European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 27, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday december 27, 1992 Somalia the stars and stripes Page 9 Vietnam Lebanon on policy makers minds by Kenneth i amp de los Angeles times Mogadishu Somalia a the american experience in Vietnam and Lebanon is casting a Shadow Over . Policy in Somalia raising fears the United states could get bogged Down in an occupation that ends in disgrace and disaster says Robert b. Oakley president Bush a special envoy to this embattled land. Speaking in an interview in his makeshift office in the Villa of what had been the Conoho Oil compound in Mogadishu Oakley said the americans Are determined to end their somalian intervention quickly a to avoid becoming a party to a conflict a As happened in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s and in Lebanon in the 1980s. The proper american role in Somalia a where a civil War led to a famine that has killed at least 300,000 somalis in the last three years a is to establish sufficient Security to allow full scale Relief operations to begin then to turn the situation Over to . Peacekeeping forces Oakley said. The goal is to remove All american combat troops within three months with some officials saying the withdrawal should occur before Bush turns Over his office to president elect Clinton. Oakley conceded that the american strategy conflicts with the plans and desires of . Secretary general Boutros Boutros Ghali who wants the americans to stay in Somalia for an indefinite period in part to disarm a nation in which almost half the male population carries guns. Boutros Ghali also has asked that the americans help create a new stable political climate in Somalia. A a Here a the problem with Boutros Ghali a Oakley said. A you see the Secretary general has rejected our offers for the peacekeeping phase until he is satisfied. His position is that he wont let us get  but Oakley recalled an order he received while serving As Diplomat in Saigon during the height of the Vietnam War. President Johnson he said a wanted us to create a new democratic system. So we hired a political science professor and wrote a Constitution on the . Mode helped create political parties and choose two presidential  the plan failed Oakley said because it is impossible to impose one nations system on another. Instead american strategists in Somalia he said a Are trying to avoid the spectacle of  speaking of the . Intervention in the lebanese civil War in which 241 american marines and sailors were killed in a 1983 suicide attack on a Beirut military Barracks Oakley said it was the result of a allowing ourselves to become perceived As taking one Side against the other. We went to Lebanon without understanding what we were  that will not happen in Somalia he insisted. Instead he said a we Are All aware of the significance of Lebanon and Vietnam and Are constantly thinking of the political ramifications of what we Are  avoiding any lasting entanglement also Means the United states will not be providing major financial Aid for the rebuilding of the country most of which is in a shambles. A i done to think we can or should give Large financial Aid a the envoy said adding that it was not a real solution in any Case. The Only lasting solution he said a has to be Between the somalis themselves. No other approach will  hinder Aid say gis French Jidida saudi Arabia up a . And French troops say that saudi Arabia has not been truly cooperative with the somalian humanitarian Relief Effort. Marines airmen and soldiers in Jidida where the massive . Transport planes Stop for fuel and maintenance before flying into Mogadishu said the saudis were bending Over backward to help them two years ago during the persian Gulf War that threatened their Oil kingdom. But they say the saudis Only grudgingly agreed to cooperate with the american led . Mission because they feel no threat from the anarchic situation in the Horn of Africa nation. A two years ago the saudis were Happy to have us Here but now they treat us like dirt a an air Force sergeant helping to coordinate flight operations in Jidida said under conditions of anonymity. The saudi Airport at Jidida is one of the few facilities in the Region with enough runway space to accommodate the giant planes carrying troops and supplies into Somalia. But the saudis have made life miserable for foreign troops using the facility by moving their command area from one terminal to the next . And French troops said. And now they Are forcing them to relocate to a smaller Airfield Loo Miles East in taif at which troops will operate under Field conditions rather than the comparatively Plush surroundings of Jidida. A it will definitely hinder this operation a an air Force lieutenant colonel said. Furthermore . And French troops said the saudis Are not supplying them with enough water to offset dehydration in the blistering desert heat. And they said that just getting a bus to nearby hotels frequently takes several hours. Its in the bag members of French peacekeeping forces keep close saturday. The Rice was donated by French Clio Olchini guard on huge sacks of Rice in Mogadishu Somalia on Dren for the Relief Effort to feed starving somalis. Aid forms Cornerstone of new Marine Mission by . Reza los Angeles times the humanitarian Mission in Somalia symbolizes the Marine corps new global strategy transforming the service hailed As a first to fight into the a first to provide  operation restore Hope in Somalia is the first proving ground for the corps new military strategy experts say. Developed after the thaw of the cold War the corps new Mission was outlined in a White paper titled from the sea released by Navy and Marine officials in september. Under the modified strategy the marines role As peacekeepers comes As the focus shifts from global military threats to a regional challenges and opportunities a including a humanitarian assistance and nation building efforts in third world nations the report stated. Although some officials presented the new strategy As a realistic response to changing world dynamics other experts said they View the directive As a shrewd move on the part of Navy and Marine officials to compete with the army and air Force for shrinking defense dollars. A the humanitarian role is one they re going to be attracted to in order to justify their budget a said John Henshaw a defense expert at the Harry l. Stimson Center think tank in Washington. A generally speaking in the future the focus will be on regional conflicts particularly coastal operations where the Navy and marines can work Well together. And humanitarian assistance missions Are going to play a major part in the new  Henshaw praised the marines and Navy for thinking far enough ahead to carve out a purpose that requires their troops participation in future crises that erupt in coastal nations. Many of today a regional conflicts Are erupting along the worlds coasts As illustrated recently in Kuwait Liberia and Somalia. A study by Marine corps researchers projected that in the next 20 years about 80 percent of the populations of developing nations in latin America Africa and the Pacific rim will be concentrated in Urban coastal areas. Although the new Marine corps Strat egy became official Only months ago the change began evolving in 1991, when about 8,000 marines and eight Navy ships assisted by air Force and army special forces teams were rushed to storm ravaged Bangladesh to participate in operation sea Angel. Bangladesh one of the worlds poorest countries was hit by a Cyclone in april 1991. The resulting High winds and rising tide a most of the country a coastal areas Are about 2 feet above sea level a killed an estimated 100,000 people and flooded much of the country. A Bangladesh happened More than a year before the new strategy was adopted. But what we did in Bangladesh was not much different than what we re doing in Somalia a said former Marine it. Col. Jim Vance who had acted As a spokesman for the Marine Relief Mission to the asian country. Both humanitarian operations in Bangladesh and Somalia fit the marines new global strategy said Henshaw adding a clearly the marines were Given a major role in Somalia because they were already on  identifies victim of mine Dover Del. A the defense department identified the Only american killed so far during the military Mission to Somalia As Lawrence n. Freedman 51, of Fayetteville n.c., a civilian army employee. His body arrived Friday at Dover fab officials said. He was killed wednesday just outside Barbera when a . Vehicle he was Riding in hit an anti tank mine. Three state department Security officers were injured. The body was to be kept at the base mortuary before being delivered to whatever destination the family requested said it. Tania Dutko Deputy chief of Public affairs for Dover fab