US security interests kept Obama from cutting aid to Egypt. What are they?

When Obama, in response to Egypt's brutal crackdown on protesters, refrained from cutting off US military aid, he cited US 'national interests.' Broadly, they boil down to one main idea: stability.

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi carry a wounded man during clashes with Egyptian security forces

By Howard LaFranchi

As President Obama labored this week to explain his cautious response to the Egyptian military’s deadly crackdown on peaceful protesters, he repeatedly cited America’s national security interests in maintaining close ties with Egypt.

The US is “guided by our national interests in this longstanding relationship,” he said in his statement Thursday on the Egyptian security forces’ brutal repression of supporters of Mohammed Morsi, the ousted Islamist president.

Mr. Obama did not enumerate those national interests, but taken together they can largely be boiled down to one word: stability. The US has a keen interest in Egypt’s internal stability, but upheaval in Egypt would also raise questions about broader regional stability.

The overriding interest in Egypt’s stability that motivated successive American presidents to overlook dictatorship and work closely with the country’s autocratic leaders is the same one that prompted Obama to leave $1.3 billion in annual military assistance to Egypt untouched.

Taken separately, those national security interests range from upholding the terms of the US-brokered Egypt-Israel peace treaty – an agreement that has provided the bedrock of regional stability for nearly four decades – to maintaining counterterrorism cooperation with the Arab world’s largest and most influential country.

US national security interests in Egypt extend to seeing the Suez Canal remain open and carrying a significant portion of the world’s petroleum.

At the heart of US relations with Egypt are the 1979 Camp David Accords – from which came the Israel-Egypt peace treaty and which define the amount of aid Egypt receives annually from the US.

As Brent Scowcroft, the former national security adviser to President Ford and the first President Bush, notes, the annual aid to Egypt has a specific purpose, which is to “cement” the peace treaty between two crucial American partners in the region. Cutting off the $1.3 billion in annual aid to Egypt would be “shortsighted,” Mr. Scowcroft says, because it would undermine a treaty that has fostered peace and security in the region.

Some Egyptian analysts of their country’s relations with the US have been more blunt, saying a suspension of the aid could prompt Egypt’s military rulers to “reevaluate” both the accords and Egypt’s relations with Israel.

Indeed, part of Obama’s reluctance to suspend aid to Egypt actually has to do with Israel, America’s closest ally in the region. As US officials are quick to note, Israel’s security would not be enhanced by any step that could erode Egypt’s stability or erode the influence the US has in Cairo.

Israel and a few Arab countries have pressed the Obama administration in recent weeks not to cut off aid to Egypt – one argument being the vacuum left by a less-present and less-influential Washington would likely be filled by Saudi Arabia and other wealthy states that have less interest in Egypt upholding its treaty with Israel.
Israel also has a keen interest in the US maintaining its close counterterrorism cooperation with Egyptian authorities. Like the US, Israel is alarmed by growing lawlessness in the Sinai Peninsula and by evidence of Al Qaeda activity there.

Israel, which has been working quietly with Egyptian authorities to address a growing Islamist militant presence along the border between the two countries, would be loath to see more openly acknowledged US-Egyptian cooperation suffer the kind of setback that could accompany a suspension of military aid.

No one knows for sure of course how Egyptian authorities would respond if the US decided to send a stern message by suspending military aid. Some experts say the Obama administration’s decision last month to halt delivery of F-16s had little apparent impact, evidence that nothing the US does seems likely to dissuade Egypt’s military rulers from a path they consider necessary to deal with an existential threat to the country.

But Obama and his national security team clearly remain reluctant to test the impact that such a step would have on US cooperation with the Egyptian armed forces – and on a relationship that has been defined as a key US national security interest for decades.

As Secretary of State John Kerry said in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in April, “I think the [Egyptian] military has been the best investment that America has made in years in that region.”

Somalia: Come Let Us Rob And Rape Together

August 17, 2013: With the reduction in al Shabaab activity in the last year has come an increase in corruption by government officials, clan leaders and even the AU (African Union) peacekeepers. The main victims of all this corruption are foreign aid organizations (who are increasingly giving up and leaving) and Somali women (who are more likely to be raped). The most notable aid group departure is Doctors Without Borders, which has been in Somalia for 22 years and treats over 50,000 patients a month. This outfit is the main source of medical care in many parts of the country but the medical staff have become popular kidnapping and robbery victims. The ransom is shared with clan leaders and government officials and thus the kidnappers are rarely caught and encouraged to do it again and again. Aid groups also have a lot of valuable stuff to steal (equipment as well as the aid itself) and now that it is more peaceful the economy is thriving and it’s easier to sell your stolen goods. Hospitals have been attacked and looted, even though wounded terrorists are also brought in and medical care demanded, or else. Armed robbery has always been a popular activity in Somalia and with less fighting between each other, gunmen can now concentrate on economic gain.

