by Shire Salaad (Hassan Mire)
Monday, July 28, 2014
In mid-July of this year President Obama accepted the credentials of Somalia’s official Ambassador to US bringing the diplomatic rapport between the two nations closer in more than two-decades; however, what’s missing is reciprocity from the US side—and there are obvious reasons of why the US government isn't rushing to send an ambassador to Somalia.
The recent attacks on American embassies in North Africa and Middle East and constant threat that Al-Shabab poses inside Somalia created an environment, in the State Department, that breeds extreme caution to avoid repeating what have happen in Libya two years ago when the US Ambassador in that country lost his life. Moreover, the American interests in Somalia are largely to contain Al-Shabab in Somalia and combat piracy, which both have been successful in American eyes.
More importantly the US government has set-up another embassy inside its embassy in Kenya, since the civil war broke out in Somalia, temporarily to conduct its diplomatic missions inside Somalia. This de facto embassy has its own envoy and diplomatic corps that solely deal with Somalia affairs, and they report directly to Washington. This decreases the need of having a physical presence of US embassy inside Somalia. There is also the reality that there is a political gridlock in the US Congress that seems to stall any effort the Obama administration makes to send new ambassadors overseas—there are currently fifty-eight State Department nominees that are awaiting the US Congress to vote on, and the truth the future Somalia ambassador is not in the list.
Aside from Somalia’s government propaganda that claims Washington is on the verge to appoint an ambassador to Somalia, there’s no source from Washington to validate this appointment to be an imminent one. However, recently Wendy Sherman, under US Secretary of State for Political Affairs Office and being the fourth-ranking high official of US State Department, gave an hour long speech about Somalia hinting that the US is proceeding to nominate an Ambassador to Somalia. She didn’t say when will this appointment happen. In fact the crux of her speech was holding Somalia together, which she framed in different ways to get her point across.
Holding Somalia together is also another topic that the US government is thinking about. Somalia’s Somaliland has been somewhat successful in recent years in its lobbying efforts in Washington and London to secede from the rest of Somalia. Somaliland already has diplomatic office in Addis Ababa and soon will have one in Nairobi as the Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Dr. Kibicho Karanja recently told reporters. Somaliland is also enjoying its newly formed relationship with Djibouti which use to limit the access pro-Somalilanders have in her country. Now these neighbors share economic, political and security cooperation. So in that background, Washington does not see a problem holding back the nomination of future Somalia ambassador; Washington is likely waiting to see how things will turn out in the Horn of Africa in coming years.
The sending of US ambassador to Somalia will also depend on how Hassan’s administration and future Somalia governments address corruption in the government, fragmentation of Somalia nation, security, and their intellectual capacity to fight for what is theirs and demand an equal footing.
So if anyone tells you that the US government is on the verge to send an ambassador to Somalia anytime soon know is far-fetched.
Shire Salaad (Hassan Mire) is a political and developmental economics strategist, former McNair Scholar, blogger (somalispost.com) and independent researcher.