A useful article came into my inbox yesterday from the Northern Virginia/Richmond/DC Metro chapter of ACT! for America, giving the background of our country’s relationship with Somalia and the threat to America from Somalis. I’m going to quote extensively from this piece by Ruth King — Somalia: Why Isn’t Secretary Clinton Connecting the Dots? — but I recommend you read the whole thing.

She begins by mocking Hillary Clinton for her ignorant and superficial response to the Somali pirates, and to Somalis in general. Clinton

would not want to revisit [Bill Clinton’s] disastrous policy in Somalia which contributed mightily to the chaos, instability, terrorism and carnage which prevail there today.

Nor, would she want to explain her present employer’s paralysis in the face of naked Jihadi aggression.

Nor, would she want to tackle the difficult question of why Somali-Americans “disappear” from Minnesota to go train with Somali terrorists. And, she certainly would not want to discuss the implementation of Sharia law in Somalia since we don’t have a “foreign contingency” policy with respect to Somalia a member of the all Muslim Arab League. Furthermore, her recollection of the history of the Barbary Wars…um…a long…time ago is so pathetic…So, it’s just the usual ha-ha-ha.

She goes on to relate Somalia’s “long and virtually uninterrupted history of hating America,” beginning in 1969 with a bloody coup by a major general who allied himself and received training from the Soviets. Another coup in 1991 led to a civil war, followed by a terrible drought.

President George H.W. Bush sent troops, President Clinton withdrew them, and there was more chaos and carnage. In 1993 Clinton sent troops, and this led to what Americans remember of Somalia — the incident in Mogadishu.

U.S. soldiers on the ground were left without armed vehicles or sufficient firepower from the air. The Clinton administration and then Secretary of Defense, the late Les Aspin, repeatedly denied the Special ops teams’ and the Rangers’ requests for more armored vehicles, AC-130 gunships and tanks.

The American public witnessed gruesome televised scenes of rampaging Muslim Somalis dragging and desecrating the bodies of American troops.  Congress demanded a withdrawal and Clinton did a “cut and run” operation leaving Somalia in worse shape than ever and Aidid unbowed. The end result was the perception that America can be defied by any rag tag army of terrorists.

So that is our connection with Somalia, and probably the reason we felt duty-bound to take in refugees from there. The author goes on to give a good summary of their jihadist activities, both overt and stealth.

Since 1983 we have admitted 83,991 Muslim Somali immigrants into the U.S. More then half, 43,682, came since September 11th, and of those, the majority went to Minnesota (Keith Ellison’s state).

…Somali Americans did not assimilate and have grown increasingly militant in cities where they have a significant presence. And they are of concern to law-enforcement agencies.

In March 2006, Fox News reported on the alarming number of Muslims taking truck driving lessons in Kansas City. FBI investigated the school and found that the vast majority of its students were Somalis. Trucks which carry hazardous materials are as dangerous as planes.

This story became more ominous in September 2006 when Debbie Schlussel disclosed how many Muslims (a majority were Somali) got fraudulent certificates to drive 18- wheelers.

From Arizona, August 26, 2008:The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said Somali Association of Arizona had pressured Sky Harbor International Airport for the right to wear attire that accommodates their religious needs.

Here is a news item from September 2008 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

“In a landmark settlement that could change the way Muslims are treated in the workplace, St. Cloud-based Gold’n Plump Inc. has agreed to allow Somali workers short prayer breaks and the right to refuse handling pork at its poultry processing facilities….. The agreement follows a year-long examination by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and a class-action lawsuit brought in October 2006 on behalf of nine Somali immigrants who worked at Gold’n Plump’s poultry processing plants in Cold Spring, Minn., and Arcadia, Wis.”

In April 2007 Somali taxi drivers in Minneapolis refused to take passengers with dogs or alcohol, including a blind student with a Seeing Eye dog. Roughly three quarters of Minneapolis cab drivers are Somali Muslims and their case was strongly supported by the Muslim American Society of Minnesota.

The demands then escalated for footbaths in schools, airports and malls, culminating with the establishment of the controversial Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center – and the smaller but equally influential Islamic Al Dahwa Center of St. Paul, from which dozens of young Somali men have “disappeared” without a trace, and authorities believe they have joined terrorist groups in Somalia. And, of course the imams of the mosques deny any involvement with terrorism. So do all the hijab mothers.

She goes on to discuss Al-Shabab, the Somali jihadist group, and quotes Robert Spencer connecting the pirates to these terrorists. She concludes that Hillary Clinton needs to connect the dots and take the threat seriously and “confront the great threat to America which is taking root within our shores. This includes a reevaluation of our “no profiling” immigration and refugee laws and a revamping of Homeland Security and the Patriot Act.” And she is clear that this is unlikely to happen.