Terrorist organizations in Somalia, located within the Horn of Africa, present a current threat to the region and to United States (U.S.) interests. This paper will address the implication of a terrorist network within Somalia by analyzing the actions and motivations of Al-Shabab, the Somali Government, and the United States. Al-Shabab is gathering support by using religion, undermining the Somali Government, and by providing jobs and opportunities for the people of Somalia. If Al-Shabab continues growing in power it could lead to more extreme terrorists attacks in Somalia and the region.
One of Al-Shabab’s method of gaining supporters in Somalia is by using religious rhetoric to wage a jihad to eliminate whom they consider enemies of Islam. As stated by Ibrahim,“Al-shabab also began to employ militant ‘crusader’ language to exploit and evoke primitive fears of powerful outsiders, claiming the TFG relied entirely on protection provided by foreign ‘infidels” (Ibrahim 284). They also took advantage of a situation that the Somali Government was having a difficult time enforcing laws and standards in parts of the country. Which led to Al-Shabab to start enforcing Sharia Law as a better alternative than what was in place. Although the people have to deal with “its own harsh interpretation of sharia law, prohibiting various types of entertainment, such as movies and music, the sale of khat (a narcotic plant often chewed), smoking, the shaving of beards, and many other "un-Islamic" activities” (Masters).
In 2006, Al-Shabab threatens the Somali government in Baidoa by trying to overthrow the local government and to setup its own Islamic Courts Union (ICU) courthouses. Somalia was not going to hand over the city, but did not have ...
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...ry, a development hailed by the UN as a sign of improving security” (Galkayo). Now with the help from the United States the Somali government would continue to stabilize.
The U.S has a vested interest in the stabilization of Somalia since “three high-profile foreign terrorists have used Somalia to recruit, train, hide, and smuggle weapons most notably for the 1998 attacks against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania” (Ibrahim 284). Additionally, the U.S. is helping Somila’s Government To stop extreme terrorists from gaining power by training the troops and giving them more resources. This is seen by having a “ greater coordination between (African Union Mission in Somalia’s) AMISOM and (Somali Transitional Federal Government) TFG forces, and reported training of Somali intelligence operatives by the Central Intelligence Agency. (Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens)
attacks of terrorist cells, such as al-Qaeda. The strategic location of the base in Djibouti, Africa
The Triangle Terror Group who were they and what did law enforcement learn from them? In this paper they will provide us with a case study to analyze. We will briefly summarize the case of the Triangle Terror Group. Also an analysis on the rights and wrongs of the operation will be presented, along with other tactics that could have been used to mitigate the threat.
Civil War is another shared similarity between both Somalia and the United States. In 1991, following the overthrow of the dictator, Siad Barre, Somalia descended into anarchy. With no government presence to maintain some type of order, clan-based warlords began competing with each other, thus beginning civil unjust. While northern parts of Somalia, as well as the self-declared “Republic of Somaliland,” have remained somewhat peaceful, internal fighting flares up with little to no warning. Since 1991, it is estimated that 350, 000 to 1,000,000 Somalia’s have died due to the lack...
The U.S. and other Western nations support the fragile Somali regime, which is battling an Islamic insurgency, as part of the counterterrorism strategy for the region.” As apparent, the United States has put a counterterrorism strategy into place, to help bring down the power that Somalia has over child soldiers. As seen from “Armed & Underage” by Jeffrey Gettleman, “.200,000 children worldwide are still being used as combatants, usually against their will. And it isn't just boys: Girls are often pressed into duty as cooks or messengers.
Again, the United States entered the conflict failing to adhere to all the principals of jus ad bellum, espousing the principles of jus in bello, and inadequately upholding those of jus post bellum. The US entered the war an unjust nation, and left the conflict in a rather unjust manner. As a result, Somalia faces hardship over two decades later with no signs of a hasty recovery. Even worse, with the problem lingering and the international debt crisis, few countries are willing to intervene in Africa to cut out a solution. How long will the world let Somali people starve and whose job is it to intervene if America is unwilling?
Before the war, Somalia had a well-functioning democratic republic government. Under the 1979 Constitution, the president held executive power. The president was the head and leader of the country’s sole legal political party, The Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party. Elected to serve a 7-year term, the president was nominated by the party’s central committee. Ever since the civil war in 1991, when the government collapsed, Somalia has been in a state of civil war and anarchy (“Somalian Government”).