The departure of Doctors Without Borders comes at a particularly bad time because of a recent polio outbreak. A l Shabaab opposition to polio vaccinations led to this new outbreak of the disease. Some 600,000 children in southern Somalia and refugee camps in northern Kenya have not been vaccinated, mainly because of al Shabaab opposition and general chaos. The first case was detected i n Kenya three months ago when a Somali child in a refugee camp came down with it. Five years ago the UN announced that a ten year effort to eradicate polio (by vaccinating nearly every child under five) had succeeded and that Somalia was free of the paralyzing (and often fatal) disease (which can only survive in humans). But to make that eradication permanent follow-up vaccinations had to be given and al Shabaab interfered with that. So in the last three months over a hundred kids in Somalia and Kenyan refugee camps have come down with polio. Last year there were only 223 cases worldwide.

Polio should have been eliminated entirely by now, but there has been resistance from Islamic clergy in some countries, who insist the vaccinations are a Western plot to harm Moslem children. This has enabled polio to survive in some Moslem countries (especially Nigeria and Pakistan). The disease also survives in some very corrupt nations, like Kenya and India, because of the difficulty in getting vaccine to remote areas and tracking down nomad groups. In response to this latest outbreak Kenya will carry out more vaccinations in Kenya and help do the same in dangerous parts of Somalia.

Al Shabaab is still around and keeps trying to make a comeback. That has been limited because the terrorist organization has splintered under the government and peacekeeper pressure. Various factions are fighting each other for overall leadership or simply to settle personal or ideological disputes. One al Shabaab leader (Ahmed Godane) appears to be dominant and has been responsible for several recent attacks. Godane believes in al Qaeda and its goal of global domination and using maximum violence to achieve victory. His supporters are hard core and often foreigners. Godane is accused of receiving aid from Eritrea, which seeks to keep the violence going in Somalia as a way to hurt their arch-enemy Ethiopia. Godane and his foreign terrorists are not popular in Somalia and are generally regarded as very violent bandits. Unfortunately there are still lots of equally violent and rapacious warlords and clan leaders in Somalia to compete with the terrorists for popular dislike.

August 14, 2013: Doctors Without Borders announced its departure from Somalia, which has become too expensive and dangerous to operate in. Doctors Without Borders has about 1,500 personnel operating in Somalia, many of them local hires.

August 13, 2013: The government said that a recent major sweep of Mogadishu had resulted in the arrest of 39 suspected al Shabaab members and the destruction or crippling of 17 al Shabaab terror cells operating in the city. Cooperation from the public, who are the main victims of al Shabaab attacks, was the main reason the soldiers and police rounded up so many al Shabaab men. Weapons, bomb making materials and documents were also seized.

August 11, 2013: Officials in Puntland refused to let a Turkish cargo ship unload its cargo of foreign aid and forced the ship to leave. This was the result of a feud with the Somali government which is trying to assert control over Puntland and Somaliland. The Puntland government is resisting and declaring the Turkish aid ship, which had permission from the Somali government to unload in Puntland, was part of this plot.

In Britain details of British aid losses in Somalia made it into the news. In general, these losses are no secret but specific details are rarely released. Foreign aid groups have a better record (compared to government officials) of getting aid to those who need it. Aid given to local leaders or governments (in Somalia, Puntland or Somaliland) are more likely to disappear into private bank accounts. Thus aid groups get a lot of the government aid and are increasingly the target of corrupt local officials.

August 9, 2013: In Mogadishu an Ethiopian Air Force An-24 transport crash landed and burned. Two of the six man crew survived. The aircraft was carrying weapons and ammo for AU peacekeepers.

August 7, 2013: Somali troops raided an al Shabaab camp near the southern city of Afmadow and killed 24 Islamic terrorists, including three who were definitely foreigners. Over fifty terrorists had been in the camp and prisoner interrogations and captured documents indicated that the group was planning some attacks on army checkpoints and bases. Many weapons and much ammo was captured as well. Two soldiers were killed in the night attack, which was made possible by information provided by local civilians. The surviving terrorists are being pursued.

August 6, 2013: In Mogadishu a group of gunmen, believed to be al Shabaab, attacked the home of a local official and fatally wounded him. One of the security guards was also wounded and the attackers were driven off. Al Shabaab does this sort of thing to encourage officials to cooperate when asked (especially when the request is sweetened with a bribe).

August 5, 2013: In Mogadishu some al Shabaab men fired five mortar shells into a residential neighborhood and threw several grenades in another area. The terrorists fled police and soldiers responding to the explosions and later boasted (via the Internet) that this was the first of many attacks. This prompted the government to plan a large sweep of the city to find the terrorists. The al Shabaab activity had been generating a lot of tips from civilians.

Puntland declared that it had cut all diplomatic ties with Somalia because of Somali efforts to force Puntland to give up its independence and once more become part of Somalia. The Puntland government is representative of the local clans and the locals consider itself less corrupt and more efficient that the national “Somalia” government down south.

August 4, 2013: In the central Somalia town of Baidoa a group of al Shabaab fired on a bus station, wounding ten people and then fled the soldiers who responded.

