Right before he left office, Bush Sr. invaded Somalia – leaving Clinton with a mess that was doomed to ruin his presidency during its first few weeks.
Bush got even with Clinton for beating him in the election, and was able to pretend that he was being a great humanitarian.
I don’t think it was an “invasion”.
Clearly it was an invasion and our forces made those poor Somalis take our food. Our efforts to reduce the daily killing by the tribal leaders is further evidence of our evil intent. We had no right to try to stop their cultural tradition of starving women and children to concentrate their power. Clearly we were racist to try to help them.
Information on Somalia from the New American Desk Encyclopedia, 1993:
“People: The population consists mainly of Somalis belonging to northern nomadic or southern farming clans. [Note that datum: Somalia is divided into clans] Somali, the national language, lacks a written form. Arabic (widely spoken), Italian and English are the written languages. The literacy rate is about 15%. Most Somalis move from place to place with their herds and portable woodframe huts; others live in small villages or trade centers built around a well. [Pretty primitive for the 21st century, isn’t it?]
“Economy: Somalia ranks as one of the world’s poorest countries, its development hampered by various factors, among them a lack of natural resources, undeveloped infrastructure, periodic drought and shortages of skilled labor and expertise. Agriculture accounts for the major share of revenues and employment.
“History: Europeans colonized Somalia in the late 1800’s. Independent Somalia continued its heavy dependence on US and Italian aid. In 1969 President Shermarke was assassinated and a revolutionary council headed by Maj. Gen. Mohammed Siyad Barre took control. The Somali Democratic Republic was declared a socialist state. An armed conflict with Ethiopia erupted in 1963-64 and again in 1977-78 over the disputed territory of the Ogaden. Despite a tacit truce clashes recurred, and hundreds of thousands of refugees streamed into Somalia. Even with assistance by international agencies, Somalia’s already meager resources were further strained. Ethiopia and Somalia restored diplomatic relations in1988. Later that year, a rebel group that had opposed the government since 1982 intensified its attacks, causing hundreds of thousands of Somalis to seek refuge in Ethiopia. Pres. Siyad Barre was overthrown in Jan. 1991 by rebels belonging to a rival clan. The country soon dissolved into clan warfare. Government ceased to function, warlords fought one another, armed gangs looted at will, and millions faced starvation. Foreign relief efforts were hampered by the universal corruption and anarchy. In Dec. 1992 a US-led United Nations force of 38,000 invaded the country to protect the supply of food and restore order.”
On October 3, 1993, the battle later commemmorated in the book (and movie) “Blackhawk Down”, was fought in Mogadishu, and US forces pulled out of that anarchic city in March, 1994. A lot of us were disgusted with Somalia and its lack of civilization or anyone’s ability to govern its people.
I submitted this same comment 4 years ago (Dec. 4, 2009), on usatoday.
For another “great moment in dirty politics”, the EPA has regulated the last lead smelter to death. http://tucsoncitizen.com/wryheat/2013/11/11/last-primary-american-lead-smelter-closing-implications-for-ammunition-manufacturing/
Likely, they (o-bomb-ya admin) were thinking that they could greatly reduce the civilian ammunition supply and increase prices.
Instead, they’ve just driven a wooden stake into the heart of all the electric vehicle programs by doubling battery prices.
Ain’t politics fun????