Somalia, also known as the Democratic Republic of Somalia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Somalia history can be traced back as far as the Paleolithic period. (Funk & Wagnalls, 1900) Ancient structures, ruined cities, and stone walls found in Somalia, is evidence of a country that once thrived with a sophisticated civilization (p. 132). Somalia is a country that was once known for its rich geographical location located near oil wells in the Persian Gulf and a mainstream for international imports and exports along the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
For centuries, Somalia culture was different from other countries in Africa for the fact that it was not made up of a collection of tribes, but of homogeneous people. To survive, in an ever changing culture Somalis have come to rely on the supporting bond of clanship (CBC Archives, n.d). Separate federations of clans struggling for power and control are the main ingredient for instability and conflict within Somalia. The Somali clans continued fighting has dragged their country already struggling from famine and disease, to undue bloodshed. Clans that were created to offer a sense of social security and belonging for its millions of members are killing their own country. Since 1991, over 400,000 people have died from the civil war in Somalia. Another 600,000 people have died from diseases and starvation. Not everyone feel that Somalia clans are all negative, as such is viewed from the international world. According to Raquia Omar, a prominent Somali, and former head of the Human Rights Group, Africa Watch, “We are wrong to see clans as only negative.” Clans provide a strong band of people that have the same interest and history. They speak the same language and practice th...
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The troops were being sent in because warlords were allowing their people to starve to death. The world had sent food, and the warlords hoarded it. The world had decided to stop this. Today's mission was to invade the Habr Gidr clan that was in Mogadishu Somalia. The clan was led by Mohamed Farrah Aidid, but that day's targets were two of his lieutenants. They were to be arrested and imprisoned with other clan members that had already been captured.
Civil War is another shared similarity between both Somalia and the United States. In 1991, following the overthrow of the dictator, Siad Barre, Somalia descended into anarchy. With no government presence to maintain some type of order, clan-based warlords began competing with each other, thus beginning civil unjust. While northern parts of Somalia, as well as the self-declared “Republic of Somaliland,” have remained somewhat peaceful, internal fighting flares up with little to no warning. Since 1991, it is estimated that 350, 000 to 1,000,000 Somalia’s have died due to the lack...
-1990’s: people that live near the ravine and southeast areas of Somalia are descendants of Africans once enslaved by the Somalis
The U.S. and other Western nations support the fragile Somali regime, which is battling an Islamic insurgency, as part of the counterterrorism strategy for the region.” As apparent, the United States has put a counterterrorism strategy into place, to help bring down the power that Somalia has over child soldiers. As seen from “Armed & Underage” by Jeffrey Gettleman, “.200,000 children worldwide are still being used as combatants, usually against their will. And it isn't just boys: Girls are often pressed into duty as cooks or messengers.
In August of 1992, President George Bush Sr. sent US soldiers into Somalia to provide humanitarian relief to those Somalis suffering from starvation. The major problems in Somalia started when President Mohammed Siad Barre was overthrown by a coalition of opposing clans. Although there were several opposing groups, the prominent one was led by Mohammed Farah Aidid. Following the overthrow of Barre, a massive power struggle ensued. These small scale civil wars led to the destruction of the agriculture in Somalia, which in turn led to the deprivation of food in large parts of the country. When the international community heard of this, large quantities of food were sent to ease Somali suffering. However, clan leaders like Aidid routinely hijacked food and exchanged it for weapons leaving thousands to starve to death. An estimated 300,000 Somalis died between 1991 and 1992 (Clancy 234-236). US soldiers were later sent into Somalia to capture Aidid, but when the operation got bloody, displeasing the American public, Clinton withdrew troops (Battersby 151). In The Morality of War, Brian Orend outlines ethical guidelines that should be followed in all three stages of war: jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and jus post bellum. Orend states that a nation can be moral going into war, but immoral coming out of one. Did the US act justly in all facets of the Somali conflict? The United States espoused all the guiding principles of jus ad bellum but right intent, upheld the principals of jus in bello, and clearly failed to uphold several aspects of jus post bellum during the armed humanitarian intervention in Somalia.
Location-Ethiopia is a country located in the horn of Africa and its capital is Addis Ababa
In this section, I will provide a brief history of U.S. military involvement on the African continent, starting with the Barbary Wars and working up through the current date. This historical documentation will highlight the change in the role the United States has played in Africa [post 9-11???]. Prior to 9-11, the United States’ interactions were mainly [capture summary here]. Since [?], however, the continent has faced a marked increase in violent extremism and terrorism leading the United States to partner with many African nations in counterterrorism initiatives. These, and other initiatives, mean an increasing number U.S. service members are deploying to Africa to take part in training, humanitarian issues and military operations. These military activities are run by United States African Command, a recently created combatant command.
