Somali unity was always an illusion. In 1960, the former British Somaliland joined with Italian-colonized regions to form on paper what, after a few name changes, became known as Somalia. In practice, though, it was a country of regions where local authority often trumped national unity. Cold War-era dictator Siad Barre sought to impose unity by force but his repression only condemned Somalia’s already weak state to failure and, after 1991, collapse.

Most Americans know this period through the lens of “Black Hawk Down,” though reality is more nuanced. Somaliland—as the former British protectorate remains called—reasserted its independence and remained largely peaceful. Somaliland’s government in the capital city Hargeisa built capacity as Somalia’s clans and warlords turned on each other throughout the rest of the country.

The United States—first the George H.W. Bush administration and then Bill Clinton’s—did not serve Somalia well by flooding it with humanitarian aid. Rather than help Somalis, assistance worsened their plight as warlords weaponized food as they used it as rewards for patronage and its denial as punishment. In 1993, Clinton withdrew U.S. forces from Somalia and the failed state largely faded from diplomatic and public consciousness.

Ironically, it was under former first lady Hillary Clinton that Somalia returned to American awareness. Clinton saw her tenure as secretary of State as an important step in her quest to become America’s first female president but, after more than three years, she had little to show for her tenure at the State Department.