Rights group berates West over Somalia failure

Via CNN

The United States and other Western powers have "exacerbated Somalia's downward spiral" and must revise their policies in the east African country, a Human Rights Watch report has warned.

The report, released Monday, blames the policies under President George W. Bush for "breeding the very extremism that it is supposed to defeat."

"The new administration of U.S. President Barack Obama should urgently review U.S. policy in Somalia and the broader Horn of Africa and break with the failed approach of his predecessor," the report said.

It also cites key European governments for failing "to address the human rights dimensions of the crisis, with many officials hoping that somehow unfettered support to abusive TFG (Somali transitional government) forces will improve stability."

Somalia has been a war zone since the time of President George H W Bush. The best thing for Somalia and the Somali people would be to erase Mogadishu from the map along with the Somali pirate port of Eyl. Somalia will in all likely hood never be a complete country again with the hundred of clans ruling their own turf. Maybe Human Rights Watch should take its ass down there and try to teach some love and understanding. The Somali pastime is chewing khat and shooting each other.

I have friends that were in Somalia in 1992 when Bush the elder was pressured to send troops to end the famine. Funny that most of what I hear is that nobody in Mogadishu seemed to be starving but it was those outside the city. I also have friends that were there in 1993 when Clinton pressured by the UN and ill advised by Les Aspin thought that it was possible to nation build there. The same Les Aspin who denied the equipment commanders on the ground requested such as armor and AC-130 gunship support. No many believe that AC-130's were not provided in Somalia but that is only partly true. AC-130's were providing air cover until the day Task Force Ranger arrived when they were promptly removed and only returned after the Battle of the Black Sea on Oct 3-4 1993.

It is my worry of the Obama administration that his cabinet will be filled like Clintons. People who never served and do not understand or trust the military with a few token members with prior service who will tell the administration what it wants to hear.

If Somalia is to be the new training ground for terrorism it must be dealt with and certainly the pirates are now a much larger threat to international shipping. I understand the locals nearly shit their pants whenever the AC-130 would fly over screaming "AC" and taking cover. Maybe a few nighttime flybys of the port of Eyl would get their attention