At that time in the early 1990’s, the U.S. was the only superpower country left in the world. The Soviet Union collapsed after the Cold War and the left the U.S. at the top. With the U.S. being the only superpower left, it meant that they were the only ones who could try to keep peace between other countries and hopefully end violence in the world. At the time, Somalia was a complete disaster and still is to this day. They have no structural government and warlords rule parts of the country.
The United States entered the country of Somalia on December 8th, 1992. Troops were ordered to alleviate the famine outbreak that had affected the country’s civilians. The United Nations asked for its members help in aiding the country after somewhat failing to relieve the problems that were occurring. The UN did all they could in Somalia before the additional aid was needed by other members. The United States offered to provide aid under humanitarian reasons, the mission was named Operation Restore Hope. President George H.W. Bush agreed to deploy 25,000 troops to Somalia, he did so assuring the American people that the mission was for humanitarian reasons only and troops would only take necessary precautions to protect Somali people from
The United States Military Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (HOA) is a geographical region that encompasses the countries of Djibouti, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, and neighboring Yemen. Each country in the region houses many culturally unique distinctions to include groups, which comprise the HOA area of operation. Specifically one of these culturally unique groups originates out of Yemen. The country of Yemen, according to a 2004 census, has reached almost 20 million people (UNDP, 2010). Over 45% of the population lives on less than $2.00 U.S. a day (UNDP, 2010). The poverty-stricken people in Yemen have shaped a cultural group that in essence contains the majority of the Country’s population. The purpose of this thesis is to illustrate the current Yemen culture shaped by the effects of poverty on the people of Yemen. These effects span a wide array of problematic issues predicated on three major topics. The effects of poverty on the people of Yemen include severe health problems spanning a majority of the region, the decay of the Country’s political infrastructure, and the growing support of terrorist organizations in the region. The dilemmas in Yemen did not solely originate internally. Yemen is host to some 91,587 (as of 2007) refugees from Somalia (CIA, 2011). The wake of events perpetuated by the effects of poverty on the people of Yemen, left unchecked, will continue to erode with significant and lasting negative effects on the entire HOA Area of Responsibility (AOR) to include local, regional, and U.S. interests.
Menkhaus, Ken. "Governance without Government in Somalia." International Security 31.3 (2007): 74-106. Www.mitpressjournals.com. MIT Press Journals, 16 Jan. 2007. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. .
The Republic of Chad is a landlocked country in Central Africa, bordered by Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Niger to the west Cameroon and Nigeria to the Southwest and Libya to the north. In terms of geography, Chad is divided into multiple regions: a desert like zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the center and fertile Savanna zone in the South. Under the leadership of François Tombalbaye, Chad obtained independence in 1960. However, because the country is composed of more than 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups, the more Muslim north resented Tombalbaye policies and took over. After multiple internal conflicts in between the rebels themselves, Idriss Deby, the current president has been leading the country to more prosperous times. However, while major oil reserves and cotton plantations have created new revenue, Chad is still one of the poorest and most corrupt nations in the world. And to add to Chad’s own problems, South Sudan’s current conflicts with Sudan and its own ethnic groups who accuse the government of border lining them has spilled into the surrounding regions. Chad has been swarmed with hundreds of thousands of refugees and the conflicts pose a great threat to the stable political system in our country. We’ve already observed many of the surrounding states see revolts and uprisings from the different ethnicities not only against their respective governments but also inter-ethnically.
The Dinka and the Nuer are two culturally similar ethnic groups that reside in Southern Sudan. Through time, they had changed not only culturally but also politically. Evan Pritchard introduces the Nuer and the Dinka to the western world as a simple cow herding society with a patrilineal structure, that centered around was defined by their kinship, extending networks and forming of political structures. The Dinka and the Nuer are an excellent example of Carl Schmitt’s dichotomy concept of friends and enemy, they represent how a culture can be altered based on what political nation state has the political power.
Ethiopia an African country officially known as the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and famously know as one of the oldest location of human life to scientists. Ethiopia is located in the horn of Africa (east of Africa). It is argued that Ethiopia was the only African country to defeat a European colonial power and retain its sovereignty as an independent country. It is argued that Ethiopia was conquered by Italy in 1935 and regained its independence in 1941 on the 5th of May and the ruler of that era was Halie Selassi. Ethiopia’s major economic contributor is the agriculture sector with a 46% of gross domestic product and a labour force of 85% by agriculture (Ethiopia’s gross domestic product by sector). Ethiopia is a federal republic state this means that there is no monarch and that the state exercise democra...