Friday, April 30, 2010
Somali troops (photo: Reuters)
Millions of American taxpayer dollars have been wasted trying to train Somalia’s ragtag army, as Washington officials try to shore up an isolated government surrounded by Islamic insurgents. The United States has spent $6.8 million since last year on training for 2,100 Somali soldiers who were supposed to receive $100 a month in wages. But many of the men weren’t paid, causing them to desert or even to join militant rebels.
Getting funds to the new recruits has proven to be a “complex affair,” thanks to the involvement of diverse donor sources, as well as problems of corruption within Somalia.
Somalia’s government controls only a few blocks of the capital, Mogadishu, while Islamic insurgents control the rest of the city and most of the country. American officials worry that Somalia could turn into another Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda trained terrorists to carry out attacks on the West until the U.S. invaded the country after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
In addition to the funds for training, the U.S. has allocated another $12 million for transportation, uniforms and equipment to help the Somali military.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Hundreds of Somali Soldiers Desert after US-Supported Training, Some to Al-Qaida-Linked Group (by Katharine Houreld, Associated Press)
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