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U.S. Presses Peacekeeping Plan

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The Washington Post

Published: December 15, 2008

UNITED NATIONS - The Bush administration will mount a last-ditch push this week to muster international backing for a relatively small U.N. peacekeeping mission in Somalia, in an effort to help stem piracy and prevent the resurgence of Islamic militants in the lawless east African nation, according to State Department officials.

The initiative - which Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will raise at a high-level United Nations meeting on piracy here Tuesday - comes as the U.S.-backed Ethiopian military is preparing to withdraw its forces from Somalia at the end of the month, raising concerns that Islamic militants may seize control of Mogadishu for the second time in less than three years.

But the U.S. plan faces deep skepticism from the U.N. leadership and key European governments, which fear that a U.N. peacekeeping mission would lack the firepower and troops needed to succeed in Somalia.

THE U.S. PROPOSAL

•The United States has already begun informal negotiations on a resolution that would authorize the transformation of the existing African Union Mission to Somalia - which includes 3,400 Burundian and Ugandan peacekeepers - into a somewhat larger U.N. mission.

•The peacekeepers would be restricted to Mogadishu and other parts of southern Somalia.

•The United States has warned that Ethiopia will delay its departure from Somalia only if such a peacekeeping force is approved.

•Supporters of the Bush plan include China and South Africa.

DISSENTERS

•France, Britain and Russia are resisting the U.S. proposal, arguing there is no peace to keep.

•Critics say the United States' approach to Somalia is showing signs of incoherence.

•Critics call U.S. support for Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia a major blunder that strengthened the insurgents' standing.

THE INSURGENTS

•Al-Shabaab, the Islamic insurgents, have been gaining strength, drawing support from Somalis who resent Ethiopia's occupation.

•Al-Shabaab, or "the Youth," has local roots, but it has received backing from Ethiopia's regional rival, Eritrea.

•The insurgents have established links with al-Qaida representatives outside Somalia.

THE UNITED NATIONS

•The U.N. bureaucracy has been sharply divided over Somalia.

•U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon concluded last month that even a larger and better-equipped U.N. peacekeeping force of 22,000 would not be capable of stabilizing Somalia and that a much more powerful multinational force was needed.

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