Somalia

The United States has increasing global concerns for failed states because they cause instability in the international arena and could become safe havens for terrorists. Somalia is a failed state today and has received little attention. As a failed state Somalia could become that safe haven for terrorists and their networks. This paper discusses the history of Somalia, the international intervention in the 1990s, lessons learned from those operations, and a recommendation for future intervention. This paper proposes the use of a provincial reconstruction team (PRT) headed by the African Union with the assistance of the United States and the United Nations to help Somalia get back on its feet and become a functioning state. PRT were used in Afghanistan with huge success. A PRT working with the AU will help strengthen the Somali central government and its fragile peace. It would deploy a peacekeeping force to aid in mediating and observing cease-fire agreements and conducting psychological operations, to assist with the unity and reconciliation between factions, and to aid the new government develop democratic values. It is time for the international community to take notice of Somalia before it's too late.