a failed state somewhere over there where people are fighting with one another over heaven knows what is a -- a construct that we adopt at our peril.

 

I -- I don't know the most effective way forward. I have no -- you know, no wisdom on this, Senator. I know you met in Djibouti over a period of a couple of days with a number of the -- the actors.

 

As you know, the Ethiopian troops are leaving. The African Union commitment is questionable as to whether they will or will not stay and what their mission description would be.

 

The internal conflict within the groups in Somalia is just as intense as it's ever been, only now we have the added ingredient of Al Qaida and terrorists who are looking to take advantage of the chaos and the failure of Somalia.

 

There's a lot of history here, and I think we have to be very thoughtful as we look at Somalia. This is obviously a -- an issue that will have to be worked across the national security apparatus.

 

And I would welcome your advice. You probably have as much firsthand knowledge of the players and what they intend and who they are and -- and what they're really looking for as anyone, you know, in this body. And so we're going to -- we're going to seek your advice and counsel

 

I mean, as the chairman well remembers, at the beginning of the last Democratic administration, there was a humanitarian mission in Somalia that was handed off.

 

And the beginning of this Democratic administration, here we are once again with the remnants of a humanitarian mission, and certainly, the humanitarian crisis growing that is going to put this problem in the lap of the new president.

 

FEINGOLD: Exactly.

 

CLINTON: So I -- I think that this is going to require an enormous amount of thought.

 

Now, complicating it, as you well know, is the piracy issue.

 

FEINGOLD: Right.

 

CLINTON: There's been a number of consultations about piracy. The current thinking is that pirates will be intercepted and defended against as a kind of joint responsibility between the private shippers, who have to do more, frankly, for their own -- the security of their own vessels, but also various navies that are, you know, coming together, including China and India, who are -- are willing to patrol the waters.

 

There is also some talk about going ashore -- this is a problem Thomas Jefferson dealt with along the Barbary Coast, you know, kind of going to prove that the more things change, the more they stay the same. You know, there are some who are advocating going ashore on Somalia.

 

We have to give a lot of thought to this, and there is an enormous number of bad options that have to be sorted through. So I -- I am not at all able to give you the new administration's policy, because we're sorting it out ourselves.

 

FEINGOLD: I can tell you're eager and very ready to take this on.

 

CLINTON: Yes, indeed.

 

FEINGOLD: So I look forward to working with you

Ps.Someone needs to tell Obama and his team, that,AS long as Ethiopia is playing a role in Somalia, There will never be Peace.

[Resistance]

Originally posted by Faarax-Brawn:

, . Sen.Feingold(god bless his soul),

 

^ Unless he is a Muslim u are better off saying may Allah guide him.

 

Ps.Someone needs to tell Obama and his team, that,AS long as Ethiopia is playing a role in Somalia, There will never be Peace.

 

^ maybe after they have a hard look at the current situation in Somalia they could also conclude that having Ethopia meddlings in Somali affairs best serves their interest best.

[NASSIR]

Oodweyne, The damage has already been done and a disporpotional one at that. It's just too naïve to relate to all the tragedy that is still happening in Somalia to co-incidental events or a natural consequence of the political status quo. Reflect on how precise things came to appear and all of sudden took a U-turn. The bankrolling of a few allied warlords to do the impossible was well intended to spawn new players whose political and idealogical framework as far as ruling Somalia was consistent with the War on Terror policy. The new players, not all but elements , were simply acting on and revolving around the orbit of Nash Equilibrium, that is pursuing own or multiplying their chances of survival, prestige, power and preponderance v.s their perceived enemies.

Will American policy siuddenly take a positive and benovelent turn, I highly doubt so. It's a dog eat dog world and unless we show a sense of urgency, compromise and reconcile our differences, no one will extend a helping hand to us, including the so called Arab League.