Saudi- Airlines who leave pilgrims stranded to be banned

(MENAFN - Arab News) The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) will ban airliners not committed to returning pilgrims to their original countries within the specified time schedule, sources have said. The companies must submit a regular manifest, a list of the names of the pilgrims coming to the Kingdom ahead of time; otherwise fines will be imposed on them.

For purposes of assessment and the evaluation of Haj operations and services, and in view of past experiences, all instructions and regulations of airliners should guarantee the return of pilgrims to their original countries, said a GACA memo distributed among all national and international carriers operating in the Kingdom. The memo was also distributed to travel and tourism agencies and service providers at Jeddah and Madinah airports.

The statement explained that the authority endorsed specifications and standards of air safety applicable by the European Aviation Safety Agency.

"Any carrier registered on the black list of this agency will be prohibited from operating to and from Saudi Arabia, unless the carrier proves it has taken the corrective measures to lift the ban," said the authority.

More than 1.5 million Haj pilgrims come by air to visit the holy sites.

"This ban is bound to prompt all related agencies in the country to create the right conditions and circumstances to welcome pilgrims, and provide the integrated care and services by all public and private sectors," GACA said. "They should ensure pilgrims' safety from the moment they arrive until their return to their home countries." Every year the authority issues specified directions concerning pilgrims arriving by air so as to regulate operations of carriers, and complete all procedures of their arrivals and departures in a safe and regulated and manner.

The directions in place specify mechanisms of implementation, and set out the procedural steps for submitting applications for operating and the controls governing them. It ensures the scheduling of flight trips and allocates the numbers of airspace reservations and their approval as well as the requirements of air safety and operations in order to get the necessary permits.

The directions that the authority issues specify as well the technical controls and requirements of air operations applicable to all flights - carrier or charter.

My surprising, startling experience in Somalia this August

FILE -- July 22, 2013: A Somali tailor sews cloth in the open-air Hamarweyne market of Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

By Michael Shank

When Americans think of Somalia, famine or violence comes to mind -- a fair perception because the country has suffered both -- or they think of the movie "Black Hawk Down" about U.S. attacks in Mogadishu.

The reality in Mogadishu, however, and throughout Somalia, is much different.

America’s response to, and treatment of, this country, therefore, must also be different.
The status quo, tried for decades, will not work any longer.

Whether it was the thousands flocking to Mogadishu’s beautiful beaches last week, celebrating Eid al-Fitr after Ramadan, or the busy, bustling streets of Mogadishu filled with new business, optimism and opportunity, from what I witnessed, a new dawn is rising.

This is a country trying to liberate itself from the oppression of foreign intervention by next-door neighbors, Arab League states, and Western nations.

This was unexpected.

When I departed Washington, D.C. in early August, there were reports of new violence coming on the heels of summer bombings at the UN mission and the Turkish embassy. But to walk the streets of Mogadishu’s old city, in Shangani and Hamar Weyne, with friends who grew up here, who witnessed decades’ worth of destruction, and who still hold out hope for a foreseeable turning point, is inspiring.

A positive future is palpable. You can taste it.

This a country trying to free itself from a painful past – not merely from mass atrocities that came with warlordism (which America supported), weapons trafficking, extreme poverty, and the anarchy of non-state actor violence.

This is a country trying to liberate itself from the oppression of foreign intervention by next-door neighbors, Arab League states, and Western nations.

Everyone wants a piece of Somalia. And no wonder, it is a country rich with resources.
Agriculture, if sustainably developed, could feed an estimated 100 million people.

Oil resources are estimated at 100 billion barrels, which is why BP, Chevron, Conoco, Eni and Shell bought oil blocks in Somalia decades ago.

Fish stocks rival the world’s best and, when threatened by overfishing or toxic dumping by Arab and Asian countries, became the genesis of Somali piracy (for income generation and protection of coastal waters).

Last week, after meeting with the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Interior and National Security , and Natural Resources, Members of Parliament, the Speaker of the Parliament, and civil society leaders, the path toward rebuilding Somalia became clear.

It must be Somali-led. That means the African Union Mission in Somalia, the security force the West has invested in, must exit and Somali security must be trained and equipped to protect its people.

That means that the Monitoring Group, run by the Western “advisers” who have undermined Somali leaders and institutions, must be dismantled and decommissioned.

That means that the U.S. defense, state and intelligence must stop funding illegal private security firms and stop seeing the military option as the way to create stability in Somalia.

That means that Western banks, like Barclays, must reverse their bans on financial remittances from the Somali diaspora, so that Somalia’s poor can receive subsistence funding.

That’s what the West must stop doing.

Here’s what the West should start doing.

Help the new government feed and employ its people, as there are too many unemployed youth.

Help rebuild the city and country infrastructure.

Help with a renewable energy-reliant power grid. Help with sustainable development, not exploitative extraction and deforestation.

Help the government become a sovereign state, rather than supportive fractious elements.

Help the executive branch (since the Parliament is more representative) be inclusive of all clans since the marginalization of some has led to new recruits for the rebel group al-Shabaab.

This is how Americans can help Somalia.

There are clear opportunities for partnership and engagement and we should pursue them, but Somali people must lead them.

