Former President Bill Clinton today kicked off the Clinton Global Initiative Plenary Session on Women. He entered to Also sprach Zarathustra, the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. He started by giving some facts and figures about Sub-Saharan Africa and HIV, saying that getting HIV is like walking along and then suddenly having a concrete block dropped on you. He said these girls and young women are the best ambassadors because even though they have been sexually abused they refuse to live their lives as victims.

Clinton said that women do 66% of world’s work, but they produce 10% of the world’s income and own only 1% of the world’s property. 40% of the three billion people who work are women and 70% of agricultural labor is performed by women, but women lack independence. He also said that investing in women’s health could increase productivity in Africa by fifteen billion dollars per year.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a commitment to Rwanda and talked about how women have been active there. Bloomberg said he is involved in Southern Sudan and Congo, working with an organization called Women for Women. It is an attempt to get women to contribute to their countries.

President Barack Obama’s Ambassador At-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer, said that empowering women combats extremism.

Ambassador Robert Zoellick said that he is trying to help with the Adolescent Girls Initiative, an organization that hopes to work with 3,000 girls and mentor them to make sure that education is connected to a job.

Zainab Salbi talked about wars and children. She said 80% of refugees in the world are women and children. Even after rape these women succeed because they have children. They are the ones who are keeping the children going to school. The only group of people who are keeping a society going are women, and they do not have a seat at the table and they are not being heard.

Rex Tillerson from Exxon Mobil talked about technologies. He said low technologies can impact on a local level. He said they are working on what types of technologies work.

Edna Ismail was the first nurse practitioner in Somalia. She said they do not even need advanced technology. The age that a woman marries and nutrition are important to overall health. Genital cutting information is not reaching the grandmothers and people who have kept this tradition. Senegal has passed a law outlawing this, but a law does not change behavior on a village level.

Diane Sawyer asked what the biggest failure was, and Zainab Salbi asked said it was a challenge. But girls at the age of nine get cows as a dowry. She said you must be able to educate women so that there is incentive for women to be educated so they are more valuable to the family than cows.

There are a million young women in the sex trade. The United States passed one of the first laws to prevent human trafficking. It is hopeful because the business community is getting involved. One cent of every development dollar goes to girls.

Some programs make the payments directly to women, such as incentives to go to school. Must turn incentives so that the legal structure reflects the situation.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Correspondent Michael Ruhl’s investigative report into the recent pandemic of piracy off of the Horn of Africa. The report focuses on why the piracy is taking place and what can be done to stop it. It includes perspectives from Somali Ambassador-at-large Abdi Awallah Jama, George Mason University Political Science Professor Hazel McFerson, Maersk-Alabama Captain Richard Phillips, and CENTCOM Commander General David Petraeus. (07:30)

 

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By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

The most effective way to deal with piracy off of the Somali coast is for the sailors to defend themselves, according to a Defense Department representative testifying to the Senate Armed Services Committee today.

Michele Flournoy, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, said that of the recent pirate attacks in Somalia the most effective means of fending off the pirates came from actions taken by the crews themselves.

“The single most effective short-term response to piracy will be working with merchant shipping lines to ensure that vessels in the region take appropriate security measures themselves,” Flournoy said. She continued that it is not possible for the U.S. military to prevent or intervene in every pirate attack, but if crews take appropriate measures, “the vast majority of pirate attacks can be thwarted without any need for military intervention.”

There were 122 attempted pirate attacks in 2008, of which only 42 resulted in crewmembers becoming captured. Of the unsuccessful attacks, 78 percent of them were stopped by the crews actions, with the others being stopped by military intervention, according to Flournoy.

Flournoy divided crew countermeasures into two categories: passive and active defense measures. Passive measures are those which don’t necessarily require direct confrontation with the pirates, and can include physical obstructions to boarding points, avoiding high-risk waters, creating fortified “safe rooms” in the ship, posting lookouts at all times, and maintaining contact with maritime security forces. Active defense measures can include using fire hoses and small arms to repel pirates and a military presence on the boat. Both of these defensive measures are important for crews to talk to defend themselves, Flournoy said.

She believes that the complexity of this situation necessitates a multifaceted approach, which is why the aforementioned measures should be combined with greater military patrols and economic development. Additionally, the Defense Department would like to see more states willing to prosecute the pirates. Presently, Kenya is one of the only nations to actually place Somali pirates on trial.

According to Flournoy, since August 2008 36 pirate vessels have been destroyed or confiscated, small arms have been seized, and 146 pirates have been turned over to law enforcement officers.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

“We all have an inherent right to self defense in international waters,” according to Senator Jim Webb (D-VA). This remark came out of a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that saw testimony from Richard Phillips, Captain of the Maersk Alabama. Phillips received international media attention several weeks ago while being held hostage by pirates off of the coast of Somalia.

