The Ugandans have landed

STR/AFP/Getty Images In Somalia, that is. Four hundred Ugandan soldiers arrived at Mogadishu airport yesterday, where they were greeted by representatives of Somalia’s decidedly fragile interim government—and by a few mortar shells. The Ugandans are the leading edge of what’s supposed to be an 8,000-strong African Union (AU) force to bolster the new government. The ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.
603498_070307_ugandans_05.jpg
603498_070307_ugandans_05.jpg

STR/AFP/Getty Images

STR/AFP/Getty Images

In Somalia, that is. Four hundred Ugandan soldiers arrived at Mogadishu airport yesterday, where they were greeted by representatives of Somalia’s decidedly fragile interim government—and by a few mortar shells. The Ugandans are the leading edge of what’s supposed to be an 8,000-strong African Union (AU) force to bolster the new government. The U.S. taxpayer footed the bill for the Ugandans’ flight. That’s the model the U.S. and Europe have been pushing for peacekeeping in Africa for some time now. The Africans provide the troops, and the West provides logistics and transport.

Unfortunately, the signs are that the AU may be just about tapped out as a source of peacekeepers for the continent. Malawi, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria have pledged a total of about 4,000 bodies, but it’s not clear where the rest of the troops will come from. South Africa has already pleaded exhaustion

The Somalia force may not have a full complement of soldiers, but it does have the services of Dyncorp, the ubiquitous military contractor (the company is also helping eradicate opium in Afghanistan). And lest anyone sound alarm bells about contracting out to mercenaries, Dyncorp is making clear that it’s there for logistics only (and, indeed, most of what these companies do is provide very unsexy logistics support).

DynCorp spokesman Greg Lagana confirmed that the Virginia-based firm had been contracted until April to help with the “moving of supplies and people” engaged in the Somalia mission, including supplying tents, vehicles and generators.

If only they could provide a troop-generator.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

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