Peace is possible, now let’s help them pursue it.

Michael Shank is director of foreign policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

Somalia on the Brink

Aid groups are leaving because of violent attacks. But the biggest problem is that the West is undermining any progress.

A woman who recently fled drought in Somalia holds her daughter in her arms at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders at the worlds biggest refugee camp in the world on July 4, 2011. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty)

by Michael Shank 

Despite the news that Doctors Without Borders is quitting Somalia after 20-plus years in the country, due to an increase in violent attacks, the biggest war waged in Somalia right now is not between the rebel group al-Shabaab, the fledging government of Somalia, and the African Union’s military mission. It is the war between the Western world and the Somali people. 

This may be hard to imagine but it is true. Last week, during meetings in Mogadishu, it became painfully apparent that the real victims in the “war on terrorism”—and specifically how the West is choosing to combat it on the Horn of Africa—are the Somali people.

After meeting with the prime minister, the ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Interior and National Security, and Natural Resources, members of Parliament, the speaker of the Parliament, and civil society leaders, the path toward rebuilding Somalia became clear.

As the recently installed Somali executive and parliamentary branches of government are scrambling to prove their mettle to a very skeptical populace, what the West is doing is actively undermining potential for this poor country’s political, economic, and social progress. If Western actors—whether in the U.S., the EU, or elsewhere—care about the future stability of Somalia, they had better change their approach, and fast.

This country hangs in a very delicate balance.  While Mogadishu is bustling with business like any normal city, and nothing like the bomb-riddled war zone the world prefers to present in the press, if the international community does not change its approach, we will soon see a resurgence of instability.

First and foremost, America’s counter-terrorism approach to Somalia must be rethought completely.

Government officials here know that al-Shabaab recruits heavily from the poor and unemployed sectors of Somali society and from clans who are marginalized from the political process. They know that the way to undermine al-Shabaab’s power and presence is through economic development and job creation, political participation, and inclusion, and by building the security infrastructure necessary for Somali self-governance. They know that the way to ensure that former fighters do not return to al-Shabaab is through an aggressive rehabilitation and reintegration strategy on par with what Saudi Arabia is doing with its former fighters. And yet, what most of America’s Defense and State departments are doing here is antithetical to this goal.

The U.S. and international community’s preferred approach is to pump billions into security assistance and next to nothing on economic development and job creation in Somalia. This is not an exaggeration. There is no money for transportation, power and energy grids, hospitals, and schools—all the stuff this necessary for a stable society. Witness this in Baghdad, Kabul, Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province, and now in Mogadishu. Additionally, there is little to no effort to support and train a national Somali security sector.

Instead, paramilitaries and private security companies like U.S.-based Bancroft are pervasive and the African Union Mission in Somalia continues to get fully funded (with no exit strategy) and with clear economic self-interest in the continuation of violence, paying its soldiers 15 times what Somali soldiers get paid.

What is needed, as one Somali businessman put it, is a “godfather”

Second, the difficulty of doing business in Somalia must be addressed.  In meeting with the Chamber of Commerce in Mogadishu last week it became clear that one of the main obstacles to economic development is the lack of a financial system, internationally accredited banks and legal mechanisms for ensuring accountability. 

The U.N. Somalia Monitoring Group, a Western-led oversight group that is categorically dismissed by Somali government and nongovernment leaders for doing much to undermine progress and potential in Somalia, is now singlehandedly dismantling Somalia’s sole financial effort: their Central Bank. One wonders if the current chair of the Monitoring Group, a former World Bank official based in Nairobi, is following in the footsteps of his Bank predecessors and working to undermine financial self-sufficiency that would make Somalia less dependent on international financial institutions. This has happened before by the Bank—throughout the developing world—so the suspicion has merit.

Third, the West’s penchant for resource exploitation on the African continent has no place on the Horn. Take, for example, the oil and gas exploration deal signed last week between Britain’s newly formed Soma Oil and Gas Exploration, chaired by U.K. conservative leader Lord Michael Howard, and the Somali’s Minister of Natural Resources, with whom I also met to discuss the country’s national environmental policy (the draft of which seems very forward-looking and progressive).

Skeptics in Mogadishu wondered what Britain’s recent interest was all about and now it’s clear. Estimates of Somali offshore oil stand at 110 billion barrels.  In a seemingly asymmetrical negotiated process, the spoils—Somalia gets 12 percent of royalties, minimum of 50 percent of profits, rents for leasing, and a $200,000 community development fund—may have some financial face value for Somalia but the real test is in the capacity and infrastructure built in the country. 

Oil and cash will come and go but what is Soma leaving behind other than unlimited exploration? Very little in capacity and infrastructure it turns out. To Soma’s credit, they’ll at least be hiring Somalis for basic, low-level service jobs, a practice that is not followed by the myriad international defense and development contractors operating in the mini-“green zone” adjacent to Mogadishu’s airport, nor followed by the African Union Mission in Somalia. What a lost opportunity to employ and train Somalis and build out a skilled labor sector.

