NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #30/NN_1992_30.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/9373

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From: [e-mail] (Alex Brozan)
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Subject: Somalia
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From:   IN%"[e-mail]"  "Alex Brozan" 13-DEC-1992 18:52:32.36
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Subj:   PPJC Statement n Somalia

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From: Alex Brozan <[e-mail]>
Subject: PPJC Statement n Somalia
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/* Written  6:55 pm  Dec 10, 1992 by [e-mail] in igc:reg.africa */
/* ---------- "PPJC Statement n Somalia" ---------- */
Why Somalia? Why Now?
     and
Why the U.S. Marines?


The convergence of civil war and famine in
Somalia has created a situation which
obligates the world community to respond
with compassion and assistance. But the world
community has not responded...the United States
military has.
  Reasonable and responsible citizens should feel an
equal obligation to question the current intervention
which has been dubbed Operation Restore Hope.
The history of such large-scale U.S. military
interventions gives rise to a great deal of justifiable
skepticism about the humanitarian nature of this
operation.
  If for no other reason, vigorous debate and
questioning about Operation Restore Hope may help
to insure that the intervention does not escalate
beyond the purported humanitarian mission.

                  Why Somalia?

The United States has a long history of
involvement with Somalia. The relationship is
deeply rooted in the Cold War confrontation
with the Soviet Union and the strategically
important geographic location of Somalia.
Occupying the Horn of Africa, Somalia lies on the
southern routes to the Red Sea and Suez Canal. It is
in close proximity to the Saudi Arabian peninsula.
Adding to its strategic location, Somalia has three
ports, two major airports and six other airstrips with
paved runways. All these elements add up to a very
desirable location for geo-strategic planners.
  Some observers have argued that with the end of
the Cold War the strategic importance of Somalia
has disappeared. However, simply because
superpower tensions have eased considerably in
recent years, it is naive to assume that policy
makers in Washington have ceased to search for --
and seize -- any sort of strategic advantage
whenever the opportunity is presented. Somalia is
just such an opportunity, handed to the U.S. on a
silver platter.
  It is important to note, in this context, the lack of
U.S. response to similar humanitarian emergencies
now going on in Sudan and virtually all of southern
Africa. U.S. willingness to participate directly in
U.N. peacekeeping operations has been limited to
those areas deemed significant for U.S. global
strategies.



                  Why Now?

While it is true that United Nations Secretary
General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has been
pressing the Security Council to accord
Somalia at least equal importance as the crisis in
Yugoslavia, the U.S. "offer" of troops should not be
seen as a response to Boutros-Ghali's urging. On
the contrary, for quite some time the U.S. opposed
even putting Somalia on the Security Council
agenda, as requested by Boutros-Ghali. Once the
issue was finally taken up by the Security Council,
U.S. representatives worked to water down the U.N.
resolutions relating to Somalia.
  There are two important factors to consider in the
timing of Operation Restore Hope:  the recently
completed U.S. presidential elections, and the fact
that George Bush lost that election and is now a
lame-duck president.
  Clearly, the overriding issue of the elections was
the state of the U.S. economy. Scant attention was
paid to any issue of foreign policy, let alone Africa,
never a favorite topic of the Washington power
structure (due no doubt to Washington's support of
some of the world's worst human rights offenders
in its quest for political and strategic advantage).
But with the elections finally over, Bush can once
again turn his attention to Washington's primary
objective -- manipulating world power structures.
  Bush's role as a lame-duck president cannot be
overemphasized. No other outgoing president has
ever initiated such a large military operation. It is
likely that the policy planners currently in power in
Washington felt that this opportunity could not be
allowed to slip by.
  Finally, the intervention presents one last
opportunity for George Bush to be fondly
remembered by history. Sadly, the cruel cynicism
implied by this possibility -- sending 28,000 young
Americans into a life-threatening situation for
personal glory -- is comprehensible, given the
history of George Bush's presidency.

         Why the U.S. Marines?

