#Op_ed: #Washington Strategic Blind Spot: Why U.S. must pay attention to #Somaliland
Last month, Somaliland President Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi hosted a senior #US military and diplomatic delegation at the Presidential Palace in Hargeisa, including United States Africa Command (#AFRICOM) Commander Gen. Dagvin R. M. Anderson. Adam Daud Ahmed, the author of this op-ed, argues that the visit signaled what Washington acknowledges privately:
“The U.S. military recognizes Somaliland’s strategic and governance value.” He underscores that AFRICOM’s engagement reflects Somaliland’s pivotal location near the Bab el-Mandeb strait and its reputation as one of Africa’s most resilient democracies.
The author explains that Somaliland’s stability is the result of decades of deliberate institution-building, combining traditional leadership structures with constitutional governance. This democratic model stands out amid rising authoritarian influence across the region. He further notes that #Berbera Port, expanded by the #UAE, has become central to regional logistics, offering the United States a crucial alternative to #Djibouti, where #China maintains its first overseas military base.
The article concludes that Somaliland’s three decades of stability and resistance to extremism make it an “irreplaceable partner,” adding that continued U.S. hesitation in recognizing this alignment would constitute a “strategic failure.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=53952
