drakeboy: Somalia - A Capitalist's Dream?

Until very recently Somalia has been living some economists' dream. Somalia has no central government, no police, no army, no taxation system, etc...Thats right, until the Islamic factions beat out the US backed "moderate" military factions a couple of months ago Somalia was an absolute anarchy/chaos (anarchists like to differentiate between the two words) for more than ten years. Even though the Islamic military faction is in control now, they have not tried to govern the economy of the country yet, they are still working on controlling the country against other opposing factions. So for now the free market economy rules Somalia. This was like an accidental experiment that no one really set up but are intrigued to see the results of it. Imagine over 10 million of people living within a country's border with no actual country to run them, no laws to follow, and no rights or obligations. Although initially businesses flourished (read the articles about business in Somalia at the end of this blog), the cost of security and the lawlessness was too much on the people. Many people are begging for a government (even a corrupt one) at least there will be some guidelines. Gun markets are flourishing with no care to whom and what is being sold, the seaports are open for anything (we will get to the this part later), pirates are roaming the seas and has attacked and captured many commercial vessels in International waters.

Capitalism can be aruged is great for business growth, competition, services, imporvements, innovations, etc. The less restrictions by the governemnt the better for business as long as they do not compromise the common societal good or human rights. There are many reasons however that these government restrictions are important if not vital. Laws, enforcement of those laws, protection of its citizens from each other and from across borders, making sure the corporate sect is kept in check (corruption), collecting taxes for common services such as the police, the army, infrastructure, etc. are crucial for the long term survival of the country.

Which brings me to my next point, if you think Iraq is the new hub of terrorists because of the American presence there you would be wrong. Iraq is a hotspot for actual fighting, but there are no more real safe havens anymore in the world (Afghanistan and Pakistan come close but not fully) except for Somalia. A historically anti-American country (remember the whole Black Hawk Helicopter thing...yeah they don't like them) with seeds of extremism among them (Bin Laden is an idol to a lot in this region) and no government makes it a great situation for training camps, weapon smuggling (remember the airports and seaports are free of security), all you need is money to start an extensive operation here (Osama Bin Laden and friends got lots of that) and voalla!!! there you have it, Somalia will become the new Afghanistan. This is why it is so worrisome that the world is not paying attention to Somalia, the US can't do jack since they have become hated even by people who agree with them on principle because they are so arrogant. Oh did I mention that the leader of the Islamic militants, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (he is on the US and the UN terrorist List) pictured below, have helped install the shari'a law (Islamic law) in regions in Somalia which include such punishments as amputations for thieves and stoning to death for serious crimes such as rape and murder. (More about the laws here) Some of the recent ones include banning World Cup Soccer, and closing down a movie theater for showing a Manchester United Soccer match (Can you say Taliban!!), these guys are not joking around! These laws were actually welcomed initially since there was no laws before them but eventually it went too far.