Both the Senators and the witnesses acknowledged that Piracy off of the coast of Somalia has been on the rise recently. Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said that America’s “ability to project naval power and to help ensure the free passage of goods and humanitarian aid is as important as ever.”

Phillips acknowledged that more needs to be done to secure vessels of the merchant marine, specifically arming the crew.

“In my opinion, arming the crew cannot and should not be viewed as the best or ultimate solution to the problem. At most, arming the crew should only be one component of a comprehensive plan and approach to combat piracy,” he said.

The comprehensive approach the committee discussed could include increased U.S. Navy presence in the most dangerous areas, the creation of a protected corridor that civilian ships can travel within, the rooting out of pirates in their land based sanctuaries and the “hardening” of ships, to make the ships structurally more resistant to pirates. “Hardening” measures include razor wire on railings, fire hoses to repel the pirates, and unbolting ladders that lead onto the boat. Phillips does not believe this will stop the pirates, but rather, that they will find a way to adapt.

Maersk Chaiman John Clancey, also present at the hearing, does not believe that arming the crews is a good idea.

“Our belief is that arming merchant sailors may result in the acquisition of even more lethal weapons and tactics by the pirates, a race that merchant sailors cannot win. In addition, most ports of call will not permit the introduction of forearms into their national waters,” Clancey said.

Clancey also posed that greater liability may be assumed by the companies if sailors are traveling with weapons. Neither Chairman Kerry nor Phillips felt that this argument was strong, because of the intense amount of training that mariners go through already. Kerry, a former member of the U.S. Navy, feels that the benefits outweigh the risks, and that multinational agreements can be reached to work out the issue of bringing weapons into port.

Richard Phillips is scheduled to testify next week before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

The lack of a coordinated international response might have emboldened pirates off the coast of Africa to step up their terror, according to Retired Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff. This comes on the heels of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announcing the Obama Administration’s new approach to the situation in Somalia, which includes the U.S. seizure of financial assets.

Cosgriff believes that a coordinating authority among the nations with maritime interests in the region could help present a unified front against pirates.

“With so many different players on the field, it’s a bit like an all-star game without an authoritative coach. There are differing rules of engagement, national approaches, and limits on what they want their warships to do.” Cosgriff said it’s a challenge “to have the right ship from the right navy in the right place at the right time to do what you want to do.”

Cosgriff is former commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command. He held a talk at the Middle East Institute, at which he addressed the possible courses of action which could be taken against maritime piracy in the nearly 400,000 square mile region along the Somali coast.

“Doing nothing, or being ineffective at what we do, strikes me as bad policy,” said the commander, who addressed five possible courses of action that could be taken to curb the lawlessness:

• Do Nothing: Companies which traffic goods off of the African Horn would pay ransoms and treat piracy as a cost of business.
• Arm the Crews: Ship crews would be expected to maintain their own security through hiring private security forces or arming their mariners.
• Flood the Zone: International naval coalitions and unofficial patchworks of navies “with significant maritime interests” would patrol the region.
• Go in on ground – Light: Tactical airstrikes and troops on the ground aimed at equipment and infrastructure within known pirate camps along the Somali coastline.
• Go in on ground – Heavy: Tactical airstrikes and troops on the ground to flush out the pirate camps, seize property, and not allow the pirates to bare the fruits of their actions.

Cosgriff emphasized the importance of a coordinated international response in whatever route was selected, because it is an “international problem in the great global commons known as the sea.” A coordinated response would provide a uniform framework in which to react to pirates when they engage in hostility, according to Cosgriff. He said that since the U.S. is a global maritime leader, it should take a leading role in the solution.

“Whatever lies ahead, we have to take care… that the cure is not worse than the disease,” he said.

Cosgriff acknowledged that piracy is a business, and doesn’t believe that it is rooted in simple poverty and desperation, although he acknowledged those as contributing factors. “The overall problem is that of organized criminal clans,” groups which he said, “try to extend seaward the rule of the gun which pertains in much of Somalia.” He continued, “in short, piracy pays.”

Somalia has faced ongoing violence and lawlessness since the government collapsed in 1991.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Piracy is nothing new in Somalia. Every day pirates run free off of Somalia’s nearly 2,000-mile coastline and find haven within this African country which is slightly smaller than Texas. The problem has long been of concern to the U.S. State Department and the United Nations, but it has been gaining special attention once again because of the targeting of American citizens. The hostage situation with American ship captain Richard Phillips caused a nation to hold its breath, and many were in shock when U.S. Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ) escaped a mortar attack aimed at his airplane in Mogadishu on Monday while the congressman was meeting with government officials.

Maritime piracy has been a lucrative business since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991 and in the thirteen governments to exist since. It can provide quick income for the uneducated and impoverished, and has become a fact of life for companies trading around the Horn of Africa.

