| Just as soon as we find someone in charge. |
Even if the department determines that the political and security conditions on the ground have improved sufficiently, it will not reopen the U.S. Embassy, which has been closed since 1991, but will most likely set up a small presence post, officials said. "It's something that's being actively examined right now," department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. "We are going to take a look, obviously, at what is appropriate in terms of security [and] political presence ... in Somalia."
Although the United States never formally severed diplomatic relations with a Somali nation that dissolved into near anarchy from 1991 on, it closed its embassy there.
There aren't any final decisions" about sending U.S. diplomats to Somalia, Mr. McCormack said. However, he added that if the situation continues to improve, the department could send diplomats.
Jendayi Frazer, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, considered visiting Somalia during a trip to the region early last month, but the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service decided it was not safe, a senior official said.
The U.S. Embassy in Kenya is responsible for watching developments in Somalia, but the lack of diplomatic presence on the ground limits the knowledge and potential influence of the United States, officials said.