U.S. STRATEGIC INTEREST IN SOMALIA: From Cold War Era to War on Terror. The four major tribes of Somali lineage are nomadic and pastoral: Dir, Darood, Isaaq, and Hawiye. These nomad tribes constitute around 70 percent of the Somali population. The two smaller agricultural tribes – Digil and Rahanweyn – make up only 20 percent, while 10 percent of the population is comprised of coastal dwellers whose economy is based on fishing and farming. It is imperative to understand the role and history of clan politics and how it developed over the centuries to shape the modern government in Somalia. Traditionally, nomadic society mastered the art of forming alliances to protect the interests of kingship and ensure water and grazing land. Rainfall, in particular, is very critical to the life of pastoral communities. It is the main factor that forces them to compete with other tribes and to move from one inhospitable place to another. Although they expect two rainy seasons, some localities never see one drop of rain and experience severe droughts, costing nomads most of their livestock. In the 20th century, there were six harsh droughts across several regions of Somalia that lasted more than two years and produced famine.6

by Mohamed A. Mohamed

01 June 2009

A thesis submitted to the Faculty

of the Graduate School of the State University at Buffalo in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree

Master of Arts

Department of American Studies

UMI Number: 1464764

INFORMATION TO USERS

The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction.

In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.

______________________________________________________________

UMI Microform 1464764

Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC

All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against

unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.

_______________________________________________________________

ProQuest LLC

789 East Eisenhower Parkway

P.O. Box 1346

Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is

only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Table of Contents

Abstract	iii
Chapter 1 Introduction	1
Dynamics of Clanship in Somali Society	1
European Colonial Rule	3
Chapter 2 U.S. Strategic Interest in Somalia during the Cold War Era	7
U.S. and Soviet Union in Somalia	7
The Rise of Warlord Phenomena in Somalia	14
U.S. Support for Somali Warlords	16
Chapter 3 Global War on Terror - Post 911	24
The Rise of Islamic Movement in Horn of Africa

Abstract

This thesis examines United States’ policy toward Somalia from the era of the Cold War to that of the more recent and ongoing War on Terror. It asserts that U.S.’s change of policy from Cold War alliance with Somalia to the use of Somalia as a battleground in the War on Terror has resulted in a disorganized and disjointed policy framework. In 1991, an alliance of warlords defeated President Siad Barre’s regime that supplied Somalia’s last central government and that was allied to the US. Subsequently, the victorious warlords turned on one another, resulting in clan feuds that destabilized the Somali state. In March 1994, this chaos engulfed US troops engaged in a humanitarian mission, resulting in the death and humiliation of several American soldiers in the so-called Black Hawk Disaster that led to the withdrawal of US troops and interests from Somalia. However, following the events of September 11, 2001, in which Islamic extremists attacked the Twin Towers in New York City and the ensuing launching of War on Terror, the United States became suspicious that Somalia was now a breeding ground for terrorist attacks against American interests in East Africa. This threat increased when Islamic Court Union (ICU) consolidated its power in southern Somalia after defeating US-allied warlords in June 2006. The ICU did bring a respite of law and peace for some six months, following fifteen years of warfare and chaos. But this was short-lived. Armed with economic and political support from Washington, neighboring Ethiopia invaded southern Somalia and occupied Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, under the pretext of the War on Terror. As many as 1 million people are reported to have been displaced and more than 10,000 were estimated to have been killed in Mogadishu.

iii

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Dynamics of Clanship in Somali Society