[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 129 (Thursday, July 31, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7805-S7806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SOMALIA

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to express my deep concern about 
the continued crisis in Somalia and my dismay at the failure of the 
United States and also the international community to give this 
situation the attention and resources it deserves.
  Time and again, I have called for a comprehensive, coordinated U.S. 
strategy to bring security and stability to Somalia. Yet despite 
Somalia's continued collapse, the administration has clung to a clumsy 
set of tactics that have done little to quell the relentless violence 
or to enhance our own national security.
  According to the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees and the U.N.'s 
Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, the crisis in Somalia 
has become the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Yes, let me repeat 
that: the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Ongoing violence, a poor 
harvest, drought, rising food prices, and skyrocketing inflation have 
created a perfect storm. Over 2.6 million or 35 percent of Somalis are 
currently in need of aid, with that number likely to increase to 3.5 
million or nearly 50 percent of the population by the end of the year. 
Simultaneously, the fighting has forced an estimated 1 million Somalis 
from their homes into overcrowded and squalid camps both within the 
country and in northern Kenya and Ethiopia.
  In the midst of this disaster, those individuals working courageously 
to provide aid to the battered population have themselves become 
targets. I have been deeply troubled by the recent

[[Page S7806]]

killings of aid workers, including the head of the U.N. Development 
Program in Mogadishu and three Somali elders who were shot while they 
were distributing food to displaced communities. According to the New 
York Times, at least 20 aid workers have been killed and 17 kidnapped 
since January. This is unacceptable. The international community, with 
the U.S. leading the way, must make clear that attacks on humanitarian 
workers will not be tolerated. Moreover, we must make sure that aid 
agencies, including the World Food Program, have sufficient resources 
to respond to the escalating needs on the ground.
  Humanitarian assistance, however, only stops the bleeding 
temporarily. Transforming the underlying causes of Somalia's 
instability requires a political solution leading to a national 
government that is both representative and reconciliatory. As I said 
shortly after it was brokered last month, the Djibouti agreement--
between the Transitional Federal Government and a moderate faction of 
the opposition group for the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, 
ARS--was a positive step forward. I applaud the U.N. Representative of 
the Secretary General for taking a lead role and the U.S. Special Envoy 
for Somalia, Ambassador John Yates, for ensuring the U.S. was actively 
involved--but now it is time to get down to business.
  I am concerned by the slow progress of implementation. Rather than 
moving quickly to shore up that agreement and injecting the necessary 
diplomatic resources, the international community has remained in a 
wait-and-see posture. This has allowed al-Shabaab and other spoilers to 
undermine the legitimacy of the agreement and divide the opposition 
party, rather than the other way around.
  I have repeatedly called on the administration to develop a long-term 
comprehensive regional strategy toward Somalia backed by sufficient 
resources and political commitment. Our current approach is clearly not 
working. Relying on reactive and short-term tactics has limited our 
ability to change the security dynamics on the ground and in the wider 
region. An effective strategy begins with refocusing on the bigger 
picture and committing to our long-term goals, namely, helping Somalis 
to build robust democratic institutions that can provide security and 
undercut violent extremism--which poses a direct threat to the U.S.
  It is not too late to salvage the opportunity presented by the 
Djibouti agreement. To do so, the United States and our international 
partners must move quickly with a coordinated diplomatic push to bring 
more Somalis into the process as well as put forth the necessary 
resources for implementation. An inclusive and vigorous political 
process can marginalize the appeal of al-Shabaab and other violent 
extremists, but only if we act now. Simultaneously, there must be a 
more active effort to hold accountable all those who perpetrate 
violence and violate human rights. This includes strengthening the 
existing arms embargo and pressuring regional actors who undermine a 
sustainable political solution. It won't be easy, but it is critical to 
begin laying the groundwork for long-term peace and security.

  The need to bring stability to Somalia is imperative not only to 
avert humanitarian catastrophe, but also for our national security. 
Next week, on August 7, we will commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 
the terrorist attacks on the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-
Salaam, which left 224 people dead, including 12 U.S. citizens and 
dozens of other Embassy employees. That was a tragic day in American 
history. While some of those responsible have been brought to justice, 
there is still work to be done to ensure that the remaining suspects 
are held to account for their involvement in these heinous acts and 
that victims receive fair and just compensation.
  Meanwhile, Somalia remains a safe haven for terrorists, as we know 
from the recent designation of the al-Shabaab and periodic Defense 
Department strikes against terrorist targets. But neither these 
strikes, nor other ad hoc or fragmented actions, can substitute for a 
sustained, comprehensive strategy. We must act aggressively against 
terrorists who pose a threat to our country, but it will take more than 
just military options alone to solve Somalia's problems. Instead of 
helping to build a society committed to the development of legitimate 
democratic institutions, we are effectively allowing Somalia to serve 
as a recruitment tool for insurgents and extremists as they further 
isolate various groups from the current political process. This is what 
the State Department itself said this past April about safe havens in 
places like Somalia:

       Defeating the terrorist enemy requires a comprehensive 
     effort executed locally, nationally, regionally, and 
     globally. Working with partner nations, we must eliminate 
     terrorist leadership, but incarcerating or killing terrorists 
     will not achieve an end to terrorism. We must simultaneously 
     eliminate terrorist safe havens, tailoring regional 
     strategies to disaggregate terrorist networks and break 
     terrorist financial, travel, communications, and intelligence 
     links. Finally, and most challenging, we must address the 
     underlying conditions that terrorists exploit at the national 
     and local levels to induce alienated or aggrieved populations 
     to become sympathizers, supporters, and ultimately members of 
     terrorist networks. We can marginalize violent extremists by 
     addressing people's needs and grievances, by giving people a 
     stake in their own political future, and by providing 
     alternatives to what terrorists offer.

  The problem is not so much that the administration doesn't recognize 
what needs to be done, but that it doesn't have the will or the 
commitment to do it. Basically, our bark is bigger than our bite. Ten 
years after those attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, it appears we have 
missed the larger lesson of that tragic day, and our front-line 
diplomats continue to pay the price as they scramble to respond to the 
problems of weak states caught up in a vicious and turbulent cycle of 
collapse. They aren't the only ones paying the price, however, as those 
failed states breed insecurity and conditions favorable for terrorism. 
Ten years on, the United States still does not have a long-term 
strategy to bring peace and stability to the Horn of Africa. We have 
tremendous diplomatic, military, intelligence, and foreign assistance 
resources at our disposal, but they are ineffective in the absence of a 
coordinated and balanced strategy that incorporates both the short- and 
long-term goals. This is no more evident than in Somalia.
  It is not too late to chart a new path and prevent future suffering, 
but we must act decisively. As we remember those who lost their lives 
10 years ago, many doing diplomatic work in some of the most demanding 
postings in the world, let us commit to honor their legacy by ensuring 
that our country is no longer vulnerable to the terrorists who attacked 
us a decade ago.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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