In early June, the United States intervened militarily in Somalia for the third time this year, striking a group of alleged terrorists with cruise missiles. The men targeted had come ashore in northern Somalia two days earlier and were hiding in nearby mountains. Episodes such as this one may soon become more frequent, as recent reports point to an increased US military presence in Somalia.

The confrontation occurred outside of a small village in Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia that has escaped much of the violence there. A group of more than a dozen men came ashore Wednesday night and opened fire on local policemen. Having wounded four, they headed into nearby mountains for cover....

The U.S. Senate is set to debate a resolution calling on the U.S. government to increase its support for "peace, democracy and development in Somalia." Senate Resolution 460 calls on the President, with the  State Department, to develop an "interagency stabilization and reconstruction strategy" for U.S. activity toward Somalia. It further urges the President to appoint a Special Envoy to Somalia to help guide U.S. policy and interests in the region. While U.S. efforts for peace and democracy in Somalia are welcomed, many fear U.S. engagement in Somalia will only lead to continued instability.

In early June of 2006, Islamic militants stormed Somalia's capital city of Mogadishu--site of the 1993 killings of 18 American marines, captured in the movie Black Hawk Down--and wrested control from several allied warlord militias. The U.S. government, meanwhile, was found to be funneling military support to the warlords in a bid to prevent the spread of what it perceived to be radical Islam and terrorism. Understanding the puzzle of Somalia’s current state and charting a responsible U.S. foreign policy, however, require putting the fragmented pieces of Somalia's history back together.