November 12, 2004

Somalis estimate that some 300,000 people have died in 14 years of civil war. The new government is asking for the UN to send in a force of 20,000 peacekeepers to disarm 55,000 militiamen, and round up many of the two million assault rifles, pistols, machine-guns and rifles held by Somalis. There is no enthusiasm at the UN for trying to assemble another peacekeeping force for Somalia. At present, some 75 percent of the peacekeeping is being done in Africa. The United States, however, is keenly interested in keeping an eye on terrorism in Somalia, and that angle might bring in American troops.