Somalia,+1992

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Dec 1992 to March 1994; Operation Restore Hope

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Tasks I: Explain the nature and scope of the conflict. -- Due Friday, November 18th Draw your information from a minimum of **two** LC e-books and databases. Organize your response in an extended power paragraph. In an appositive phrase, establish the credibility of each source the first time you reference it. Internally cite sources and place the works cited below the last paragraph for Task I.

A coup six years after Somalia gained its independence caused its government to fall under authoritarian socialist rule, which remained stable enough to function for 22 years until the nation's government system fell apart in 1991, when a self-governing Republic of Somaliland was created in northern Somalia by a group of factions and another bunch of factions broke off and formed the independent state of Puntland in the east. As explained in Gale's Global Issues In Context's overview of Somalia, "At the heart of the conflict is the interpretation of Islamic law and a [religious] c ontroversy" (Somalia): the divisiveness over just how large a role religion will play in the government and the rule of law. In "what was grandly called Operation Restore Hope," (Somalia, 1992 - Libya, 2011) the United States optimistically interposed in December of 1992, taking part in a United Nations mission "to feed starving people in a nation wracked by internal chaos" (Ronayne). According to Peter Ronayne, author of //Intervention in Somalia//, the mission, whose "gesture of international goodwill seemed destined for success," (Ronayne) expanded over the following year to include nation building, which meant to "establish some sort of stable, [functional], democratic [form of government]" in Somalia that, ideally, would strengthen the nation and "prevent the need for future outside interventions" (Ronayne). In the words of Canadian reporter Geoffrey York, the U.S., along with Canada, took a risk and " gambled that their military muscle could protect millions of civilians from political chaos and clan fighting" (Somalia, 1992 - Libya, 2011). When U.S. troops arrived, "they met no resistance, [and] at first, the intervention seemed to be working " (Somalia, 1992 - Libya, 2011), however, by mid-1993, tensions rose, if only just noticeably, but with good reason: on October 3, 1993, "a [tripartite] firefight [broke out] between U.S. Army Rangers, members of the elite Delta Force, and forces loyal to Somali leader Mohammed Aideed ... in the capital city of Mogadishu," and by the time the fighting came to a close, once U.S. troops had retreated, "eighteen Americans lay dead and seventy-three wounded" (Ronayne). " The Battle of Mogadishu earned its everlasting legacy when triumphant Somalis dragged the body of an American helicopter pilot through the city streets" (Ronayne)-- the rendevouz was caught on reporters' cameras and broadcast, bringing infamy along with the attention. It soon became clear that the United States "had become embroiled in a disastrous attempt at nation-building; [our] troops were [being] outmatched by the complexities of Somalia and its intricate system of clan relationships" (Somalia, 1992 - Libya, 2011). So when in 1994, "the U.S. troops packed up and went home, ... the Somali clan militias and warlords [simply] moved back in" (Somalia, 1992 - Libya, 2011), evidencing, unfortunately, that the gamble the United States took was "a gamble that largely failed"; through at least 14 more (failed) attempts to intervene, "Somalia has become the world's longest-running case of complete state collapse," and its capital "the world's most dangerous city" (Somalia, 1992 - Libya, 2011).

The United States and the United Nations felt it was necessary to get involved in Somalia in order to create peace and save innocent peoples' lives. Somalia was an unstable state full of warlords. When the brutal dictator Mohammad Sid Barre took over, the nation became violent and continued to be divided after his rule. For example, Mohammad Aidde, one of many war lords, killed many innocent people and restricted the access of vans full of food and aid to regions of Somalia during a drought, according to Mark Burgess in "//Peacekeeping Operations.//" The Warlords ruled Somalia, killing 50,000 and starving an additional 300,000 people to death, according to Keri Bethel, author of "//History Behind the Headlines: The Origins of Conflict World Wide//" (Bethel). To stop this, America's goal became to stop warlords, create peace and a stable government. This goal was never achieved; President Clinton decided to bring troops home in result of a television broadcast of an American soldier’s body being stoned and dragged through the streets by Aidde’s clan (Panchyk). The problem with warlords in Somalia was never officially solved, and to this day Somalia is still violent, failed state.

