U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined a four-point US response to piracy in the Horn of Africa:
1- Call for a meeting of the international Contact Group on Piracy
2- Attend the International Somali peacekeeping and development meeting in Brussels
3- A team of US diplomats will meet with Somali leaders from the Transitional Federal Government and Puntland administration to, as she put it, “press these leaders to take action against pirates operating from bases within their territories.”
4- Coordinate with shipping and maritime insurance companies “to address gaps in their self-defense measures.”
Two of Clinton's four points have to do with Somalis, while the other two concern the larger international community.
While it is understandable that the US would want to meet with Puntland’s officials to pressure them to end their collusion with piracy, it is hard to see the point of talking with the Transitional Federal Government about this issue, since it is very clear that members of this administration can hardly take care of their own security in Mogadishu let alone do something about security in the high seas. The surrealistic quality of deciding to talk to the TFG about piracy is only topped by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Phillip Carter’s claim that “Washington had been dealing with the Somali Central Bank and Kenyan-based accountants” to set up a mechanism of accounting for a proposed $5-10 million aid to the TFG. The plain fact is that no Somali Central Bank exists, and since previous aid that the TFG collected from various countries ended in the pockets of the TFG’s leaders whatever money the US gives them is likely to follow the same route. This episode just goes to show how American policymakers are disconnected from reality, and as if the American tax payer has not suffered enough abuse at the hands of their own bankers, now they are being told that their government is going to hand their money to Kenyan bankers and a non-existent Somali Central Bank. With harebrained ideas like these passing for US policy, no wonder American tax payers are losing confidence in their government and elected officials.
The points regarding the international community are reasonable but their outcome will depend on the kind of cooperation the US gets from the countries involved and shipping companies.
What is noticeable about Clinton's outline as well as much of the coverage of Somali piracy is that there has been hardly mention of Somaliland. This is both positive and negative for Somaliland. It is positive in that it keeps Somaliland’s image away from being tarnished by piracy. But it is negative in that it fails to mention Somaliland’s contribution to anti-piracy, makes it seem as if the whole Somali coast belongs to Somalia and subsumes Somaliland’s narrative under the general category of Somalia.
When an issue that has security implications for the country is propelled into the international scene, it is incumbent on Somaliland’s government to speak up and let the world know its views on the topic. Otherwise, Somaliland will continue to be taken for granted by Western policymakers, the same way it has been taken for granted for the last two decades.
 

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