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A severe drought in East Africa has turned the nation of Somalia into the site of what is being recognized as “[t]he worst humanitarian disaster on the planet” by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Compounding the drought-induced famine are complex security issues that limit the movement of aid, and the continual rise of global food prices, resulting in a human tragedy of mounting proportions. Three point seven million human beings are facing starvation; tens of thousands of people have already died, and children under the age of 5 are dying by the hundreds every day. However, the crisis was predicted since last November, with warnings being circulated through international channels, but so far the international response has been insufficient. United States policy in Somalia has been focused around counter terrorism and Al Shabab, a designated terrorist organization. Al Shabab, which had instituted a ban on foreign aid groups, lifted the ban in early July, but reinstated it last week. The group has downplayed the seriousness of the famine. Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill’s in depth analysis of “CIA secret sites in Somalia” where alleged renditions occur, detail some of the security issues inflicting the troubled state of Somalia.

GUEST: Abdi Samatar, a Somali-American professor at the University of Minnesota who has done extensive research on African and Somali political economy. He is also vice-president of the African Studies Association of North America.