Somalia: From Black Hawk Down to black hole

GlobalPost - Special to GlobalPost February 3, 2009 12:23 ET

Related Dispatches:

Is there a solution for Somalia?

A Q&A on the situation in Somalia with the International Crisis Group's Rashid Abdi.

By Tristan McConnell - GlobalPost
Published: March 12, 2009 06:16 ET

NAIROBI — Somalia is the archetypal failed state. It has not had a functioning government since 1991 and has been plagued by waves of violence between rival warlords. In 1993, Somalia's spiraling violence engulfed United Nations and U.S. efforts to stabilize the country, leading to the "Black Hawk Down" incident in which 18 U.S. soldiers died. Four international journalists...

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