My brother and the deadly lure of al-Shabab jihad
Copied from Studies on Radicalisation thread:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=7188
The BBC have this article supporting a File on Four radio documentary, on the unclear impact of Al-Shabab on the Somali community in the UK:
Quote:
Jenny Cuffe investigates how British-based Somalis are being lured into fighting for the al-Qaeda-linked Islamists of al-Shabaab.
There have been consistent rumours that dozens, perhaps scores of British-based Somali men have travelled to Somalia to join the militant Islamist group which was banned by the British Government earlier this year.
File on 4 explores the techniques used by Al-Shabaab to persuade young members of the 250,000-strong British Somali community to sign up for Jihad in Somalia. Members of the close-knit and reticent British Somali community tell Jenny Cuffe of their fears that youngsters are being seduced through the internet and by shadowy recruiting sergeants for the Horn of Africa's most feared military force.
And the programme travels to the state of Minnesota to see how a vigorous FBI investigation and cooperation from the Somali community have laid-bare a pipeline which first lured, then transported young American Somalis to the training camps and battlefields of Somalia.
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11667690 and the File on Four podcast:http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vkxkc
I noted the references by US Customs to the issues around Khat being smuggled into the USA, via the UK originating from Kenya and the suspected fund raising for Al-Shabbab. Khat is not illegal in the UK, unlike the rest of the EU and USA.
Battling Radical Islamist Propaganda in Somalia
Battling Radical Islamist Propaganda in Somalia
Entry Excerpt:
Battling Radical Islamist Propaganda in Somalia:The Information Intervention Option
by Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob
While the international community continues to dither over Somalia, Islamic fundamentalists have taken over control of the country’s information space and other key strategic assets. This article discusses the precarious media environment in Somalia and revisits discourses on Information Intervention, conceptualised by Jamie Metzl in 1997. It examines the nature of UN’s ‘Information Intervention’ in Somalia and argues that the international community can do more by drawing on available legal instruments to carry out ‘coercive’ information intervention.
Download the Full Article: Battling Radical Islamist Propaganda in Somalia:The Information Intervention Option
Dr Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob is a Post-Doctoral Teaching Fellow at the Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
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We're Winning in Somalia (really?)
Forgiven my (comment), but I found this short article too optimistic and the sub-title 'With a little more donor support, international forces can help drive al-Shabab out of Mogadishu'. The author is the head of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Quote:
We now effectively control two-thirds of the city -- some 16 square miles -- with more than two dozen security outposts scattered throughout the city. More importantly, this has created a relatively safe haven for 80 percent of the estimated 2 million people who live in Mogadishu's southwestern neighborhoods.
Link:http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...malia?page=0,0
Incidentally a more detailed, military account appeared in the June/July RUSI Journal by ANISOM's military commander.
Drought didn’t cause Somalia's famine
The reliable African correspondent, Aidan Hartley, for The Spectator has been in Somalia again; the article is sub-titled 'War did. And food aid may well make it worse':
Quote:
...For let’s get one thing right: the ‘Somalis’ are not starving. The victims are mainly the weak or minority clans — or anybody who has not armed himself to the teeth.....Across Africa’s Horn, vulnerable populations have been kept alive with food handouts that do not allow them to live well — but maintain their fertility so that their numbers have exploded.
Link:http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/al...s-famine.thtml
It appears we, those who support charitable relief, are being had again; in the UK there is a current emergency charity appeal and HMG have donated 25m UK Pounds. For details:http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/Fe...a-aid-monitor/
When NGOs are part of the problem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
davidbfpo
You might be interested in what Paul Farmer has to say here about the relationship between NGOs and (the absence of) governments.
A lot of Americans dream of living in a country where the government keeps its hands off of you. Really, there’s no need to dream. Just buy a one-way ticket to Mogadishu.
Evaluating relations between Al-Shabab and Al-Qaeda
The full title is: Dangerous liaison? Evaluating relations between Al-Shabab and Al-Qaeda and ends with:
Quote:
The Al-Shabab-AQAP relationship, though probable, remains largely shrouded in supposition that is based on relatively scarce detailed information. From a logistical and strategic point of view, such a relationship makes sense, particularly given the relatively close geographic proximity of the Somali movement and AQAP as well as a significant number of stated ideological intersections between the Al-Shabab and AQAP leaderships. More concrete details may emerge from the trial of Ahmed Warsame or possibly from the two militant organizations themselves, but until more concrete evidence emerges, the nature of the Al-Shabab-AQAP operational relationship will continue to remain largely obscure.
Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/opensec...utm_campaign=0
An Opportunity in Somalia
An Opportunity in Somalia
Entry Excerpt:
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Yes, still here and starving too.
A thoughtful, if curious opinion article in FP Blog: 'Do Muslims Really Care About Somalia? With a sub-title:If they do, here's how they can save the country from famine.
Aside from the famine and lack of Muslim response, some historical background on internal politics.
I did note the comment, which struck me as odd; alas only cites one BBC report in support:
Quote:
...the U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion and occupation in 2006 and 2007 -- a war conducted in pursuit of just three al Qaeda suspects.
Link:http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...tries?page=0,0
If there is a famine in the region, which having read a little I remain unconvinced of, I still doubt that the wider international community, whether Muslim or not, feel inclined to help.
By coincidence the BBC reports 3k more troops en route to join the African Unity presence, over the next six months:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15082141
A quick briefing on Somalia: livelihood and politics
A short insight into this troubled land and sub-titled:
Quote:
Somalia's long civil war and political fragmentation define the country to the world. Yet the society also contains potent resources of allegiance and solidarity, says the doyen of Somali studies, Ioan M Lewis.
Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/ioan-m-...d-and-politics
The author Ioan Lewis is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, London School of Economics.