Somalia

In Somalia in 1993, famine and civil war riddled the country resulting in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths leading to a major United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping mission and U.S. led military operations. Following the U.S. led Battle of Mogadishu, which resulted in a strategic disaster and U.S. withdrawal that scarred public opinion, Somalia became a politically sensitive and emotive issue impacting U.S. policy. This work will identify the clear and present danger that Somalia's terrorist and violent extremist networks (VEN) pose to our country and if U.S. policy remains unchanged will lead to attacks within our borders emanating from Somalia. U.S. policy shortfalls in our National Security Strategy and military oversight by U.S. Africa Command in the U.S. defense strategies fail to address this threat.