Last year, the people of Somalia caught a glimpse of tranquility. It was fleeting and certainly not without its violent interruptions, but the few months of rule under the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) is now being called Somalia’s ‘golden era’ by top United Nations officials. In recent weeks, the area around Mogadishu has collapsed into a bloodbath that has resulted in the displacement of an estimated 90,000 individuals, on top of the tens of thousands who had already fled their homes. Famine is likely and disease and malnourishment plague the streets. Indeed we may wonder how the ‘golden era’ so quickly disappeared.

The United States’ role in Somalia has been limited since the deaths of 18 soldiers in Mogadishu in 1993. Fearing a public outcry, the Bush Administration has been reluctant to get involved in Somalia, despite its alleged breeding ground for terrorism. But when the UIC took over in the summer of last year, the United States once again saw reason for military involvement in the Horn of Africa.