US Intervention in Somalia, 1992 Essay Example for Free

US Intervention in Somalia, 1992 Essay The 1992-1993 intervention of the US forces, with UN authorization, in the fractured country of Somalia is a complex issue not just in terms of Somalian domestic politics, but also the constellation of foreign entanglements that were involved in this strategic part of the world. This brief essay will attempt to answer some key questions about the conflict itself, the American role and the diplomatic and power struggles internationally, especially given the strategic location of Somalia on the Indian Ocean trade routes and the controlling interest in the mouth of the Red Sea. The conflict itself is rather straightforward. The dictatorship of Said Barre was an eccentric one, since he attempted to combine the Islamic movement with that of Marxian socialism. But Barre, in this tribally fractured society, found himself at loggerheads with the powerful Hawiye tribe, as well as certain Islamic factions operating within the country, eventually to develop the Somali National Alliance (SNA), which, for reasons to be described below, became the main target of the American wrath. Concerning the basic structure of the conflict using the typology of Kriesberg, his concern for â€Å"interests and values† is very important, since the basic struggle, outside of its tribal basis, was one of independence from the west. If the SNA were to be victorious, than the US might well be shut out of this strategic area, and a hostile power would come into play, just when the US had helped oust the hated Marxist dictator in Ethiopia, Mengistu Hailie Maram. It is the contention of this writer that this specific reason underlies the entire US intervention in 1992-1993. But apart from interests and values, it seems that the Civil War in Somalia was a zero-sum battle, in that the Islamic movement had a very different agenda than the pro-Ethiopian movement. The victory of one meant the automatic loss for the other. The organizations themselves were both tribal and ideological, centering around the destiny of Somalia relative to the Arab-Israeli conflict, where the Muslims rejected the US presence in support of Israeli interests and the pro-western side sought to use Ethiopia to eliminate the Islamic movement of General Farah Adeed. Hence, in Kriesberg’s terms, these organizations were basically bi-focal, with two mutually exclusive agendas that eventually, in 1993, permitted the US government to hold that the Islamic movement is the great threat to Somalia (cf Kreisberg’s typology, 2006, 7-14). Now, the basic issues in the conflict concern, first of all, the actors themselves. After the disastrous war with Ethiopia in the late 1980s, the Barre regime in Somalia tottered, and eventually was overthrown by an military organization, backed largely by the Hawaye tribe, the United Somali Congress (USC). They overthrew Barre, but were incapable of managing the post-war world. Hence, the development of the Civil War and the rise of Addid’s SNA. The CIA maintained a major post in Kenya, and the US maintained a air base in Ethiopia where spy planes can traverse the Middle East (Griswold, 2007). After the overthrow of the communist DERG state in Ethiopia in 1991, the western backed government intervened regularly in the conflict within the US frame of reference. Hence, it seems that the American approach was to either restore Barre in power or create a coalition of anti-Adeed forces (preferably led by militia leader Ali Mahdi (US Army, 10). None of this worked, and Adeed seemed to emerge from the conflict victorious, as he played upon the anti-colonialist struggle against the United States and successfully engendered hatred against the US (Kaemph, 2007). Therefore, in general, the Somali war pitted Adeed’s forces against both the Ethiopians and the United States. In addition, the state of Eritrea was also involved, and received both Israeli and American backing from its independence against he former communist government of Ethiopia. Hence, the Eritreans were used against the Adeed government and the state itself became a base for the anti-Islamic movement. Eritrea was very useful for the United States and Israel (who certainly had an interest in the Red Sea being open to western trade), since they fought with the Islamic government of Sudan, and became a part of the peace-keeping efforts of the US in that country, also with the ultimate purpose to eliminate the influence of the anti-US and anti-Israeli Islamic movement. Hence, the causes of the conflict and the American intervention are woven within the functioning of the actors themselves within an international context. To put it simply: the US, the UN and Israel supported Ethiopia and Eritrea (though these two have fought in the past), as well as what was left of the Barre regime. Barre himself had offered several oil concessions to American oil firms not to long before his overthrow, and hence, the major oil firms and the US government had an interest in his movement, discredited thought it was (Kretzman, 2003). The major purpose was to keep any coalition that could be formed by Adeed and the anti-US forces under both a nationalist and Islamic banner. The US Army holds in its official account of the war that psychological operations (PSYOPS) were the order of the day in the Somali countryside. This ominous methodology is not elaborated upon in the Army’s description of events (US Army, pub 70-81-1, p 10). At the same time, the CIA was providing the basic logistical support for the intervention out of Kenya. Given this background, the major issues that motivated