Humanitarian Aid

Somalia holds the unfortunate record of being the longest running failed state, going on twenty years without an established government. With the fall of President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, the country has yet to stabilize and rebuild. This is in large part due to the international community’s lack of follow through on humanitarian assistance and statebuilding commitments to Somalia.

It has been just over a week since the protests in Libya began, and it is painfully clear this situation will not be going the way of Egypt. With Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi calling for blood, protestors are finding themselves on the receiving end not of tear gas but of bullets. Many, including Libya’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi, are concerned this will quickly devolve into a full-scale genocide of those opposed to Gaddafi’s rule.

I publish this post on behalf of Mantle contributor and Advisor, Marie Mainil. She writes:

Dear Mantle Readers,

Sitting down to write this inaugural post has proven to be quite the task for me this week. With so many intriguing topics to be discussed, where exactly does one begin? I found myself writing seven different introductory paragraphs, each leading down various interesting, if not so productive, paths. Some of these paragraphs pondered the philosophical aspects of justice and universal values, others debated the realities of humanitarian intervention, and some were merely musings about Utopian ideals of international cooperation. Let’s just say I was less than focused.

"The United States pledged an additional $110 million in aid to Pakistan on Tuesday, reflecting both the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Swat Valley and what the administration says is its growing confidence in Pakistan's efforts to combat the Taliban."