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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Ken Menkhaus
Aired January 19, 2002 - 11:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: After years of civil war and lawlessness, the U.S. now concerned that Somalia could be a haven for terrorist activity. So joining us from Charlotte, North Carolina to talk about Somalia and the war against terrorism is Ken Menkhaus. He's a political science professor at Davidson University, who has actually advised U.S. officials on the situation in Somalia. Thanks for being with us today.
KEN MENKHAUS, DAVIDSON UNIVERSITY: My pleasure.
CALLAWAY: First, let's start off about exactly what U.S. officials are going to be looking for in Somalia, obviously ties to, any connections to -- ties to the al Qaeda network. Are there any individuals known in Somalia to have connections?
MENKHAUS: Well, the U.S. is going to be looking for a wide range of possible issues in Somalia. That range is from fleeing al Qaeda members, who are seeking safe haven in Somalia, who are non-Somalis, to Somali individuals who may have associations or linkages with the organization.
At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that individuals or groups in Somalia are major players in al Qaeda. What we might be looking at are some mid-level players, some relatively small potatoes in the worldwide pantheon of Islamic radicalism.
CALLAWAY: It seems almost a slippery slope here, though, if you go into Somalia. Exactly what are the options for the U.S. and going into Somalia to look for those individuals?
MENKHAUS: None of the options are particularly attractive, and one of course would be the use of our own Special Forces to go in to snatch an individual. That should only occur is that individual poses a significant threat. If it's a minor player or someone that we're -- it's really not worth the risk, because it is a very high risk operation.
Alternatively, we could rely on a regional proxy, Ethiopia, which is very problematic diplomatically inside Somalia, or a local Somali proxy which also creates a lot of complications.
CALLAWAY: Yes, it is a dangerous situation there, as you mentioned. We certainly don't want a repeat of the "Black Hawk Down" situation that we've seen, a political, diplomatic nightmare if we start dropping bombs in Somalia, right?
MENKHAUS: And there's no reason to drops bombs in Somalia. One of the things that we do know with reasonable certainty at this time is that there are no terrorist camps or bases in Somalia that would present themselves as a target for bombing.
What we may have at most are individuals who are integrated into local society. They're not presenting themselves as terrorists or soldiers, and again that would present the snatching operation scenario.
CALLAWAY: And it would seen that those in Somalia would be more than happy to hand over for the right price, any individuals that the U.S. wanted.
MENKHAUS: Yes and no. If there are non-Somalis who were foolish enough to flee to Somalia seeking safe haven, they will be turned over very quickly. The Somalis would love to do that, both for the monetary rewards that they would expect and also the political recognition that would accrue to them.
If it's a Somali individual that we're looking for, that's more problematic because going after an individual in a clannish society tends to mean that you're taking on the clan as a whole, and we could expect people to pick up their guns and defend their own.
CALLAWAY: Is the media prematurely jumping on this issue of Somalia? What is likely that the U.S. will do?
MENKHAUS: The media may have picked up on cues from the U.S. Government and taken the story farther than it needed to go. There were -- about a month ago, the U.S. Government was making noises about Somalia, I think mainly driven by Ethiopian intelligence that might have been exaggerated.
The U.S. Government seems to have backed off a little bit. I think that what we're likely to see in Somalia is a continuation of what we're already doing, monitoring, aerial surveillance, and naval interdiction to make sure that vessels coming and going from Somalia aren't carrying terrorist suspects of material.
CALLAWAY: And we shall see. Ken Menkhaus, thank you very much for joining, being with us this morning.
MENKHAUS: Thank you.
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