the American intervention might be reduced to four. First, the control of any oil found in Somalia and, more importantly, the massive oil reserves of Sudan. The two conflicts are very similar in that both Omar Bashir and Adeed are anti-US and anti-Israel, and are fighting for a country that has at least some oil reserves that can be exploited. Secondly, both the US and Israel have an interest in keeping Islamic movements out of power in this strategic area, since such movements may well join with Iran and Russia against American oil interest in the area. Third, to maintain a secular and pro-western state in both Ethiopia and Eritrea. Fourth, to keep friendly powers in charge of Somalia in order to keep both the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean free of hostile powers, since major shipping goes though these areas, and importantly, oil shipping. But similarly, this is all based on a certain geography: Somalia is highly strategic for the above reasons–this eastern horn of Africa sits upon oil and major shipping lanes that cannot fall to hostile powers. But the area of the US intervention, it should be noted, only developed in the extreme south and west of the country, not accidentally the area bordering Kenya, where the CIA maintains a large base and listening post (Griswold, 2007). The US, as part of its PSYOP mentality, hit the radio stations belonging to Adeed, as well as attempting–unsuccessfully–to harm his infrastructure. The reality of the situation is, in the chaos of the war, the Islamic movement of Adeed developed his own social services and social infrastructure, not unlike Hamas in Palestine. To destroy this became the main purpose of the 1992-1993 intervention and largely dictated the popular hostility of the masses to American intervention. Adeed successfully created his own anti-PSYOP mentality by holding the Islamic faith and using nationalist ideas to mobilize the country to his cause. Hence, the nonsense about feeding the â€Å"starving masses† should not even be taken seriously, since the only man who successfully rebuilt at least a modicum of social services became the main target of US attacks (Kaemph, 2007). Hence, several things can be said in conclusion. First, oil is an important issue here, both in Sudan and Somalia. This is one of the most important motivating influences behind the intervention in 1992. But this oil is not sitting in the ground, it is being shipped worldwide, and hence, the Indian Ocean routes near Africa and the Red Sea both need to be kept open, and hence, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia are central actors here. Second, the Eritreans were encouraged in their independence drive under the communist DERG state in Ethiopia by both the US and Israel so as to maintain a pro-western state there. Eritrea hence, sought to support the US in the conflict with the purpose of maintaining its independence and legitimacy. The Islamic forces in Sudan and the SNA wanted an Islamic and nationalist state to fight the west and the Israelis. For the US, this was unacceptable and might be the central issue in the entire American mentality of the time. The reality is that Adeed won–and he won using anti-colonial rhetoric that saw the US as invaders, not interveners. Third, the American PSYOP organization, with CIA backing fizzled. They failed to convince the population that the US was their friend. The very fact that Adeed’s own infrastructure was attacked proved to most that the US was there for the sake of realpolitik, not humanitarian aid, a rather silly â€Å"official† story from Washington, given the strategic nature of the area. Since PSYOPS are little more than brainwashing, Adeed certainly seems to have the moral high ground here–he had the money and the power, as well as the support and military training to make his movement work. Insofar as Kriesberg’s organization typology (cf pg 12), the reason for the American intervention is that it seemed that Adeed’s forces could not be beaten. His main opponent, and a recipient of US money, Mahdi, had no real military training and was no match for Adeed (US Army, 10). The former forces of Barre were also fractured and demoralized, and hence, to keep Adeed out of power, intervention was necessary. But what remains central is that the official reason for the American involvement was not only false, but laughable. Not even an armchair analysis could hold that humanitarianism was the central issue when which globally strategic issues were at stake. An Islamic government in Sudan and Somalia could spell doom for the American interest in the shipping lanes of the area, and might well serve to harm the states of Ethiopia or Eritrea. Israel’s interest were also central, since the US presence in northeastern Africa is substantial and is a major base for operations against he enemies of the Israeli state such as Iraq (formerly) and Iran, not to mention Sudan or even Libya. The US, in short, appeared as an amoral colonial invader against the genuinely popular Adeed forces. Ultimately, the Somalia failure proved the problematic nature of American post-Cold War foreign policy. First, her official rationale made little sense. Second, the simple battle for American interests will not win the US forces respect throughout the world (Allard, 1995). The nations of the world will work out their own problems without CIA meddling, which only rarely provides a lasting solution (though few could doubt that the fall of Mengistu in Ethiopia was not a good thing). But lastly, what seems to come out of the Somalia failure is the simple fact that the US drive for global empire is doomed