The truism that social and political issues are interconnected is graphically illustrated in Somalia, where food riots and protests over a U.S. bombing of an area controlled by Al Shebab, the armed wing of the Union of Islamic Courts, have vied for space in recent reports.

Somalis Riot against U.S. Bombs

Riots over U.S. bombings occurred at the end of the first week of May in Dhusamareb, which is north of Mogadishu.

The bombing was a continuation of several years of American, and American backed Ethiopian troops' pursuit of militants associated with the Islamic Courts Union, which was forced from the government last year.

The bombing killed twelve people, including Moalim Hashi Ayro, who the U.S. government refers to as a leader of Al Qaeda in Somalia. (This claim may be an overstatement—ties between Somali Islamist militants and Al Qaeda are informal, according to a European diplomat in the region quoted in the Christian Science Monitor in 2007: "there is no doubt that people linked to Al Qaeda - not the high command - but sympathizers, were in Somalia, running training camps, recruiting fighters, arming those fighters.") The next day, Somalis certain that the United States had used poisonous bombs, took to the streets to protest.

Somalis Also Riot against High Food Prices

In the meantime, tens of thousands of Somalis protested rising food prices. According to ReliefWeb:

Angry residents stoned shops and cars and set tyres ablaze on 5 - 6 May in protest of shopkeepers' refusal to accept Somali shilling banknotes. At least three people have been confirmed killed and several others injured after government forces opened fire to disperse the demonstrators.

Two Crises Are Linked

The two crises not only intensify each other, they are directly linked. Anti-government militias, of which Al Shebab is only one, threaten and even kill humanitarian workers attempting to deliver aid. They also threaten their fellow Somalis in a moment of crisis. Following the food riots, Islamist militants "urged Mogadishu traders to accept Somali shillings over US dollars to try to reduce inflation in the country, warning they would punish defaulters," according to Agence France-Presse. The humanitarian crisis is helping to create exactly the sort of instability that can be exploited by militias seeking greater control over the general population.

This outcome is certainly the exactly opposite of the intended effect of U.S. efforts to slow the spread of Al Shebab by killing them. But it is not a mystery. The current U.S. policy in the Horn of Africa (and in the "war on terror" more broadly) is exclusively focused on groups or actors that can be said to be linked to Al Qaeda--and their removal. All other issues--such as humanitarian issues--are recognized, but secondary. The current situation in Somalia is a direct result of this focus, which has resulted in the U.S. using a military strategy to contain the Union of Islamic Courts / Al Shebab at all costs.

It would be more fruitful, from a policy perspective, to approach Somalia and its many actors holistically. The humanitarian crisis and the political crisis are one and the same, and multiple actors have an impact on it including Ethiopian troops allied with the transitional government and militias and warlords beyond al Shebab.