Somalia Instability Increases Concern for U.S. Counterterrorism Policy on the Homefront

Over the past few weeks, local and national newspapers have been increasingly interested in the growth of radicalization in Muslim-American communities, in particular Somali-American communities that still maintain close relations with friends and family in Somalia. This is due to FBI and National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) warnings that Islamic radicalization is spreading throughout the U.S.

In response to increase concern over possible terrorist incursion within the U.S. borders, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing Wednesday on the recent recruitment of Somali-Americans in cities throughout the United States.

At the hearing, leading scholar on Somalia issues, Ken Menkhaus, addressed the importance of the Al-Shabaab to American interests.

“The principal reason for US concern about shabaab is not that it is a violent,extremist armed insurgency which employs tactics that could legitimately be described as “terrorist” in nature…Shabaab stands out because of its ties to al Qa’ida. Shabaab spokesperson Sheikh Robow (aka Abu Mansur) publicly and defiantly underscored this link to al Qa’ida in 2008, and top al Qa’ida figures have made global appeals to help shabaab in a jihad against Ethiopia.”

Authorities are concerned that Somali-Americans, who hold U.S. passports and are easily able to travel abroad, might build relationships with members of the Shabaab, and likewise, Al-Qaeda. They can then return to the U.S. using government-issued passport and establish networks inside the U.S. border. In a talk at CSIS on counterterrorism strategies Juan Zarate, former deputy national security advisor for combating terrorism, said Wednesday that NCTC received a credible threat from Al-Shabaab on Inauguration Day.

While the administration’s focus has veered towards the ungoverned border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Somalia remains on the periphery of U.S. counterradicalization efforts. Now, extremists in Somalia are jeopardizing previous successes in counterradicalization efforts in the home front. But, authorities claim, the level of radicalization in the U.S. still remains well below that seen in disenfranchised Muslim communities in Europe.

U.S. counterradicalization policy in on the home front has centered on detection and investigation techniques by the FBI and the NCTC. In his testimony, NCTC Deputy Director Andrew Liepman outlined the current U.S. counterradicalization strategy toward Somali-American communities:

“To coordinate Federal, State, and local engagement efforts within
Somali-American communities, the NCTC Global Engagement Group chairs the Somali Community Outreach Forum…This working group provides a forum to coordinate community outreach meetings in Columbus, Ohio and Minneapolis, Minnesota and other venues, and serves as a central point for collaboration that is designed to increase the effectiveness and coordination of activities, while respecting the civil liberties and privacy rights of US Persons.”

The Somali-American community ranges from 150,000-200,000 people and can be found in Minneapolis, Columbus and Seattle. An important issue that must be addressed when approaching this community is cultural sensitivity. Using local law, state and federal law enforcement mechanisms can lead to disenfranchising the local population.

One approach that has been effective in the Netherlands for opening dialogue with its immigrant communities is establishment of “information houses.” The information houses provide members of the community a location to confidentially express their concerns local law enforcement bodies about other members of the community that might be leaning toward radicalism and extremism.

Somalia is a failed state and has not been able to establish a powerful government since 1991. Since the Siad Barre regime collapse Mogadishu has been under control of several different factions. More recently in 2006, it was held by the Islamic Courts Union who attempted to introduce Sharia law when the Ethiopian army invaded in December of that year to establish a pro-West government.

In January, the country’s parliament chose a new president, Sheik Sharif Ahmed, former leader of the Islamic Courts Union. The BBC reported this week that the government is considering adopting a new system of laws based on Sharia.

In addition to Menkhaus’ testimony, the committee also listened to the assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch Phillip Mudd, the deputy director for intelligence at the NCTC, Andrew Liepman, and two representatives from the Somali-American community in Minnesota, Abdirahman Mukhtar and Osman Ahman.


Articles on Radicalization in the U.S.
AP: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gq7vAcxN1EnWq0Cdj-H5PF6oM9KQD96RDTU00
Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/10/AR2009031003901_pf.html
Bloomberg News: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=akGM0Du6ZUc0&refer=us

Senate Homeland Security Committee Website on Somali-American Hearing (March 11, 2009) – This site has video, audio and pdfs of the recent hearing. http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=35e68562-1606-409a-9118-3edfbb8e87c8

Center for Strategic and International Studies Conference on Somalia (March 10, 2009) – This site has video and audio of a recent conference on Somalia at CSIS.
http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_events/task,view/id,1933/