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Article: Playing God in Somalia; The United States is not in the business of recreating nations.
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 13, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Another four American soldiers are dead in Somalia. Why are we
still there?
The Somali operation was never easy to justify - not surprising
for an operation entirely devoid of American national interest. But
the original American intervention ordered by George Bush last
December could at least be justified on two grounds: (1) extreme need
- an entire population was perishing from famine and (2) extreme ease
- the only opposition to the Marine landing in Mogadishu was a heavy
deployment of American television crews.
Well, the extreme need is gone. On March 2, Robert Oakley, then
special U.S. envoy to Somalia, declared that "deaths from starvation
are almost gone now" and that the U.S. ...