What is needed, as one Somali businessman put it, is a “godfather”—a country that looks out for the best interests of the Somali people. Currently, Somalis feel there is none, but rather a set of self-interested countries near and far that have a financial stake in a perpetually dis-unified Somalia: from regional meddlers like Kenya and Ethiopia to international “lions,” to quote a member of Parliament, like America and the U.K. Every one of them—said one government minister—has their interest. For America and the U.K., it’s either counter-terrorism or oil (American oil companies also bought up blocks decades ago). But in both cases, it is clear that the Somali people are not the beneficiaries.

This self-interest by companies and countries is fickle and dangerous and unless economic development is prioritized, instability and insecurity will return. There are plenty of opportunities to pursue, whether it’s growing Somali’s livestock industry, which currently exports 5 million goats and sheep to the Gulf, reviving Somalia’s nascent banana and mango industries, creating a lucrative solar-power energy market, or developing a sustainable fishing industry, there are jobs to be created and Somalis to be trained and hired.  

If the world cares at all about the stability and security of a country that has seen more war than most nations, this is the only path to pursue and the most humanitarian one as well. Anything else is mere war profiteering.

Source: thedailybeast.com

Press Release: New US Special Representative for Somalia, James P. McAnulty, Takes up Duties

Press Release: 

Ambassador James P. McAnulty

August 13, 2013

James P. McAnulty takes up duties as Special Representative for Somalia, the United States’ senior policy official on Somalia, starting August 14.

Mr. McAnulty entered the U.S. Foreign Service in October 1983.  He has served at U.S. Embassies in Caracas, Venezuela; Mexico City, Mexico (two separate assignments); Nassau, The Bahamas; San Jose, Costa Rica; Nairobi, Kenya; Brussels, Belgium (at the U.S. Mission to the European Union); and, most recently, Abuja, Nigeria, where he served as Counselor for Political Affairs, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim, and Deputy Chief of Mission.  He also worked at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on issues involving bilateral relations with Mexico in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs and involving arms control issues in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

Mr. McAnulty received the State Department’s Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Performance in Global Affairs in 2002 for his work on behalf of refugees as the Regional Refugee Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.  He also earned three Senior Foreign Service Performance Pay Awards for his achievements as the Narcotics Affairs Section Director in Mexico City and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Abuja.  Mr. McAnulty, who holds the rank of Minister-Counselor, has also received four Superior Honor Awards, including most recently in May 2012, and a Meritorious Honor Award.

Before entering the U.S. Foreign Service, Mr. McAnulty earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a regular commission at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1977.  He served as a U.S. Air Force Officer at assignments in San Angelo, Texas; Berlin, Germany; the Republic of Korea; and Arlington, Virginia.

Source: somalia.usvpp.gov

Justine Greening under fire over theft of British aid supplies to Somalia

Justine Greening, international development secretary. 
She says it is regrettable that supplies funded by the 
UK taxpayer have been lost. Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA

The British government has been criticised over the theft of UK-funded aid supplies by Islamist militants in Somalia, despite claims by the international development secretary, Justine Greening, that the episode is indicative of the frequently difficult conditions in which her department operates.

The supplies, valued at £480,000 and owned by Unicef, the UN agency for children, and the Red Cross, were taken from warehouses in southern Somalia by al-Shabaab between November 2011 and February 2012.

The Department for International Development (DfID) would not specify what those supplies included. Its annual report and accounts, published in June, reported that the amount was written off.

In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday, Greening said: "Obviously Somalia is a highly unstable part of the world. We were there to combat terrorism. This incident shows that often we're working in incredibly challenging conditions."

However, opposition ministers said the revelations raised fundamental questions about government competence. Criticising DfID over the theft of the supplies, Ivan Lewis, the shadow development secretary, said: "Providing aid in conflict countries is very challenging, but proper safeguards have to be in place to ensure our aid does not end up in the hands of terrorist organisations like al-Shabaab. We want assurances that lessons have been learned and systems changed accordingly."

Although Greening emphasised the threat of terrorism, when the events took place Somalia was in the throes of a famine that had been declared by the UN in July. The UK was one of the first countries to announce a major humanitarian effort. In August 2011, Greening's predecessor, Andrew Mitchell, visited Mogadishu and announced an extra £25m in emergency aid for the east African country, to be handled by Unicef.

The UK spent £94.9m in official development assistance (ODA) in Somalia in 2011, of which £73.2m was humanitarian. The £480,000 written off amounts to approximately 0.5% of the total sum.

By the time the famine in Somalia was declared over, in February 2012, more than a quarter of a million people were estimated to have died. More than half were children under five, making it the worst famine in the past 25 years (pdf). A UN study estimated that 258,000 people died in southern and central parts of Somalia between October 2010 and April 2012, including 133,000 under fives.

Greening did not mention the famine in her interview. "It is regrettable we lost supplies funded by the taxpayer, but we were in Somalia precisely because of the terrorism threat and at the time there were huge piracy issues and it shows why we were there in the first place," she said.

