President Donald Trump is reportedly working on a measure that would give the United States a new military and economic foothold in Africa, counter China and Russia, and strike a blow against Islamist terrorists in the region. And now a prominent senator has told Fox News Digital that this goal can be realized by recognizing the separatist Somaliland as an independent state.
Somaliland, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, seceded from Somalia in 1991. Its government is reportedly offering the United States a new air and sea base near the entrance to the Red Sea, directly opposite Yemen and the Houthis, if the United States formally recognizes it. Thirty percent of global container ship traffic reportedly passes through its waters en route to or from the Suez Canal.
In the Oval Office on August 8, Trump told reporters, "We're looking into that right now," when asked about recognizing Somaliland and potentially resettling Gazans there, adding, "We're working on that right now, Somaliland."
Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz, D-Texas, told Fox News Digital: "There is a very real opportunity for President Trump to recognize Somaliland during this administration."
Cruz added: "President Trump is ushering in a new era of clarity for American national security, following four years of the Biden administration rewarding our enemies and punishing our allies, and recognizing Somaliland should be part of that new era.
Neighboring Somalia has been battling Islamist fundamentalist fighters for decades. US Africa Command has increased the number of airstrikes against both ISIS and al-Shabab terrorists under the current administration.
But Somaliland, 99 percent Muslim, has supposedly eliminated radicalism and aligned itself with the United States and Israel, prompting Cruz to tell Fox News Digital: "They are a Muslim country, in a very dangerous part of Africa, showing real courage. I will continue to push to deepen the U.S.-Somaliland partnership, including through the Senate Africa Subcommittee, and I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will be receptive to that."
