IN THE NEWS: Encouraging International Cooperation in Somalia

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently urged the international community to build the foundations for peace in Somalia by supporting U.N. political efforts and deploying a new multinational force.

Endorsing an integrated approach capable of addressing the political, humanitarian, developmental, and security concerns, the Secretary-General acknowledged the need to create an environment in which Ethiopian troops can be withdrawn and replaced by a UN peacekeeping force. Such a move would provide the anchor for a multi-pronged U.N. led effort to rebuild security in Somalia while simultaneously working to strengthen government institutions, humanitarian assistance and ultimately economic recovery in this failing state.

Unfortunately, the U.N. Security Council did not agree to deploy U.N. Peacekeeping forces in Somalia. Our allies Britain and France were among the leading skeptics. Britain's U.N. ambassador John Sawers acknowledged that Somalia was a failing state but ruled out action, stating that: "Until there's further progress on the political front, it's difficult to see scope for a fully-fledged peacekeeping force." The French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert also refused to support such a force at this stage.

While we understand that some governments may be reluctant to increase engagement in Somalia for a variety of reasons, it is important to note that a robust U.N. Peacekeeping force coupled with an aggressive diplomatic effort could arrest and reverse Somalia´s slide into permanent failed state capacity.

International cooperation provides us with the best chance to succeed. The U.N. must provide the political, logistical, and human resources needed to succeed. Moreover, after almost two decades of ineffective intervention on the part of the international community, the Security Council mandate must, by absolute necessity, place substance and force over symbolism and rhetoric.

The U.S. has a proud history of bringing nations together to find solutions to the threats that we all face. Moreover, the challenges of today cannot be adequately addressed by any one nation alone – including the U.S. Working with other countries and international institutions like the U.N. bolsters our collective strength, enhances our credibility, and shares the burden of both cost and risk. If we pool the capabilities of our friends and allies we can effectively tackle this tough challenge by leveraging expertise in a range of critical arenas from security to diplomacy.

The people of Somalia have borne the costs of conflict for many years. And it is in the national security interests of the United States to ensure that Somalia does not become a permanent failed state. If the international community does not act, violence will continue to flare and Somalia, like Afghanistan before it, could become a base for regional or international non-state actors such as al-Qaeda.

Done correctly, however, U.N. peacekeeping is both tactically effective and financially efficient when compared to the costs of conflict and the toll in lives and economic devastation. Studies have shown that an increased number of peacekeeping deployments correlate directly to a reduction in the casualties of war.

The Rand Corporation examined eight completed U.N. peacekeeping operations and concluded that two-thirds of these were "successful." Rand also found that the U.N. provides the most suitable institutional framework for all but the largest and most demanding of nation-building missions, due to the U.N.'s comparatively low cost structure, high success rate, and high degree of international legitimacy. According to this study, U.N. peacekeeping is a highly efficient means of placing post-conflict societies on the path to enduring peace and democratic governance, and the most efficient form of international intervention so far devised.

Raj Purohit is the Interim Director of Citizens for Global Solutions, a foreign policy advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.