Countering Al Shabaab Threat In Kenya

by Brigadier David K. Cheshire

Al Shabaab is an insurgency using terrorism as a key component within its larger effort to seize power in order to establish an Islamist state in Somalia and spread jihadist ideology across the Horn of Africa regional sub-system—Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda (see Figure 1). Terrorism as a weapon is a common feature in contemporary violent radical Islamist insurgencies. Their objective is to overthrow secular democratic governments and replace them with Islamist alternatives. That is, they are committed to conservative interpretations of the Islamic religion in order to direct the processes of governance, thus to lead the affected population to an ostensibly correct way of conduct and life.

Somalia-based Al Shabaab insurgency threatens not only that country but the region, to include Kenya, and Western interests. The Horn of Africa (HOA) and by extension the African continent have suffered the effects of Somalia’s instability. Impact has ranged from local disruption, which has included widespread destruction and mass casualty attacks, to the requirement to commit resources and forces in response. Similarly, the international community continues to commit resources and troops in quest for peace and stability in Somalia, and strategic global sea lane of communication along the Gulf of Aden is put at risk by growing use of terrorist tactics by various threats. This has been accompanied by generati...