to fail, and what should come out of the decay of the bi-polar world is not a uni-polar world or even an multi-lateral one, but the simple concept of self determination for all the nations and people’s of the world according to their own lights, not dictates from Brussels, New York or Washington. Bibliography: Allard, K.. (2005) Somalia Operations: Lessons Learned. Washington: National Defense Griswold, Diedre (Jan 7, 2007) â€Å"Why Somalia has no National State. † Workers World. http://www. workers. org/2007/world/somalia-0111/ (This is a communist publication that should be taken with a grain of salt but it does have some interesting observations about the CIA’s role in the area, as well as Israel’s) Kriesberg, L. (2006). Constructive Conflicts. Rowman and Littlefield. Kretzman, Steve (2003). Oil Security, War and the Geopolitics of United States Energy Planning. Multinational Monitor, Jan/Feb. (http://www. thirdworldtraveler. com/Oil_watch/Oil_Security_War. html) United States Army (nd). The US Army in Somalia. CHM Publication 70-81-1

Car Safety Essay -- essays papers

Car Safety Automobile Safety It’s a dark rainy night. You and your family are coming home from a late night family party. As a car is coming through an intersection another car cut in front of it. The driver decides to hit the brakes so you can avoid the car, but as he presses the brakes, the car loses control on the slick wet road. He is not able to gain control and at that point he has endangered the lives of himself and many others on the road. This is just one example of the many types of things that occur in our streets everyday. All that would have been needed to avoid this situation would have been a traction control system in his car, which would have detected that the car was skidding and would have applied the brakes to the necessary wheels, therefore correcting the skid. Automotive companies must mandate the installation and improvement of specific safety devices to make our vehicles safer. The opposing forces are against my argument mainly because of one reason, money. These are mainly uninformed people who are more concerned with monetary issues rather than the safety and well being of every of everyone on our streets. They see things differently, for example, instead of mandating some things such as a traction control system in a car, which costs no more than $200-600 (Krebs 30), could in the long run lower their insurance costs, and prevent them from a potentially harmful accident. They would much rather have $200-600 worth of accessories. It goes to show you that these people chose style and comfort over their lives and the live of others. Most of the automotive accident statistics are quite overwhelming, and they show for themselves why today’s cars must be made safer. 6,289,000 reported crashes, 3,200,000 people injured, and 41,345 deaths (car accident statistics). These are some of the statistics as of 1999 and they are expected to rise, due to the large number of automobile we are buying. By mandating the installation of certain safety devices in cars we can reduce these numbers drastically. Most car accidents occur at intersection, when someone makes a left turn in front of an oncoming car. The result of this is that the car turning gets broadsided on the right door of his car, also the weakest point of his car. So if most accidents are side impact collision why haven’t car manufacturers mandated the installation of s... ...†. Available http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/brain_injury_ lawyers.html. Bush, James W. Motor Vehicle Facts an Figures: Wards Communication, 1999. 10, 11, 84-89. â€Å"Car Accident Statistics†. Available http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/ stats.html. â€Å"Convictions Quashed in Fatal Road-Sign Crash†. Chachere Vickie. The Miami Herald. 26 March.2001. Available http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/ dade/digdocs/091369 .htm. Krebs, Michelle. â€Å"How to Buy a Safe Car†. Auto World Weekly. 10, April. 2001. 29-30. â€Å"Road Rage Endangers Innocent Drivers Too†. The Sun Sentinel. 25, March. 2001. Available http://sunsentinel.com/features/sfi-25mabbymar25.story. â€Å"Seat Belts†. Available http://www.car_accidents.com/pages/seat_belts.html. Smith, Steven Cole. â€Å"Swerving Car Hits Bus then runs Into Two Fort Lauderdale Homes.† Tzortzis, Andreas. The Sun Sentinel. 25 March. 2001. Available http://www. sunsentinel.com/news/local /broward/search/sfl-cbus250mar 25.story. â€Å"Volvo SCC. Is this the Worlds Safest Car†. Auto World Weekly. 10, April. 2001. 31. â€Å"Whiplash Injuries†. Available http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/whiplash. html

Bank Manager

Bank managers direct bank branches and departments, resolve customers’ problems, ensure that standards of service are maintained, and administer the institutions’ operations and investments, in addition to overseeing the following employees: * Bank tellers, the largest number of workers in banking, provide routine financial services to the public. They handle customers’ deposits and withdrawals, change money, sell money orders and traveler’s checks, and accept payment for loans and utility bills. Increasingly, tellers also are selling bank services to customers. * New accounts clerks and customer service representatives answer questions from customers, and help them open and close accounts and fill out forms to apply forbanking services. They are knowledgeable about a broad array of bank services and must be able to sell those services to potential clients. Some customer service representatives work in a call or customer contact