British intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan swelled the grievances home-grown fanatics fed off, while al Qaeda morphed and re-grouped in lawless sanctuaries from Somalia to Yemen.

What happened to me in Somalia doesn't define me.

Somalia is very dangerous, and no one knows that better than I.

The criteria, for me, is movie star. It's Hollywood. Not Somalia.

All we hear about Africa in the West is Darfur, Zimbabwe, Congo, Somalia, as if that is all there is.

Along the borders to Ethiopia and Somalia, anarchy reigns, the police and military have retreated quite some distance.

If Texas and Kansas were countries they wouldn't be admitted to the World Trade Organization. Their policies are congruent with North Korea, Somalia, Turkestan, several other countries I can't pronounce and Micronesia.

To some extent, Rwanda became a victim of the Somalia experience.

I grew up in Somalia, in Saudi Arabia, in Ethiopia, and in Kenya. I came to Europe in 1992, when I was 22, and became a member of Parliament in Holland.

All we hear about Africa in the West is Darfur, Zimbabwe, Congo, Somalia, as if that is all there is.

An oversupply of national sentiment is not the problem in Somalia. The problem is a lack of it. The problem is an oversupply of sub-sub-clannish attitude.