On March 14, the conservative Heritage Foundation played host to the president of Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia "whose self-declared independence ... is not internationally recognized," in the words of a Freedom House report. Three days later, three U.S. senators, Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., introduced a bill titled the Somaliland Partnership Act. Their bill paints a rosy picture of Somaliland and calls for much closer U.S. engagement with it. This bill relies on a combination of faulty and incomplete information. (The Freedom House report cited above says that Somaliland "has seen a consistent erosion of political rights and civic space," with minority clans subject to "political and economic marginalization" and a serious social problem of violence against women.) More concerning, however, is that if this bill is passed it will take Somalia, a poor country already mired in much turmoil, down an even more perilous path.
In a nutshell, a partnership with the U.S., as envisioned in this legislation, would provide Somaliland with the financial and military wherewithal it needs to make separation from Somalia a fait accompli. It would also lend Somaliland a mantle of legitimacy. The persistent claim by the leaders of Somaliland that it is a de facto country in full control of its "territory" is not true: The two communities through whose territory the presumed border of separation runs are staunchly against Somaliland's secession. Without the consent of these two communities (the Warsengeli and Dhulbahante tribes), Somaliland's secession cannot be a reality on the ground, as Risch's bill claims it already is. And since no consent is forthcoming from these two communities, violence and conquest are Somaliland's only option. Why would the U.S. involve itself in such a combustible mix?
