From: rwojcik@atc.boeing.com (Richard Wojcik,snake)
Subject: Re: US Should Disarm Somalis
Reply-To: rwojcik@atc.boeing.com
Organization: Research & Technology
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 21:35:30 GMT

In article 1971@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu, jrm@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu () writes:
>There has been a lot of talk lately about forcibly disarming the people
>of Somolia. Apparently, we are to believe that the Somalis are nothing
>but a gaggle of bad children who are misbehaving - and must have their
>toys taken away. It is exactly this tone of moral and cultural
>superiority that has given the western nations such a bad reputation
>over the past few decades. The Somalis are not children to be
>spanked - they are genuine human beings and thier concerns must be
>taken seriously. It is wrong to disarm Somali citizens for the same
>reasons it is wrong to disarm citizens here in the USA. Indeed, given
>the acute dangers in Somolia, giving up ones gun would be insane.

I started this thread with the suggestion that the US mission should
include disarming the Somalis.  Today, the big news story out of Somalia
was that there are once again roving bands of armed Somalis in the streets
of Mogadishu.  I did not make the suggestion in the patronizing way that
you impute to me.  The Somalis who live in fear of the gangs seem to be
disappointed that US troops have decided to leave the technicals alone.
The technicals have reappeared because they finally understood that our
troops would not oppose them.  A stupid mistake on our part, since some
of those armed gangs are going to fire on US troops sooner or later.  In
fact, US troops at the embassy were fired at yesterday, and they killed
3 Somalis with return fire.  Our hands-off policy has actually invited
this kind of bravado.

>I will hazard a guess that there are more guns-per-person here in
>the USA than in Somolia. Yet, the USA is not an anarchy. The
>availible firepower is not the issue at all. 

We don't have armed bands of "technicals" because we have a strong
infrastructure of security forces.  Somalia is in anarchy.  That's 
a big difference.

>What was lost in Somolia was that elusive and necessary sense of
>focus - that mental image of common purpose, common identity and
>cultural bond. These were shattered by drought, by the loss of
>foreign capital and by power-hungry opportunists within the nation
>itself. Somolia was too small to survive such a triple-whammy.
>If they can regain this common ground, all the weapons in the
>world will not do them harm. 

Actually, there is an argument that the cold-war-inspired arming of 
Somalia is what eventually destabilized the country, which is what
really caused the famine.  It was not a drought, as it was in Ethiopia
and the Sudan.

>It is ludicrous to suggest disarming citizens when well-armed gangs
>rove the landscape. These gangs will not suffer disarmament and
>can easily hide beyond international borders. If we are to actually
>help Somolia, we must restore a national army and police force. 
>Obviously, this will require the cooperation of the top few 
>'warlords'/factions. Their words suggest that they have realized
>that their individual efforts towards total power will leave them
>as king of a mountain of skulls and nothing else. The time to
>take advantage of this psychology is NOW ... not in a few months.

You are a bit confused about what I meant by "disarm the Somalis."  That
means primarily rooting out the caches of heavy arms and impounding the
vehicles that the technicals use to terrorize the countryside.  It does
not necessarily mean disarming the local NRA members.  ;-)  I think that
dealing with the warlords may be necessary up to a point.  Ultimately, we
need to get rid of them.  Our ultimate aim should be to establish a
democracy with a stable military and police force.  If you deal with 
tyrants--well, check out Saddam Hussein's behavior lately.

-----
Disclaimer:  Opinions expressed above are not those of my employer.

    Rick Wojcik   (rwojcik@boeing.com)   Seattle, WA

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