U.N. Criticizes U.S. Restrictions on Aid for Somalia

U.N. Criticizes U.S. Restrictions on Aid for Somalia

This article discusses the criticisms the UN has made regarding the US' aid to Somalia. The US has decrease aid to Somalia over the past year, claiming it does not want the aid to help finance terrorists in the area, many of which are part of the group called the Shabab. The UN officer in charge of humanitarian aid to Somalia, Mark Bowden, said that the idea that some of the aid will profit the Shabab is unfounded. “What we are seeing is a politicization of humanitarian issues,” he said, adding that when he recently went to Washington to discuss the matter with American aid officials, “the comment we met was, ‘This is beyond our pay grade,'" said Bowden. An American official disagreed, saying that “We wouldn’t have reacted this way if the allegations were ungrounded. There is a body of evidence here.”

While it is unclear whether or not the American aid might actually be benefiting the terrorists (they could sell the food to buy guns, for instance), I think there are more realist policies at play here. However, I think the reason the US has stopped giving so much aid is simply because it is very expensive, and the US is facing a strong economic downturn. While liberal theory would conclude that a more stable Somalia would mean a more peaceful world, realist theory would say that the US is giving away money that would benefit the US during the economic crisis. In order to look out for the US' immediate interests, it needs to keep the money within its borders.I think this idea is what is really behind the decrease in aid to Somalia, not the possibility of the aid benefiting the terrorists.