The United States has not had full diplomatic ties with Somalia since 1991. Somalia now has a U.S. “Ambassador-at-large” with no formal office in the U.S. from which to work. The Ambassador-at-large, Abdi Awaleh Jama, believes that the violence comes from a “poverty of leadership” in Somalia. Jama said the leaders at the regional and national level don’t serve communal interests but rather favor specific clans or family members.

“The dominant paradigm now is the clan paradigm… not the nation paradigm,” Jama said. He continued, “When there is no law and order, you take the law into your own hands.” Jama said the natural resources in Somalia have been seized by certain clans and used to hold down opposition within the rest of the country.

Jama, who does not fault the sitting Somali president for the country’s condition, said that pirates flourish off the expansive coast because the rule of law has not existed in Somali society in the past decade. When such anarchy is combined with the overflowing poverty, a situation will develop where people will seize “any opportunity they have to make money,” said Jama.

Officials within the Somali government have defended the so-called pirates as being a “coast guard” who protect the country’s resources. Jama dismisses that claim.

“These are criminals who want to make quick money, and who want to just use force, in the name of saving Somalia,” he said. “They are only there to enrich themselves, and to use that gimmick that they are defending Somali resources, which is wrong.”

Joel Carny, an expert from Refugees International, said that Somalia “really hasn’t had a central government that has functioned in so long.” He believes this has led to “warlordism” and opportunity for clan-based regional politics to develop. He called Somalia “an environment in which everyone has to fend for themselves.”

According to Carny, approximately two million Somalis have been displaced due to the violence in the past decade and three million are in need of emergency assistance.

Somalia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Elmi Ahmed Duale, acknowledged in a phone conversation that the violence was taking place and said the government cannot hide it. He hopes for a resolution.

The international community has taken this issue very seriously. The United Nations has had peacekeepers in Somalia at various times since 1991, and most recently the African Union has dedicated resources through AMISOM, their official Mission to Somalia. In February 2009, the United Nations Security Council authorized AMISOM to stay in Somalia for another six months, which places peacekeepers on the ground through August. The United Nations says the goal of this mission is to help establish order and secure human rights.

Recent Somali elections were marked by violence to the point that they had to take place in neighboring Djibouti. Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was elected in January, and shortly thereafter, Ahmed appointed a new prime minister.

Carny is doubtful of the new government’s ability to establish order but thinks that the international community should give the new president a chance. Carney said, “Lets see if [the government] can establish a viable authority… that can at least establish security inside the capitol and then spread from there.” Carney said, however, that “anyone who’s pessimistic about Somalia is probably going to be right.”

Jama wants the United States to help Somalia build a “proper coast guard,” which would replace vigilantism that currently runs the shorelines.

Both Jama and Carny acknowledged that most of the social problems in Africa are rooted in the colonial past, but Carny believes that Africa must move on. “We’re not going to redraw the boundaries in Africa,” said Carny. He suggested that Somalia could be governed regionally through “some kind of Federalism,” as a credible solution for ethnically diverse nations prone to social conflict, civil war and genocide.

“For better or for worse, these countries have to live and work their way out of consequences. When you get good leadership at the national level… things can turn around fairly quickly,” Carny said.

Listen to the audio report here.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Correspondent Michael Ruhl reports on the security and humanitarian crisis presently plaguing Somalia. Ruhl interviews Somalia’s Ambassador-At-Large to the U.S., Abdi Awaleh Jama, and also speaks with Joel Carny from Refugees International.

Read the full article here

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Kenyan-born Edwin Okong’o, editor in chief of the Minneapolis-based newspaper Mshale, talks about the shortcomings of mainstream media in their coverage of African and immigrant issues with Talk Radio News Correspondent Elia Herman at the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis. He focuses on the media’s failure to report accurately on the response of the Somali community to the shooting of a Somali teenager in Minneapolis. (11:42)

 

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The United Nations Security Council will go to five nations in Africa, including Sudan and Somalia, over the next week. The press was briefed today about the pending trip by Ambassador Michel Kafando of Burkina Faso; Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert of France; Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa; and Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom.

In Somalia, the Security Council will meet with the current government – including the President and Prime Minister, opposition parties, diplomatic community, and “civil society.” Ambassador Kumalo indicated that “all the major players will be there,” and that this is a “great opportunity for the Somalis.”

Regarding the Sudan leg of the trip, the panel indicated that the Security Council will visit Khartoum in the North, as well as Juba and President Salva Kiir in the South. The Sudan leg will focus heavily on Darfur, as well as the progress made by the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). Mr. Sawyers stated that it is “clear that UNAMID is building up it’s capability,” but that “there is more to be done.”

Briefer: Tony Fratto

President’s Schedule

At 10.15 am President Bush makes remarks on the 57th National Day of Prayer in the East Room of the White House. This afternoon, at 2:50 pm he will also make remarks at the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Deputy White House Press Secretary Tony Fratto will brief the press at 12.30 pm today.

(more…)