Greening was also asked about UK aid to Nigeria, classified as a middle-income country. It is to receive £974m between 2011 and 2015, and some wonder why a country about to launch a space programme should receive UK taxpayers' money.

The development secretary pointed out that Nigeria was investing in weather satellites that could provide crucial information for a country with a large agricultural sector. "For a country like Nigeria, which still has a huge agricultural sector for which getting crops can be the difference between keeping people alive and having chronic famine, actually understanding weather problems – what is coming up – is absolutely key to food production and food planning," she told the Today programme.

Greening went on to describe Nigeria's investment in satellites – some funding for which has been provided by British companies – as "sensible" and one "we would expect them to be making alongside the investment that we make".

Her appearance on the Today programme comes against a background of rising discontent among Tory MPs about the coalition government's decision to increase the aid budget to 0.7% of gross national income, despite most government departments experiencing budget cuts.

According to Treasury documents released under the June spending review, ODA will rise to £11.7bn in 2014-15 and £12.2bn the following year. The UK spent £8.5bn on ODA in 2012. George Osborne, the chancellor, at the time acknowledged opposition in Tory ranks, but said he refused to balance the books at the expense of poor people.

Somalia: Somali Officials Back Terrorists Against Aid

 

Al Shabaab has renewed its campaign to bring instability to the country’s capital Mogadishu. And foreign aid agencies and their employees are increasingly becoming targets of the extremist group and corrupt officials within the Somali government. Credit: Omar Faruq/IPS

By William Lloyd-George

Addis Ababa — Foreign aid workers are increasingly becoming targets of corrupt officials within the Somali government and the Islamist extremist group Al-Shabaab.

"The government is laden with corrupt officials and allied clan militias that are determined to use them [aid workers] for their own interests," political analyst Hassan Abukar told IPS. "Kidnapping foreign aid workers has become a way to extract cash from NGOs. Al-Shabaab is mistrustful of the NGOs for fear of losing control in the way aid is administered and [mistakenly believes] that these relief agencies are spying on the terror group."

Abukar's comments come as international and independent aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders (MSF), announced this week that it was pulling out of Somalia after over two decades of delivering aid and healthcare there. The murder and harassment of their staff has made it increasingly impossible for the organisation to operate, Dr. Unni Karunakara, MSF's international president, told reporters at a press briefing in Kenya on Aug. 14. "With the government unable to prevent attacks on themselves, attacks on aid organisations and their workers are not unsurprising." -- Ahmed Soliman from Chatham House

MSF, which was one of the very few providers of essential healthcare in the Horn of Africa nation, has persevered to provide aid through a civil war, in-fighting among local clans, and piracy. But it will immediately stop all operations. MSF has been operating in the country since 1991, and treated approximately 50,000 people a month.

"The final straw was the realisation that authorities, armed actors and community leaders were actively supporting or tacitly approving the attacks, the abductions, the killings against our staff," Karunakara said.

Karunakara explained that in some cases, the actors MSF had negotiated safe passage with had played a role in the abuse of MSF staff, either through direct involvement or tacit approval. "Because of their actions, hundreds of thousands of Somalis will now be effectively cut off from medical humanitarian aid," said Karunakara.

In total, 16 MSF members have been killed, and MSF says they have experienced dozens of attacks on their staff, ambulances, and medical facilities since 1991.

MSF's departure from Somalia comes at a time when Somalia's Transitional Federal Government is trying to change the country's image after years of civil war and famine. Many analysts believe MSF's departure will be a huge blow to recent efforts to bring foreign aid and investment to the country.

"The departure of MSF shows the incapacity of the new government to manage local security," Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle, head of the Centre for Research and Dialogue in Mogadishu, told IPS.

"The MSF withdrawal also comes at a time when the Somali government is trying to change the image of the country from a transitional to permanent government and on the eve of Somalia's new deal conference to be held in Brussels mid-September where world leaders are expected to pledge millions of dollars to the new government."

MSF's departure shows that although the African Union Mission in Somalia and an independent Ethiopian force have driven Al-Shabaab out of the country's main cities, the extremist group is still able to perpetrate wide-scale violence.

Analysts say there has been a notable change in Al-Shabaab's tactics as they renew their assault on the capital. Several government institutions and airports have been attacked or bombed and government officials, district commissioners and civil servants have been assassinated.

Recently, the extremist group attacked the Turkish embassy in Mogadishu on Jul. 27, killing three people. And on Jun. 17, the United Nations compound in the city was also attacked. Fifteen were killed in the attack.

"In this context, with the government unable to prevent attacks on themselves, attacks on aid organisations and their workers are not unsurprising," Ahmed Soliman from Chatham House, an independent policy institute based in London told IPS. "MSF would like civilian authorities to take the conviction of those who perpetrate such acts of violence more seriously. The government can certainly reinforce this message and work towards this goal."

MSF is not the only organisation to withdraw staff. In recent weeks, owing to the increase in violence, most international organisations have withdrawn their non-essential staff from Somalia. While violence is known to increase during Ramadan and abate afterwards, Abukar believes that it is unlikely to reduce "because of the new dynamics of Al-Shabaab factions that are killing each other for control of territories."

