Somalia NeWS
"A New Scrutiny of Somalia as the Old Anarchy Reigns."
By Donald McNeil
Source: The New York Times
"Two governments, two breakaway states, five clan groups, and over 30 individual clans fight for control within Somalia."
Somalia has an extremely fragmented governmental system in which the nominal government controls less than half of the capital and some costal regions. Somalia lies in a virtual state of ruin. The country is without a central financial structure, and therefore, there are few that object to the fact that many Somali businessmen as printing their own currency, which in turn is destabilizing the economic structure of the county. Over the past 2 years many of the exports of Somalia have been drastically restricted due to the fear of the diseases that these animals may carry.
The economic system of the county has virtually been destroyed over the past
12 years due to the civil war that continues to rage. Following the events
of September 11th many individuals believed that Somalia might prove to be
a good haven for Oshma Bin Ladin since the country is virtually without a
centralized government. The instable transitional government, led by Abdikassim
Salad Hassan, has invited the United States and other international organizations
to enter the country and search for terrorist cells. Many are fearful that
the threat of action and subsequent bombing against Somalia may destabilize
the already shaky government of Somalia in the way that was seen in Afghanistan.
The provisional government of Somalia is craving recognition from the United
States and the rest of the international community. Although a government
has been established in the country it is certainly not secure. Opposition
groups within the country have attempted to raise opposition to the government
by attempting to tie the government with terrorist operations. Somalia still
remains a state of lawlessness where the government continues to hold very
little power over its citizens in various regions.