Can African peacekeepers tame Somalia?

Ethiopia, which sent thousands of troops into Somalia to fight alongside Somali government forces, has indicated that its troops will be withdrawn within weeks. Other East African member-nations in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) gave their support to Ethiopia's intervention on condition that Ethiopia would quickly withdraw.

Despite Mr. Museveni's enthusiasm, many Ugandan leaders have repeatedly expressed concerns about sending soldiers to Somalia.

"We want to know, what is our objective? How long are we going to stay? And how will we be able to pull out?" says Oryem Okello, the state minister for Foreign Affairs in Museveni's own government.

Many Ugandans say their country should not participate until it resolves its own conflicts.

"Is 20 years and more of war in Uganda not enough to let us build and consolidate peace first in Uganda?" asks Vincent Abura, a Ugandan resident.

Yet a quiet but feverish round of diplomacy by Washington has sweetened the deal. The US has agreed to donate $16 million for the proposed African force, which was endorsed by the UN before the war. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Uganda's foreign minister, Sam Kutesa, in Washington last month that she believes Al Qaeda elements are backing the Somali Islamists.

Uganda Presidential Press Secretary Tamale Mirundi confirmed a recent phone conversation between President George Bush and Museveni in which Uganda was asked to intervene in Somalia.

"The motivation of Uganda is political, partly to keep in America's good books," says de Waal. "Museveni's record on democracy leaves a lot to be desired, and closer to home he's fearful of a resurgence in militant Islam. So the Ugandans want to make sure they are part of some regional coalition with Nigeria and Ethiopia to keep it at bay."

Nigeria, too, has practical reasons for joining the peacekeeping mission in Somalia, says de Waal. "The US could cut a lot of slack for Nigeria. If they stay on side, they can get away with fiddling with elections, get away with corruption. Being a friendly nation is very helpful."

Yet John Prendergast, a senior adviser for the International Crisis Group in Washington, says that the new strategy of forcing peacekeeping onto the backs of poorer nations is a moral failure of the UN and the richer nations of the West.

"This should be a UN responsibility," says Mr. Prendergast. "We are placing all of the burdens of responding to African conflicts on Africa, while the UN deals with the rest of the world, because we want to keep these crises at arm's length. This is a perverse trend that will be reversed years from now only through failure, resulting from too few troops with too little support from donor nations. In the meantime, people from Darfur and Somalia will be left to suffer the consequences."

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