Word: somali
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Colonialism came to Somalia in the late 19th century, when Britain took the northern third and Italy the south. Once the borders were set, many of the nomads suddenly found themselves citizens of neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia. What little political organization the Somalis had collapsed, and the Europeans replaced it with Western centralized governments that brought the nomads their first schools, police and courts. But the colonialists also gave the Somalis a common threat to rally against. The nationalist Somali Youth League gained strength by stressing clan unity and encouraging territorial reunification...
...mission is a striking departure for both the U.N. and the U.S. It is a peace-enforcing, not peacekeeping, operation (there is no peace to keep), mounted without invitation from a host government (there is no Somali government). Nor does the U.S. have any economic or strategic stake. On TV last Friday, Bush stressed that the U.S. interest is "humanitarian," a matter of superpower noblesse oblige. Some 1.5 million Somalis may starve to death, he said, because armed gangs have been stealing relief supplies, and "only the U.S. has the global reach" to cope with the crisis. Washington had earlier...
...strictly military terms, the venture is not especially daring or dangerous. First to go in will be 1,800 Marines from an amphibious task force that was diverted to the Somali coast two weeks ago. They are equipped for action and backed by two dozen Cobra attack helicopters. Somalia has no planes or helicopters in flying condition, so the U.S. will control the air. Once those units take over the airport in the capital of Mogadishu, they will be joined by 16,000 more Marines, 10,000 Army infantry troops and at least 5,000 soldiers from France, Canada...
...were necessary; only the U.S. could provide them. He also made it clear that the U.S. would not tolerate any opposition; indeed, the Security Council resolution suspended the rules that usually limit U.N. peacekeepers from shooting first. The Pentagon was not certain what kind of reception to expect from Somali gunmen, armed mostly with $ rifles and mortars, but spokesman Pete Williams said the U.S. was "not looking to go in with guns blazing...
...attempt to head off armed resistance, U.S. officials are meeting in Ethiopia with representatives of the major Somali factions. Some clan leaders, including the Mogadishu kingpin Mohammed Farrah Aidid, claim that they welcome U.S. intervention; Aidid even staged pro-American parades last week. But Western analysts suspect he simply hopes to improve his own position. If he and his rivals feel power slipping away, their attitude could quickly change. Clan chieftains do not, in any case, control all the thugs marauding through the country...