Monday, March 8, 2010

Banning Somalia’s al Shabaab

Well it’s about time!
The Canadian government has added al Shabaab, an Islamist terrorist organization responsible for conducting dozens of attacks in the Horn of Africa, to its list of banned terrorist organizations.
This is good news. By banning al Shabaab, Ottawa not only helps Somalia’s UN-backed Transitional Federal Government survive another day, but it protects Canadians, too.
Al Shabaab emerged in 2006/7 following the collapse of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an alliance of Islamist radicals that controlled parts of Somalia in the summer of 2006. Following the ICU’s ouster by American-backed Ethiopian troops, al Shabaab, under the leadership of late Aden Hashi Ayro, spearheaded a bloody Islamist insurgency. Emulating al Qaeda’s violence in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, the group adopted suicide bombings as their modus operandi and has targeted Somalia’s government, Ethiopian forces, and Ugandan and Burundian African Union (AU) peacekeepers. By 2008, al Shabaab controlled areas of southern and central Somalia, and following Ethiopia’s withdrawal in 2009, gained control over most of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital. Al Shabaab’s goal is to establish the Islamic Emirate of Somalia, which is to include all of Somalia and parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.
The organization has relied on terrorism to achieve these political ends. Its bloodiest attacks include the December 2009 suicide bombing on a graduation ceremony for medical students (22 killed), the June 2009 car bombing of the Hotel Medina (20 killed), the February 2009 car bombing of an AU peacekeeping base (11 killed), a triple car bombing attack in October 2008 against offices of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Ethiopian Consulate Office, and the President’s palace (30 killed), a February 2008 bombing in the northern port of Boosaaso (20 killed), and the March 2007 missile attack on a cargo aircraft supporting AU peacekeeping efforts (11 killed).
But it’s al Shabaab’s global affiliations and aspirations that threaten Canadians directly.
In September 2009, al Shabaab formally pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. Reports suggest further that Saudi Arabians, Pakistanis, and Sudanese are running al Shabaab training camps on al Qaeda’s behest. These foreign fighters act as “force multipliers”, directing al Shabaab’s local efforts and teaching them battlefield skills honed in Southern Asia and the Middle East. It’s not a stretch to assume that in exchange, al Shabaab has offered al Qaeda an African foothold.
Over the past two years, al Shabaab also begun recruiting Westerners from Europe, Australia, and North America, facilitating their travel to Somalia, and enrolling them in terrorism training camps. In the United States, at least 30 Somali-Americans from Minneapolis, Minnesota have joined al Shabaab since 2007. At least six of these recruits have died fighting, including Shirwa Ahmed, the first American to carry out a suicide attack in Africa, and Troy Kastigar, a Caucasian Muslim convert.
Europeans are also fighting in Somalia. The man who carried out the 2009 attack on the graduation ceremony was a Danish citizen. A similar story is unfolding in Canada, with reports suggesting half a dozen Canadians of Somali descent have gone “missing” in Somalia.
Al Shabaab’s recruitment drive is robust. In April 2009, it released a slick, rap-infused propaganda video in which a young, Caucasian, English-speaking jihadi, calling himself Abu Mansour al-Amriki (“the American”) extols the virtues of waging jihad in Somalia. “We’re waiting to meet the enemy,” he explains. The video is clearly meant to resonate with English-speaking Somali youths living abroad.
And finally, al Shabaab is sending its Western recruits back to their adopted countries to conduct homegrown terrorist attacks. In August 2009, five Australians of Somali and Lebanese descent were arrested in Melbourne for plotting to attack a Sydney-area military base. Though investigations continue, at least two of the men had travelled to Somalia to train with al-Shabaab.
We’ve reached a terrorism crossroad in which al Shabaab’s regional aspirations coupled with al Qaeda’s international goals facilitates homegrown terrorism in the West.
Banning al-Shabaab is a necessary first step in protecting Canadians. In making it a crime to join and/or assist al Shabaab, Ottawa makes it harder for Canadians to easily support its efforts. It also subjects the organization’s assets to seizer, assists Canada’s security services in locating and tracking its local recruiters, and realigns Canadian counterterrorism efforts with those of our closest allies.
What we need to do next is assist the African Union, the United Nations, and Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government to find permanent solutions to stemming al Shabaab’s regional popularity and military capability. by Alex Wilner Macdonald-Laurier Institute 

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hello,

I am glad you found my blog post on Canada's recent move to ban al Shabaab. I would appreciate it, though, if you could attribute it to me more clearly along with the institute that published it orginally (with a link to the original site). That way, everybody wins. You do so with other blog posts (Barry Kolodkin's piece below mine, for example).

The piece was written by Alex Wilner, published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (a Canadian public policy think tank), and posted on March 8, 2010, at http://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/blog/2010/03/08/banning-somalia%e2%80%99s-al-shabaab-2/.

Keep up the good work.

Best,

Alex Wilner

Siad barre said...

sorry alex .. I have just been lazy... very nice. Thanks for the post

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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