U.S. FUNDED SOMALIA'S AL-SHABAAB TERRORISTS

Talk of US involvement in Somalia, and the first images that come to mind are drones, firefights, bombs, death and destruction. ‘Black Hawk Down,’ anyone?

Yet, recent reports suggest that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been channelling millions of dollars to the Somali extremist group, Al-Shabaab.

During a US House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee hearing on 26 February, Gregg Roman, executive director of Middle East Forum, disclosed that Al-Shabaab is one of many terrorist groups benefiting from US foreign aid.

The US has a long history with Somalia that dates back to funding the government of President Mohammed Siad Barre, who ruled the country between 1969 and 1991.

The US began bombing Somalia in the early 1990s following a Somali coalition ousting Barre. Since 2001, every US administration—Democrat and Republican—has continued that bombing campaign. The US has justified military interventions for counterterrorism, anti-piracy efforts and humanitarian aid, yet they mask a cynical interest in the region's strategic value. Somalia boasts Africa's longest coastline—3,025 kilometres—and lies at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, where many countries have based their military operations to protect trade.

During the Biden administration, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) collaborated with elements of the US-backed government in Mogadishu to carry out airstrikes on suspected Al-Shabaab positions, often resulting in civilian casualties.

In 2023 alone, the US k*lled 120 Somali civilians during 18 airstrikes and one ground operation.

Video credit: @GOPoversight (X)

Sources:

https://oversight.house.gov/release/hearing-wrap-up-america-first-foreign-aid-protects-u-s-interests-at-home-and-abroad/

https://thegrayzone.com/2021/08/13/in-somalia-the-us-is-bombing-the-very-terrorists-it-created/

https://theconversation.com/in-afghanistan-families-are-forced-to-sell-children-to-survive-trumps-usaid-cuts-will-be-devastating-249713

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/usaid-sending-40-million-per-week-to-taliban-witness-drops-bombshell-at-congress-hearing/videoshow/118607686.cms?from=mdr

https://www.voanews.com/a/how-pause-in-us-foreign-aid-is-impacting-south-central-asia/7971248.html

https://www.propublica.org/article/united-nations-cash-afghanistan-following-taliban-takeover

https://so.usembassy.gov/usaids-new-40-million-people-centered-governance-activity/

https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/blog/how-many-people-does-the-us-assess-it-killed-in-somalia-in-2023