Questions Remain

As the world has watched, hundreds of thousands of people have died in Somalia. The U.S. has offered to send up to 30,000 troops to distribute supplies. We support this.

We must recognize the urgency of the situation in Somalia. Here the goal is not preservation of our oil supply, rather it is saving lives from meaningless deaths. As the United Nations Security Council resolution stated, the "unique" nature of the chaos in Somalia warrents the deployment of U.S. troops.

The people in this country need supplies, stability and the time to recover from the turmoil. The U.S. promise of at least 30,000 troops might be able to provide some sort of relief.

But this will be only a respite from terror if the U.S. and the United Nations don't formulate a long-term plan for providing political stability in Somalia. President-elect Clinton and President Bush need show some clear leadership on the future handling of this issue. For instance, the U.S. needs to disarm the fighting gangs to make sure violence doesn't break out again.

They also need to answer questions about changes in foreign policy in the post-cold war era. Going into Somalia marks a change from our past involvements--even from the Gulf War.

Will the U.S. get involved to provide relief to other countries in need of humanitarian aid? Will they send troops to Bosnia-Herzegovnia or Liberia? Will they get more involved in political conflicts like the Gulf War?

These are all questions that need to be answered as soon as possible--at least as early as Clinton's inaugural address in January. We hope Clinton's lack of response on this issue, which will certainly require his immediate attention when he takes office, is not a sign of his inability to deal with foreign relations.

We have spent too many holiday seasons watching people starve in countries far away. This year must be different.