The Press : U.S. Policy Under Fire in Editorials

The world press is critical of the way the United States has handled the crisis in Somalia. But some also caution that there’s too much at stake to act rashly. A sampling of editorial opinion:

“Vietnam revived? In view of the GIs’ death toll in Somalia, memories of the U.S. disaster in Southeast Asia are coming to the fore again. There are tragic parallels: Good intentions--bad execution; greater efforts--dwindling prospects. Again the old weakness of the U.S. military power is visible, since it relies too much on the use of weapons but too little on negotiation skills.”

-- Die Zeit, Hamburg

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“Analogies are often drawn between the U.S. experience in Vietnam and the dangers of a similar ‘quagmire’ in Somalia. They are largely inappropriate. Successive American administrations were sucked deeper and deeper into the Vietnam conflict because they believed that vital national interests were at stake. . . . No national interests are at stake in Somalia--but the future of U.N. operations, at least in Africa, is. . . . For the international order, if not for the U.S. itself, the stakes therefore remain high.”

-- The Independent, London

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“If Bill Clinton says that he is enraged, then this is supposed to be a warning to Aidid. But in the meantime, it is known from the Somali desert to the last village in former Yugoslavia that the President talks a lot but does only little. This is why the peace-creating role of the U.S. is increasingly getting insignificant. . . . “

-- Abendzeitung, Munich

“Americans need to have a ‘cause’ to fight for--real or contrived, it does not matter. But they like to believe they are the ‘good guys’ fighting injustice. And so far, Clinton has not been able to convince the general public that they have much business in sending more troops to Somalia. . . .

“And then there is the local economy, unemployment and all the internal unrest that Clinton promised to deal with.”

-- Egyptian Gazette, Cairo

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“After promptly deploying 650 extra troops with armor and air support, America’s commander in chief appeared to be bending before the gale-force winds in Congress. . . .

“There will be other Somalias; and the response to them by the world’s leading power cannot be decided by committee. . . . This is not the first case of confusion about who runs American foreign policy; but Mr. Clinton’s apparent readiness to dilute presidential control of military decisions is the most worrying.”

-- The Times, London

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“The objectives of the Yankee command and the U.N. continue to be as ambiguous as they are doubtful. . . . What apparently appeared to be a classic ‘excursion’ of a few days against a small, Third World nation, has been transformed into a true mire for the United States command. . . . The supposed humanitarian help quickly developed into a manhunt for rebel groups, principally that of Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid, which has opposed the invading troops with a tenacious resistance. . . . The punitive actions have left hundreds of Somali civilians dead, including women and children.”

-- Granma, Havana

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“Paradox of history. (President Clinton) as a young man, already dreaming of the White House, evaded the ‘dirty war’ of Vietnam--hiding, not to say deserting. Now here he is on the point of putting his hand in the gears that were fatal to another Democratic president, Lyndon Baines Johnson. . . . Is history going to repeat itself?”

-- Le Figaro, Paris

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“If, when it is all over, the experiment (using military force for a humanitarian purpose) is viewed as a success, international arms may be employed in the same way again, and many more lives will be saved. If it is seen as a failure, the world will hesitate before it goes to the rescue of other shattered nations, fearing ‘another Somalia.’ That is why it is crucial to think carefully before declaring the intervention a debacle and rushing to fold the international tent. . . . There may come a point where the costs of staying outweigh the potential benefits. We are nowhere near that point yet; it is worth all our efforts not to end up there.”

-- Globe and Mail, Toronto