Operation Restore Hope is a United Nations
action in name only. The vast majority of
participating troops are U.S. marines and the
entire contingent is under U.S. command. This is in
violation of the United Nations charter, which
requires all such actions to be accountable to the
U.N. Security Council only, and not to any one
member state. In other words, the United Nations is
not "using" U.S. troops, the United States is using
the U.N.'s name.
  The claim has been made that the United States is
the only country able to undertake such an
operation. This is blatantly false. All the major
Western powers are capable of deploying large
forces and dealing with the complex logistics
involved.
  Still, regardless of the capabilities of any single
United Nations member state, the operation should
be a truly U.N.-commanded undertaking. But the
U.N. is severely short of the substantial funds
needed to finance this mission. One of the major
reasons for the U.N.'s constant financial problems
is the fact that the U.S. is over $800 million dollars
in arrears in its membership payments. By
withholding such large sums of money from the
world body, the U.S. insures itself a leading role --
when it wants one -- in operations like the Somalia
intervention.
  The U.S. is determined to play a commanding role
in the Somalia intervention for two reasons. The
first reason relates to the strategic gains the U.S.
hopes to achieve through Operation Restore Hope.
Obviously, if the U.S. hopes to establish permanent
bases and install a friendly regime in Somalia, it
must be in complete control of the operation.
  The second reason is connected to the changing
role of the military in a post-cold war world. The
military budget has been bloated for years and
domestic economic pressures are now starting to
push the spending levels down. The U.S. public is
becoming increasingly unwilling to continue
spending nearly $300 billion a year on the
Pentagon. At the same time, the U.S. economy has
become so intertwined with the military-industrial
complex that economic planners simply are
unwilling to significantly reduce the anachronistic
budgets. Sending U.S. forces, at a level far
exceeding what is necessary to accomplish the
stated goals, provides much-needed justification to
maintain the extraordinary Pentagon budget.

           What Are the Alternatives?

Everyone agrees that the world should act to
help overcome the dreadful human crisis that
is consuming Somalia. The tragedy in Somalia
was caused by superpower meddling. Somalia is
teeming with arms because the United States sent
the arms there. To try to resolve a problem rooted
in superpower intervention and violence with more
superpower intervention and violence will not work.
Somalia needs long-term solutions based on its own
culture. U.S. and U.N. leaders should be urged to:
  - Convert the operation to a truly international
relief effort before more U.S. troops arrive. African
nations should be taking the leading role. The
estimated $500 million to be spent by the U.S.
would be better spent assisting these nations in
playing that role and in the purchase of greater
quantities of food.
  - Concentrate more effort on negotiations among
all regions and clans with a special role for the
Somali elders. The negotiations should be under the
auspices of the U.N. and facilitated by
representatives with humanitarian motives only.
  - The U.S. can play a meaningful role by
participating in a massive airlift of food, including
an effort to air drop the supplies directly into the
regions requiring the most urgent attention.
  - Begin implementation of long-term development
programs for Somalia. Financial grants should be
made by wealthy countries to assist Somalia in
recovering its agriculture and converting it back to
the purpose of domestic consumption rather than
the crops-for-export system which has been
imposed on Somalia.
  - Institute a program to buy up the Somali
weapons, either with cash or food. Institute an
effective international effort to halt the flow of
additional weapons into Somalia.




       Please, write or call today.

President George Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
[phone]

Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
United Nations
New York, NY 10017

President-Elect Bill Clinton
105 W. Capital Street, Suite 400
Little Rock, AR 72201
[phone]

Your Senator
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Your Representative
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

------------------------------------------------------

This publication was prepared by the Peninsula Peace
and Justice Center. The Peace and Justice Center is a
community-based resource and education center and a
coalition of 38 peace and justice organizations. The
Center is dedicated to networking, coalition building
and empowering individuals in order to build a more just
and humane world without war. The Center is located at
555 Waverley Street, Palo Alto, CA  94301. For
additional copies of this brochure or for more
information, please call us at [phone].