Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Is Somalia’s Peace in London?

A recent conference held in London aimed to bring global attention to the crisis plagued state of Somalia. Various donor groups, Somali politicians, and regional allies gathered in London to discuss the troubled country that is garnering increased international attention.
The Guardian is reporting that the British government is considering air strikes on Al Shabab and the United Nations voted to send 5,700 peacekeepers to Somalia. The fear of Western governments is that Somalia expatriates in their countries will continue to live without hope of peace, making them recruits for Al Qaeda or pirates.
Although a big conference in London may make good headlines, I doubt that Western governments have the political will to do anything about Somalia, particularly with so much on domestic agendas. Somalia needs a complex exercise in nation building and peace keeping that will likely cost millions.
 I’m not sure if heavily indebted Western powers have the stomach for such activity considering that fifteen years of the same problems have compelled little more than nice rhetoric. The people of Somalia deserve better than words.

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