From Faulty to Fair US policy in Somalia.

From Faulty to Fair US policy

February 17, 2014

By Ahmed Mohamud Yassin

Anyone who has been following how America handles Somalia will know why the Somalia condition is getting worse progressively. Following is my argumentation on how American policy towards Somalia had constantly failed badly, and ended up building a false hope.
Beginning with the Djibouti peace process, America has fashioned a faulty process based on what was termed “dividing Islamist Groups” in Somalia without knowing who the actual fighters were and what the end result would be. In the end, they created a 550-member Parliament, and allowed half of the parliament to be drawn from the ranks of the supporters of Ex-President Sheikh Sharif formerly based in the rogue state of Eritrea.  That group was collectively called the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC).
The UIC was a punch of individuals who did not have full control of their ground soldiers. The group was funded by US allies in the Gulf States – United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Except his close alliance with the Gulf leaders, Sheikh Sharif was a man with no understanding or credentials to lead a nation; on top of that he was corrupt, and had possessed no discernible vision or plan to lead the nation, specially a nation like Somalia that was dubbed   a “failed state” and was facing tremendous problems.
After 4 years of a sham administration, the International Community led by the USA created a process in Somalia called “Transitional Government of Somalia.” To bring the transition period to a closure, the West, with the leadership of the US government, raised and spent about 60 million dollars to write a constitution that has less than 200 articles.  In the end, the product turned out to be a standard “cut-and-paste” document-a document so similar to other constitutions produced for other similarly failed states.
In August, 2013, based on the draft of said constitution, a hand-picked house of traditional leaders elected the current ailing President.  To elect President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, the government of Qatar, with its Wahabi ideology, spent a hefty $10 million dollars to buy the votes of largely cash hungry tribal elders.
Too late and too little, but Somalis posthumously learned that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had a dark history and contested values in that he was affiliated with the notorious warlord Gen. Mohamed Farah Aidid, a leader that led the United Somali Congress (USC) and was accused to have been responsible for the massacre of thousands of innocent Somali people who were mainly from the Darod clan.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud  is a man who was charged for the UIC and for Alshabab to recruite young boys from Mogadishu schools and surrounding areas to fight against Ethiopian forces that used to support the Federal Government of Somalia. Of Course, that past was well-known to US intelligence elites. And Hassan Sheikh Mohamud becomes Somalia’s President with the help of Americans and their rich Arabian Gulf states such as Qatar is incomprehensible.
Hillary Clinton invited Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to Washington right before she left office, and she took him straight to the White House, and gave him “high five” salute with her famous press conference and declaring America will stand by Somalia with the new Leadership, Hassan said few good words that he memorized addressing the press conference.

Suddenly, the American government was campaigning in the Security Council to lift arms embargo on Somalia, knowing there is no Somali National Army in Somalia, that Al-shabaab controls every young man in Mogadishu directly or indirectly, all the Militia in Mogadishu are from one clan. Everybody that knows Somalia well is baffled how America put intentionally a blind eye, and pumped up a radically religious leader in this volatile region.
Now that the UN is once again reconsidering the lifting of arms embargo on Somalia in the face of reliable information that weapons are diverted to Al-shabab, the West must not err gain. Otherwise, arms given to the government in Mogadishu would end up strengthening Al-shabab.

To help Somalia and its people, America and the West will have to consider the following steps:

- America and the West must help limit the Gulf States involvement in Somalia and curtail the hidden hands of radical religious groups reinstituting pro-Al-shabab groups consolidate power.

- The US government must seriously consider working with stable and peaceful regional governments such as Puntland state, Somaliland and Jubland to rebuild Somalia from these entities.  Also, international aid and development should be given directly to these groups for Mogadishu is proven to be corrupt and inept.

- The security sector of Puntland, Somaliland and Jubaland should be strengthened so that local and indigenous forces can fight and defeat Al-shabab.

-And finally it is time to reevaluate the AMISOM military involvement in Somalia, and change the operation to a United Nation mission (UNISOM).

Ahmed Mohamud Yassin
Email: amyassin@ymail.com