Evidence of Al-Shabaab's infighting and the defection of Al-Shabaab's veteran militant Islamist, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys in July, could be a signal that more violence could be on the way.

Previously revered as a statesman for the group, Aweys was forced to hand himself over to government forces, giving power over to Afghan-trained leader Ahmed Abdi Godane.

Analysts expect that this will fuel more fighting, as this faction is more hardline and determined to achieve an Islamic state. The faction will also want to prove it remains a formidable force in light of the defections.

"The emergence of tribal militias loyal to the federal government, which are vying for power, the widespread of political assassinations that are never prosecuted, and the increasing inability of the government to expand its will and control beyond Mogadishu [means that violence will not abate]," Abukar said.

"As the latest U.N. Monitoring Group report on Somalia has pointed out, the Somali government cannot control a territory without international support."

While Al-Shabaab fights within its ranks and MSF departs, with fears that more NGO's may follow, the biggest concerns will be for the Somali people who are now cut off from much-needed medical care.

"Unfortunately the Somali people will pay the highest cost. Much of the Somali population has never known the country without war or famine. Already receiving far less help than is needed, many will no longer find the healthcare they require," said Karunakara. "In several places, MSF has been effectively the only organisation providing quality medical care."

Mo Farah wins World 5000m final title at Moscow 2013

Re-live the action as Mo Farah wins the World 5000m title and secures his place in greatness

6:14 pm
Here's the story: Mo Farah completes dream double with 5,000 metres gold in Moscow

6:08 pm
What a wonderfully controlled race from Mohamed Farah CBE.

A great, courageous race also from Koech who took bronze in the end, but despite the Ethiopian attempt to block him out, Mo powered past his rivals to record a memorable win.

An incredible achievement.

6:03 pm
Britain's greatest athlete ever!

Lord Coe said that this would take him to the absolute top - and he's done it.

Breathless stuff from the Mogadishu-born, Oregon-based super-Brit.

The guts and power shown in that final 400 was something phenomenal but he wins by three or four metres in the end.

Final result:

    Mohamed FARAH  GBR 13:26.98
    Hagos GEBRHIWET  ETH 13:27.26
    Isiah Kiplangat KOECH  KEN 13:27.26


5:58 pm
MO FARAH WINS THE GOLD!

5:58 pm
THE BELL RINGS! FINAL LAP:

Mo still battles away but he is getting some serious pressure from alongside him as Koech finds something extra in his bank.

Final straight and it's neck and neck

5:57 pm
Yenew Alamirew is now in front:

He's repeating his defensive tactics from Birmingham and tries to prevent Farah taking the lead.

The Ethiopians are desperate for Mo not to get any gap and there he goes.

MO BREAKS.

MO GOES.

600 to go....
 
5:56 pm
4 laps to go in the World Championship Final:

The 3000m split was 8.27.79 with Koech out in front but his mini-break has been swallowed up by that talented peloton (can I use that phrase?).

Farah crosses the line level first when they go over the start line for 1200m to go - he's got to be liking this position.

5:54 pm
Koech makes the break:

Farah allows the Kenyan to put some yards between them and the number 3 stretches things out a tad.

If he's going to go then he needs to stamp his foot on the pedal and properly break because the chasing field are too good for half-measures.

Farah drops to third behind Edris (Ethiopia)

5:52 pm
FARAH COMES THROUGH THE PACK!

Mo decides he wants to take the Ethiopian bull by the horns and rises through the group to take the lead.

The 2000m split time is 5.38.11 with Farah leading.

Elroy Gelant - the South African - comes up on the outside and lurks on Mo's right shoulder.

5:50 pm
1000m split 2.45.12 - Isiah Koech:

Two and a half laps down and Koech is our leader.

It's been a slow-quick-slow-quick tempo so far, showing off a deliberate strategy from the Kenyans who occupy three of the first four positions.

Muktar Edris now leads.

Farah back in 9th-ish.
 
5:48 pm

THEY'RE OFF!

A quick start from Koech who has decided he wants a bit of room to run in.

The Kenyan gets reeled in a bit, and his compatriot Longosiwa pulls alongside as they begin to re-bunch.

5:47 pm

They're lining up then:

You can expect an exhilarating thirteen minutes or so, which may sound like the sort of promises I make to a girl on a Friday night, but it's fairly scientific with these world class athletes.

The key runners and riders are...

    Muktar Edris ETH
    Mo Farah GBR
    Bernard Lagat USA
    Isiah Kiplangat Koech KEN
    Dejene Regassa BRN
    Galen Rupp USA
    Elroy Gelant RSA
    Hagos Gebrhiwet ETH
    Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa KEN
    Ryan Hill USA

5:41 pm

Oh, and in case your memory is bloody awful, THIS is how good that Olympic moment was.

London roaring Mo home, Farah giving everything and thenthatmoment.

The utter shock on his face as he crosses the line.


5:37 pm

Seb Coe says Mo Farah will be Britain’s greatest athlete ever if he becomes a three-time world champion in the next 24 hours,writes Alex Spink from Moscow.

