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Somalia is well known as a lawless, anarchic haven for terrorism and piracy. Since the events known as "Black Hawk Down" in 1993, the U.S. has been hesitant to become involved in Somalia. Though some efforts have been made to improve stability and governance, they have been poorly designed and undercut by corruption. A new paper by Morgan Roach and Ray Walser at the Heritage Foundation details how the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia, established by international forces in 2002, has failed to govern effectively and fairly due to its undemocratic charter. This charter operates by a "clan quota system," which appoints TFG government officials who look only to enrich their own clan through corruption and cronyism.
Critically, Walser and Roach write that "despite international backing, the TFG has proved itself incapable of tackling the most existential threat to the Somali people: terrorism." Al-Shabaab, an Islamist terrorist group, has become a major force in the Horn of Africa as a result of support from al-Qaeda and Eritrea. Through bombings and other tactics, Al-Shabaab has sought to wage jihad in Somalia and has extended its attacks outside of Somalia to those who support the TFG. African Union peacekeeping forces and separate Ethiopian and Kenyan incursions have weakened Islamist efforts, but have gotten little help from the TFG, which has failed to establish professional, loyal security forces.
As opposed to the failure of the top-down TFG to govern and fight terrorism, the northern provinces of Somaliland have declared their independence and established a functioning democratic system with multiple fair elections. Though it has not garnered international recognition, Somaliland is a clear contrast with the southern TFG-ruled provinces in terms of stability and governance. As the TFG's charter expires this August, perhaps it is time to transition to a more representative system that will likely to lead to more a effective government, both in fighting corruption and terrorism.
Comments (1)
What is this? I thought this was Heritage, not Media Matters or Think Progress. Sorry, I don't buy it. If the FBI siactstits say crime in border areas are falling then either a) the siactstits are wrong or being misinterpreted b) crimes simply are not being reported or detected or c) the violence is spilling over further and further into the border states and/or the illegals are simply going further north and bypassing the border cities. To say that crime near the border is declining or not bad is to deny reality as reported by thousands of eyewitnesses, including those who actually live on the border. "When Heritage experts Jim Carafano and Ray Walser met with the Border Patrol in the Laredo sector of the U.S. Mexico border in October, agents there could not specify any acts of spillover violence in the past six months." Oh, wow, I'm sold! Not. Give me a break. Some agents in one sector of the border saying they couldn't "specify" (how vague) acts of spillover violence in a mere six months proves zilch. "Likewise, the reported uptick in aggressive of behavior by outlaws also reflects upon our national inability to make headway against chronic drug consumption and abuse habits that provides the profits they seek." This is bull, first off because drug abuse has declined in the U.S (there are slight uptics and dips now and then, but by far and overall there is less illegal drug abuse now then there was in the 70's, 80's and 90's), second because it basically blames the victims for the crime (hey, it's not the poisoners fault, it's the poisoned because he or she took it!), and third if these Mexican drug pushers didn't being their poisons into our neighborhoods, cities or towns, people wouldn't be able to get hooked on them in the first place. There isn't any real "demand" for illegal drugs, because the demand is created by the supply, you can't compare drug addiction to people wanting new stereos and IPods. "Instead, the U.S. should work actively on both sides of the border, reinforcing law enforcement and immigration-control capacity on our side while cooperating with Mexico to build security on their side of the border." Bullcrap, a heavily fortified border and patrolled security wall IS the only way to reinforce law enforcement and immigration-control capacity on our side and it is NOT our job to build Mexicos security, fight their nations crime and basically do their dirty work for them. "Instead, part of what may be happening is that enhanced enforcement efforts to secure the border on the ground and in the air mean we are seeing more incursions and capturing more of it on film." Unbelievable. Did it ever occur to you that the reason that the enhanced enforcement efforts occurred in the first place is because there was a need to combat upswings in border violence? It's more like we are seeing the actual violence going on that "FBI siactstits" never will be able to catch. When Heritage is siding with a slander against conservatives issued by Janet of the DHS, something is very wrong. First Heritage supports RomneyCare, then TARP and now this vapid bleeding heart left wing "solution" to illegal immigration. The heck???
Posted by Jaikishan | June 8, 2012 12:47 PM
Posted on June 8, 2012 12:47