ABSTRACT
The US-led operation in Somalia that began when US Marines hit the Mogadishu beaches in December 1992 continues to have a profound effect on the debate over the future of humanitarian intervention. Whereas the Somalia case should be of considerable importance in setting precedent for interventions in the post-Cold War world, it is not clear that the right lessons have been learned. When US troops intervened in December 1992 to stop the theft of food, they immediately disrupted the entire political economy of Somalia. Therefore, the United States immediately stepped deeply into the muck of Somali politics because the most fundamental institution in any country is order. The United States initiated an operation that saved approximately 100,000 lives. That is an accomplishment that stands out starkly amidst the general apathy with which the world has addressed the major humanitarian crises of the 1990s.
