Where this was said
US–Somalia Relations: Who Benefits from the Partnership?
At 11:11 · chapter starts 9:20
Gabobe explains the political architecture of US involvement: the Somali federal government welcomes American support because it is fighting a more powerful adversary. The US provides counterterrorism assistance, funds security services, and before the Trump-era dismantling of USAID, was the largest development funder in the country. But Gabobe draws a sharp distinction between supporting the Somali government and supporting the Somali people. Ordinary citizens do not benefit from the American presence; they bear its costs through airstrikes. Gabobe also offers a broader verdict: the international community has done more damage to Somalia than good, with decades of foreign interventions weakening local governance rather than building it.
Decades of foreign interventions, international resolutions, and outside funding have not stabilized Somalia — they've entrenched dependency and undermined local governance. Most Somalis just want self-determination, not outside rescuers.
Two decades of US strikes haven't broken al-Shabaab — and may be fueling its growth. Every bomb that falls drives young Somalis toward the insurgency. Al-Shabaab today runs a parallel government and controls vast territory it didn't hold a decade ago.