MLA Citations:
 * Bethel, Keri. “After Somalia’s Civil War: Putting the Pieces Back Together Again.” //History Behind the Headlines: The Origins of Conflicts Worldwide.// Ed. Sonia G. Benson, Nancy Matuszak, and Meghan Appel O’meara. Vol. 3. Detriot: Gale, 2002. 242-254. //Gale Virtual Reference Library.// Web. 17 November 2011
 * Burgess, Mark. "Peacekeeping Operations." //Encyclopedia of War and American Society//. Ed. Peter Karsten. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference, 2005. 617-622. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. 
 * "Somalia, 1992 - Libya, 2011: Are they really as different as we imagine?" //Globe & Mail// [Toronto, Canada] 7 May 2011: F6. //Global Issues In Context//. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <[]>
 * Ronayne, Peter. "Somalia, Intervention in." //Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity//. Ed. Dinah L. Shelton. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 973-976. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <[]>

Task II: Analyze the U.S.’s involvement in the conflict.- Due Friday, November 22 Draw your information from a minimum of **three** LC e-books and databases--at least one primary source and one expert opinion. Organize your response in one or two extended power paragraphs. In an appositive phrase, establish the credibility of the source the first time you reference it. Internally cite sources and place the works cited at below the last paragraph for Task II.

•Who were the most important decision-makers or leaders for belligerents and justify your choices with expert opinion? How did these leaders influence the progress and outcome of the war? •Who was the U.S. president and what were his reasons for involving the military in this conflict?

The war in Somalia in 1992 was a war to pacify. War lords controlled the country of Somalia by attacking and starving innocent people. Since the United States stepped in to help restore peace and protect the lives of innocent Somalis, it is considered a pacification war. In the 1980s and 1990s the United States became involved in many other peacekeeping missions, such as Grenada in 1983. The U.S. invasion of Grenada was in response to the murder of their Prime Minister, Maurice Bishop. The country had been overran by communists as a result of the assassination, and “1,000 Americans lives were believed to be in danger” (U.S. Intervention). Just as the U.S. did a decade later in Somalia, the U.S. sent troops into Grenada to protect innocent people and restore peace, which is an act of pacification. The Clinton Doctrine of 1999 supports pacification as well, stating that "[the American people] can say to the people of the world, whether [one lives] in Africa, or Central Europe, or any other place, if somebody comes after innocent civilians and tries to kill them en masse because of their race, their ethnic background or their religion, and it’s within our power to stop it, [America] will stop it” (United States). This is evidence that during the era of the 1980s and 1990s, and when Clinton was in office, the United States was involved in many wars of pacification, one example of such being Somalia.

Works Cited:
 * "U.S. Intervention in Grenada, 1983." Map. //World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society//.ABC-CLIO,2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011
 * "Somalia." //Global Issues in Context Online Collection//. Detroit: Gale, 2011. //Global Issues In Context//. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <[]>
 * United States. //Clinton Doctrine//. By Bill Clinton. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.

TASK III: How did United States' Public view this conflict? Due Tuesday, Noevmber 29th Draw your information from a minimum of **three** LC e-books and databases--at least **one** primary source and **one** expert opinion. Organize your response in one or two extended power paragraphs. In an appositive phrase, establish the credibility of the source the first time you reference it. Internally cite sources and place the works cited at below the last paragraph for Task III.

•Describe at least two non-governmental perspectives on this conflict and identify which one was dominant.