center environment, taking phone calls and answering emails from customers. In addition to responding to inquiries, these workers also help customers over the phone with routine banking transactions and handle and resolve problems or complaints. * Loan and credit clerks assemble and prepare paperwork, process applications, and complete the documentation after a loan or line of credit has been approved. They also verify applications for completeness. * Bill and account collectors attempt to collect payments on overdue loans. Many general office clerks and bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are employed to maintain financial records, enter data, and process the thousands of deposit slips, checks, and other documents that banks handle daily. Banks also employ many secretaries, data entry and information processing workers, receptionists, and other office and administrative support workers. Office and administrative support worker supervisors and managers oversee the activities and training of workers in the various administrative support occupations. Loan officers, who evaluate loan applications, determine an applicant’s ability to pay back a loan, and recommend approval of loans. They usually specialize in commercial, consumer, or mortgage lending. When loans become delinquent, loan officers, or loan counselors, may advise borrowers on the management of their finances or take action to collect outstanding amounts. Loan officers also play a major role in bringing in new business and spend uch of their time developing relationships with potential customers. * Trust officers manage a variety of assets that were placed in trust with the bank for other people or organizations; these assets can include pension funds, school endowments, or a company’s profit-sharing plan. Sometimes, trust officers act as executors of estates upon a person’s death. They also may work as accountants, lawyers, and investment managers.

Prejudice Paper - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 603 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/09/20 Category Education Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Discrimination Essay Prejudice Essay Sexism Essay Did you like this example? The Prejudice Paper I have chosen the topic The everyday nature of prejudice. There are many forms of prejudice. Some people are just born with or raised with a prejudice. During the war, Americans became prejudiced against the Japanese. They used racial slurs and violence to get rid of and exclude the Japanese. They were all moved to internment camps and some were killed. Families were torn apart. The Japanese were put through many hardships, and when they were able to return, they were only slowly accepted. The three main types of prejudice are Racism, Sexism, and Ageism. The first type of prejudice is Racism. This is a belief that you are better than other people based solely on their race or religion. I am sorry to say that racism was very prominent in the United States, and though it has calmed down a bit, is still a problem today. Some white people still hate black people and Im sure there are some blacks who hate whites, too. Religions have also been attacked. The M ormons were persecuted and forced to move west when they were rejected by other people. The Jews were attacked for just being Jews. When this was happening in Germany, the U. S. A tried to stop it. However, at the same time, the United States were detaining the Japanese. That is just not right. The second type of prejudice is Sexism. This is the belief that you are better or smarter than another person based on whether they are a man or woman. This form of prejudice is mainly found in boys and men. They feel that, because they are mostly stronger, that they are overly superior to women. That is not the case. I have been looking around and I find that girls mainly get better grades in school. Also, just because someone is a different sex, it doesnt make them any less important or inferior. Women beat men in about half of the Olympic sports. Men are usually better weight lifters and women are usually better at gymnastics. These are just generalities though. They are not set in s tone. Third, but not any less significant, is the prejudice Ageism. The definition for Ageism is discrimination against persons of a certain age group. This is like a young teen disliking a person just because they are old or young. The reason I say teen is because that is where I believe most of the Ageism comes from. This is not a major problem though. In fact, it is relatively tame in comparison to the first two discussed prejudices. It is also used slightly in theme parks. The managers of the park dont want little kids on some rides even if they are tall enough. I think that Ageism is not a very prominent thing in our society today. Its not visible to me, but it is still there. In conclusion, I would like to say that we, the people of America, need to understand our differences and accept them. To carry prejudices against other people just for being different hurts all of us. We should remember past history lessons of prejudice and never let it happen again. We dont want t o be treated unfairly, so why do we treat others unfairly? I would like to remind you of my main message which is this: the three main types of prejudice are Racism, Sexism, and Ageism. I hope that you never feel like you are better than anyone else who is a different race, religion, sex, or age than you are. Dont let something that silly tear people apart. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Prejudice Paper" essay for you Create order