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JEDDAH, 10 October 2003 (Arab News) — US President George W. Bush has said the formation of an effective Somali government will help stabilize the Horn of African and disband terrorism, media reports said on Tuesday.
In a joint press conference in Washington with visiting Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, Bush said he expected Somalia to continue to work with Kenya to bring unity and reconciliation to the war-torn country. Kenya is currently hosting the twelve-month-long Somali peace talks.
“The establishment of an effective representative government in Somalia will help stabilize the region and dispel the hopelessness that feeds terror,’’ Bush said.
Although Bush has not made public commitments on expanding the US role in Somalia, the reports said that Kibaki had asked Bush for more American help in stabilizing Somalia.
Washington abandoned Somalia when 18 American peacekeepers were killed in a firefight in the capital Mogadishu in October 1993. Since Sept. 11, US officials have repeatedly said that Al-Qaeda can exploit Somalia’s anarchy and use it as a base of its operations against the United States and the West.
As a result American warships are stationed off the coast of Somalia to monitor maritime traffic and stop movement of Al-Qaeda fighters. American reconnaissance planes even overfly Somali territory, taking pictures of activities on the ground. “I emphasized that in order to maintain the democratic gains and to sustain the war against terrorism, it is essential that Somalia stabilizes. In this respect, it is important for the US to increase its involvement in this search for peace in Somalia. It is pertinent that all parties involved in the peace process remain engaged. I asked the US government to assist in this regard,” Kibaki said.
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