The reason why the war in Somalia in 1992 was so controversial was the shift of events. Even though the original initiatives for occupying Somalia stayed the same, the process of achieving those goals changed. The United States initially went in to help the starving Somali people and create peace; this was strongly supported. Then it was decided that in order to do so it was necessary for the U.S. to go to war with the clans, and support declined. At the beginning, over 65% of the population approved of U.S. intervention in Somalia, according to a study done by the //Los Angeles Times// in 1993 (Somalian Clan Wars). Americans wanted to save lives of Somalia’s but many Americans view the war as a waste in money and lives. Adding the war made the topic even more controversial, turning more people against restoring Somalia. After the images of a U.S. soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu got viral most people became against having troops in Somalia. Donnie Slaton a freshmen at Georgetown University said “I don’t think we should be there. When we first went in, I thought it was the right thing to do; I’m all for helping someone in need. But when [the] people you’re trying to help start rejoicing [when] the helpers [start] getting killed--well, that’s too strange to me.” Many other Americans agreed with this making “ Clinton and other officials have an impossible task in trying to persuade the American Public and the Congress to back a policy of keeping U.S. troops in Somalia.” according to //Atlanta Journal and Constitution//. The change in events of Somalia quickly shifted Americans view and commitment in Somalia.

"Somalian Clan Wars, 1992-1993." //Los Anegles Times// [Westport, CT] Sept.-Oct. 2005, Volume 7 ed.: n. page. Rpt. in //The Greenwood Library of American War// //Reporting//. Ed. David A Copeland. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. page. Print. May, Lee. "The Furor over Somalia-Americans React to Brutal images." //Atlanta// //Journal and Constitution// [Westport, CT] 6 Oct. 1993, Volume 7 ed.: n. page. Rpt. in //The Greenwood Library of American War Stories//. Ed. David A Copeland. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. page. Print.

Task IV: Did the U.S. achieve its goals? -- Due Friday, December 2nd Draw your information from a minimum of **three** LC e-books and databases--at least **one** primary source and **two** expert opinions. Organize your response in one or two extended power paragraphs. In an appositive phrase, establish the credibility of the source the first time you reference it. Internally cite sources and place the works cited at below the last paragraph for Task III. The American involvement in Somalia ended after images of a dead U.S. soldier was shown being beaten and dragged down the streets of Mogadishu. In response to these images a national review security session was held and decided that all troops in Somalia will be withdrawn by March 31, 1994. In result of leaving Somalia “no progress made regarding the core problems that had led to the intervention in the first place” according to Chen Kertcher, professor at University of Tel-Aviv in Israel where he teaches Global history and Peace Operation. We went into Somalia to create a stable government, stop the Clan fighting and help the starving. Instead we ended up leaving Somalia 2 years later still with an unstable state still full with warlords fighting and starvation. The soldiers coming home from Somalia and being safe from terrible attacks from warlords was a success. “Washington can and should support the humanitarian relief effort in every prudent way possible... Putting American soldiers in harm's way, however, is another matter.” said Ted Galen Carpenter, professor of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute and author of eight books on international affairs. In March 1994 though, President Clinton signed a directive that required American participation internationally if is in Americans interest. Another loss from Somalia it began to have a increasing distrust in the U.N. after many tragedies in the war. Since many casualties were under military officers of different nations, we began questioning their military intelligence and loyalty. Also in result of the loss of Mogadishu, Defense Secretary Les Aspen was forced to step down from his position. The outcome of Somalia was not what the U.S. envisioned and created more problems. Works Cited:
 * Hoff, Samuel B. "Somalia Conflict." The nineties in Americ. Ed. Milton Berman. 3vols. Salem Press, 2009. Salem History Web. 30 Nov. 2011
 * "international peacekeeping." //American Government//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2011.
 * Kertcher, Chen. "International Intervention in Somalia: Middle East Wars." //World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society//.ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.


 * Rubric for Small War Wiki: **
 * Information and expert opinion are selected from the **required** LC resources and are cited accurately with the credibility precisely stated.
 * Maps, banners and photos have captions and are cited.
 * Project questions are answered fully in extended power paragraphs.
 * Writing is edited for spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors.
 * Works cited follow each task.
 * Answers to project questions are accurate and complete.