Lord Coe, a double Olympic gold medallist with a strong claim to the title himself, has always given his vote to decathlon legend Daley Thompson.

But, he concedes, should Farah make a successful defence of his world 5,000 metres title,the 30-year-oldwill move into a class of his own.

Coe said: “If Mo wins, you would have to say he is the greatest British athlete of all time.

“He would be ahead of all of us with five global gold medals – a fantastic achievement.

“Mo is in that special form at the moment where everyone else in the field – whether they would admit it or not – know they are running for second place. I was in that form in 1980-81, believing you are invincible.

“I would always say Daley is No.1 because he is my mate, but Mo would take that title without any question.”

5:21 pm
Hello there dear followers:

It's athletics time once again, and if you haven't watched any since the London Olympics (shame on you) then let me give you a reminder.

The men run round in circles and whoever crosses the line first wins.

Now we've got that out of the way, let's broach the significance of this win.

Mo Farah could become the greatest British athlete if he nets gold tonight.

Yeah, big stuff eh?

More on that to follow...

URGENT NEWS: World Championships 2013: Mo Farah completes incredible 'double double' with hard-fought 5,000m gold

The best efforts of Africa’s finest cannot deny the superstar of distance running his double double glory on the Moscow track

Mo Farah celebrates after winning Gold in the 5,000m

It was on Super Saturday that Mo Farah first truly made his name, the first leg of the double double. This time in Moscow it was Feelgood Friday, the quartet of gold medals completed a year after his world dominance had truly begun in London.

Where once he was merely a homegrown hero, he is now a global star, the roars from the crowd at the Luzhniki Stadium not quite in the realm of those accorded to Usain Bolt but still ear shuddering.
Sebastian Coe had claimed the double would make Farah the greatest British athlete of all time. The case for him being the all-time British No 1 is compelling – he now has five global titles, having also won the 5,000m in Daegu in 2009, and he has repeatedly outfoxed Ethiopian and Kenyan contingents awash with immense talent. One of their finest, Kenenisa Bekele, the only man previously to have managed that 5,000m and 10,000m double double, was not even able to make the Ethiopian team this time.

But there will be those who say Farah cannot claim to be the greatest until an Olympic defence is achieved and a world record is broken. One suspects the latter is very much on the agenda for Farah in the near future. In many ways, his status in the pantheon of all-time British greats did not matter, the 30-year-old producing another race of outstanding quality.

“I never thought in my career I would achieve something like this,” he said. “This was very tough – it was all left  to the last two laps. I had a lot of pressure but, at the same time, I enjoy it. This is something I work so hard for. I was thinking about my kids, how long I spend away from them. It’s very difficult because they’re growing so fast and I haven’t been around for the last four or five months. It was hard this year, harder than last year.”

The scene had been nicely set from a British perspective by Adam Gemili dipping under the 20-second barrier in his 200m semi-final and Farah’s sprint to the line in the 5,000m was one the 19-year-old would have been proud of.

There had been nerves beforehand among the British camp, his family and those watching on the BBC. So cool, though, was Farah on the start line that he intimidated his rivals yet more, cementing their doubt as he had with his victories, most recently in Saturday’s 10,000m.

His team had described this as a long shot, likening it to treading into the unknown as he laced up his spikes and took to the track. He made it look anything but. So much, though, had gone into his historic double double. It was a win crafted in Oregon, Font Romeu, St Moritz and Teddington among others – a global jigsaw. The double in Moscow had been made possible by thousands and thousands of miles, ice baths, and Farah sleeping 12 hours in every 24 under an altitude tent in his hotel bedroom. It was no wonder the Rip van Winkle of British athletics looked so fresh.

Farah had expected the pace to be tough but, in truth, there was a lack of the sustained high-tempo running needed to zap him out of that trademark kick. There were those who tried: Isaiah Koech was the first to set the pace, which stretched out the field. If they thought it would worry Farah, it did not. Instead, he dropped to the back and watched it all unfold.

Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris was the next to take it up with Yenew Alamirew, suggesting the two East African nations were in cahoots. This time it was enough to get Farah to the front to slow the pace, as he had done in the 10,000m.

Mo Farah leads the 5,000m at the World Athletics Championships

But as Farah himself said, it was all about the last two laps, at which point he was sitting in second but swamped by the full complement of Ethiopian and Kenyan runners. Where he had twice stumbled in the 10k, here there was merely some bustling at 600m, which ended with him nudging ahead. At the bell, the kick for the line began, Koech and fellow Kenyan Thomas Longosiwa both taking the race to Farah.

His fellow 2012 Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill had claimed it was “never in doubt” but repeatedly it looked as if the Africans might force their way past and cut off Farah’s path; but he tightened his stride and edged ever further ahead to take the gold from the Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet and Koech.

One wonders what next: a world record and a stab at marathon running perhaps? But then there’s Mo time like the present. It is worth dwelling for a little while longer on the double double, his fistful of gold and his place in the athletics annals.

Mo Farah celebrates after winning Gold in the 5,000m