For approximately the past three decades, a terrorist group has come to plague the world with its activities (Gunaratna, 2002). This group is known as Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda, when translated means “The Base”. It is a terrorist organization that seeks to remove western influence from the Middle East and spread its radical Islamic views. Al Qaeda’s most prominent leader was Osama bin Laden, until his death during a raid upon his compound in Pakistan. The Al Qaeda’s motivation stems primarily from extreme and deeply rooted religious beliefs. Their most used method of attack is through suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices. This organization has also used chemical warfare and at this time is believed to still actively seek to utilize chemical and biological agents as means to battle.
The purpose of this document is to discuss the horrible acts one may recognize as the genocide in Somalia. One may deliberate regularly on the reasons or circumstances that lead to the mistreatment and killings of a whole country; how could this happen? Why are no other countries willing to step in and give aid to the Somali people whom are suffering on a daily basis? In reality, many concerns have been addressed, whether by discussions or actions. There may be different philosophies or viewpoints as to why the genocide was conducted and not stopped. Genocide is a cruel and inhumane event and is a world problem.
At that time in the early 1990’s, the U.S. was the only superpower country left in the world. The Soviet Union collapsed after the Cold War and the left the U.S. at the top. With the U.S. being the only superpower left, it meant that they were the only ones who could try to keep peace between other countries and hopefully end violence in the world. At the time, Somalia was a complete disaster and still is to this day. They have no structural government and warlords rule parts of the country.
Extremism manifests itself dangerously in the Islam religion (Palmer, Monte, and Princess Palmer, 37). The Muslim religion has some laws and believes that no one should question their design, origin or application. Good people should punish immoral people in Islam religion without showing mercy to them. In Islam, human beings have no right to offer forgiveness to others that can easily lead to and create peace to oneself in the society. The unforgiving nature makes human rights groups in many ways try to change and support governments that try to overthrow Muslim extremist governments. Such an approach creates a war never ending between the Muslim governments and other governments that fight the extremist ideals. In East Africa, Somalia presents a case example by observing how the Government is not able to control the ever fighting and dreadful Al-Shabaab. The “Al-Shabaab” is an Arab name for Muslim youth who over the years try to use enforce extremist rulers in governing the country and hence controlling the resources. Muslim fighters and rebels arm themselves with arsenals they use to fight groups that oppose them by killing and torturing them. The al-Shabaab launches attacks that kill people and openly claim responsibility for the losses and the deaths they cause. They also punish members who commit sin using the retrogressive laws of the Quran on the people they label sinners. Other extremist
If we used the ships that are about to attack them to fend of the dumpers and fishers then they could start to rebuild. It seems like the world thought of the quickest solution to the problem and didn’t think of why the Somalis would be doing this except that they most be greedy.
stability and peace in Burundi. The foreign policy of Burundi is to look for aid from
The Somali were struggling and since there was no one to aid them with their struggle for a secure government, the United States and United Nations began aiding the Somali people. The U.S. and the U.N. sent out deliveries of necessities the Somali people need to live off of, but warlords attempted to cut off the deliveries for the people, which infuriated the U.N. and U.S., who began to fight back against the warlords, causing greater tension in the capital. Aideed, a warlord, shot down two Black Hawk Helicopters, leading to the death of eighteen U.S. soldiers and hundreds of Somali people. The fighting continued, leaving multitudes of deaths on both sides of the war. After years of endless fighting, the United Nations and United States tried to the best of their abilities to aid Somalia and its corrupt government, however in the end, they were unable to find a solution to assist
This is also made possible because to Muslims, Islam legitimizes everything and because the Saudi monarchy is supportive of anything that will challenge the Shia or other moderate forms of Islam. Of note, al Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Shabab and others are all Sunni Salafi groups. For fifty years, Saudi Arabia has been the official sponsor of Sunni Salafism, which just happens to be another term for Wahhabism. These terror groups have been generously backed by the Saudi government, which has assigned delegates to its consulates in Muslim countries that promote Salafism.
Terrorist organizations have been committing atrocities against innocent civilians throughout the world for hundreds of years. Terrorism has evolved in many different forms and from various motivations such as religious protest movements, political revolts, and social uprisings. Regardless of the motives for terror, the problem is the financing of terrorism and terrorist organizations themselves. Recent global terrorist attacks using high technology and extensive networks have shown that money is essential to provide the means behind all terrorist activities. Individual terrorists plan terrorist operations and require resources to live, prepare, and implement their plans. The use of money laundering and financial support schemes are the root of the cause. If money laundering were curtailed or even eliminated, and financial supporters of terrorism were identified terrorism would decrease dramatically. To achieve these goals would take monumental efforts. The United States, United Nations and all sovereign nations would need to take cooperative action that has never been accomplished. Terrorism, its' history, concepts, reasoning, methods, and financial roots are object of this research.