Leave Somalia, Yes . . . but Not Now : Reassessing the U.S. role in wake of killings

Is it time to get out of Somalia? Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole raises that question, and it doubtlessly is on the minds of millions of Americans in the wake of the United States’ heaviest loss on Somali soil.

Four U.S. soldiers were fatally wounded Sunday when a land mine was deliberately set off under their vehicle and their convoy was ambushed in the capital, Mogadishu.

In the aftermath of that attack, it is certainly time, as Dole suggests, to reassess the U.S. role in Somalia. And certainly what began as a humanitarian mission must not lead to a military quagmire. But withdrawal is also not in order, at least not yet.

Washington cannot allow the killing of four American soldiers to go unchallenged in Somalia, or anywhere else. The United States cannot sit idly by while Somali thugs kill U.S. troops or any other U.N. peacekeepers. To retreat now would turn U.N. troops--including the 4,000 Americans who are still in Somalia--into little more than sitting ducks.

The President’s National Security Council Monday asked the State Department and the Pentagon to recommend how best to respond to the ambush. President Clinton has already vowed that “we will do everything possible to find out who was responsible and take appropriate action.” He has also promised that the United States will act in coordination with the United Nations, which in May took over the lead in the peacekeeping mission. Since then 39 peacekeepers have been killed.

Sunday’s ambush took place in an area dominated by supporters of warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid. His intermediaries deny that Aidid was behind the killings. If the facts indicate he did mastermind the attack, then a strengthened U.S. force, in concert with a U.N. buildup, should go all out to hunt down Somalia’s most treacherous warlord. Aidid must be held accountable for war crimes that include the ambush killing of 24 Pakistani peacekeepers in June. His capture would remove Somalia’s most destabilizing force. Although there are other warlords in Somalia, none is as well-armed as Aidid.

The United States took on a heroic humanitarian mission when President George Bush committed troops last year to Somalia. With troops from other nations, Americans helped end the theft of supplies intended to relieve suffering caused by famine and civil war.

The rebuilding has begun. But Somalia remains unstable. Can the United Nations, with appropriate U.S. help, stop the fighting without the loss of more lives? Can the United Nations maintain peace without being bogged down for decades?

Tough questions, not all of which can be answered by the United States. But surely Washington must answer this outrageous attack. And just as surely the nation must plan how it can reasonably and in a timely fashion extricate itself from Somalia.