Michel Chossudvsky: Somalia:The Real Causes of Famine

For the last twenty years, Somalia has been entangled in a "civil war" amidst the destruction of both its rural and urban economies. The country is now facing widespread famine. According to reports, tens of thousands of people have died from malnutrition in the last few months, and the lives of several million people are threatened. The "mainstream media" casually attributes the famine to a severe drought without examining the broader causes: An atmosphere of lawlessness, gang warfare and anarchy is also upheld as one of the major causes behind the famine, but who is behind the lawlessness and armed gangs? Somalia is categorized as a "failed state", a country without a government, but how did it become a "failed state"? There is ample evidence of foreign intervention as well as covert support of armed militia groups. Triggering "failed states" is an integral part of US foreign policy. It is part of a military intelligence agenda. According to the UN, a situation of famine prevails in southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle, areas in part controlled by Al Shabelle, a jihadist militia group affiliated with Al Qaeda. Both the UN and the Obama administration had accused Al Shahab of imposing a ban on foreign foreign aid agencies in its territories in 2009. What the reports do not mention, however, is that Harakat al-Shabaab al Mujahideen (HMS) (Movement of of Striving Youth) is funded by Saudi Arabia and supported covertly by Western intelligence agencies.