Kings College, London:Somalia

The saga continues.

In October, Kings College welcomed two experts on the role of piracy on the high seas surrounding Somalia. The War Studies department continues their fascination with the Horn of Africa nation on the following lecture topic:

Monday 14 December, 17.00
CSD Research Programme: Public Lecture
"Protracted State Failure and the Somalia Crisis"
Speaker: Professor Ken Menkhaus, Davidson College, NC
Chair: Professor Mats Berdal
Location: War Studies Seminar Room (k6.07)

The biography of the speaker reads as follows:

Professor Ken Menkhaus of Davidson College, NC, specializes in the Horn of Africa, with a particular interest in Somalia. He has researched, written, and conducted policy work on such topics as humanitarian relief, peacekeeping, post-conflict development assistance, collapsed states, protracted conflict, and Islamic movements in the Horn of Africa. In 1993-94 he served as special political advisor in the UN operation in Somalia, and was visiting professor at the US Army Peacekeeping Institute in 1994-95. In 2002 he was awarded a USIP research grant to complete a book on protracted conflicts in the Horn of Africa. Among his publications are Somalia: State Collapse and the Threat of Terrorism (Adephi Paper, Oxford University Press, 2004).

Now, this gentleman was involved in Operation Restore Hope. For those indivudals who have seen Black Hawk Down by Ridley Scott you pretty much know how the whole story went down [admittedly from the perspective of a British film maker fascinated by all things American]. Now Wikipedia states the following:

Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States led, United Nations sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia between 5 December 1992 – May 4, 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), UNITAF was charged with carrying out United Nations Security Council Resolution 794: to create a protected environment for conducting humanitarian operations in the southern half of Somalia.

Even the simplest of simpletons can see what Professor Menkhaus' perspective is on the region. A post on this seminar will be published on the 14th December outlining the folly of pretence.