Somali Civil War

Your article on Somalia’s ruined schools (Dec. 30) is very informative and painted an accurate picture of the magnitude of the wreckage that the 2-year-old civil war brought. I am not certain, however, whether this civil war is caused by the “dispute between nomads and farmers,” or a power struggle between different nomadic clans, which is what all the protagonists belong to. In fact, Somalia’s civil war is a war of nomadic clans in an agricultural territory. It is, therefore, the farmers who are most affected by the famine.

But I am certain that famine and civil war, temporarily averted by the U.S.-led international effort, will soon revisit Somalia if U.S. involvement is limited only to securing the delivery of relief aid. In order to not waste the effort of the young Marines who forfeited their Christmas holiday to feed starving Africans, the Clinton-Gore Administration should build on what President Bush leaves behind and pioneer the rebuilding of Somalia’s economy as well as its civic institutions. Abandoning Somalia in the face of total wreckage is an invitation to Islamic fundamentalist movements, which could destabilize the entire East African region.

FAISAL ABDI ROBLE

Los Angeles