Utility Menu

Search Section

What Senators didn't hear about Somali-American jihadists

Pajamas Media | Mar 23, 2009
By Patrick Poole

Since 1991, Somalia has been an ungoverned, lawless state. In recent weeks, things have gotten worse as the al-Qaeda-allied group al-Shabaab (”The Youth”) tightens its grip on the country. Earlier this week the cabinet of “president” Sheikh Sherif Ahmed endorsed a plan to institute Sharia law in areas it controls. In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael Maples testified that analysts expect that al-Shabaab will officially merge with al-Qaeda in the very near future.

Events in Somalia are not so distant. Since this past summer, as many as 40 Somali-American men have left the U.S. to join up with al-Shabaab and train in their terrorist camps in Somalia. And one of those men, Shirwa Ahmed, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, launched a suicide attack in northern Somalia on October 28 that killed at least 30 civilians — the first recorded case of an American suicide bomber.

And earlier this week it was reported that a federal grand jury has been impaneled to investigate the escalating issue of Somali-American jihadists and Somali terrorist groups operating in the Minneapolis area, which adds to the list of ongoing investigations in Columbus, OH; Washington, DC; San Diego, CA; Boston, MA; Atlanta, GA; Seattle, WA; and Portland, ME. The problem has concerned investigators to the point that high schools in some of these areas have been briefed by law enforcement to watch out for signs of radicalization among their Somali male students.

 

Continue Reading...

 

Patrick Poole is a regular contributor to Pajamas Media, and an anti-terrorism consultant to law enforcement and the military.

The Center's Publications

Frank Gaffney's Policy Decision Briefs are released weekly and sent directly to policy makers, coallitions, and the media for immediate action. Mr. Gaffney's weekly column is printed in The Washington Times on Tuesdays, and is also available at Townhall.com, Jewish World Review, and other websites.

Several times per week, the Center issues National Security Forum papers to inform and enliven the debate on issues vital to our national security.

The Americas Report is the featured product of the Center's Menges Hemispheric Security Project. Published weekly, it features in-depth, original articles on subjects not regularly covered by the American press.

The Center's Occasional Paper Series is an instrument for quick publication and dissemination of original research by CSP research staff and associates and the national security research and policy community beyond that.

While most of the Center's work is done behind the scenes, it does from time to time issue Press Releases on significant accomplishments, noteworthy events, or to set the record straight as a matter of public record.

Site Meter

Featured Expert

Frank Gaffney
Frank Gaffney

Mr. Gaffney is President and founder of the Center for Security Policy. He formerly acted as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy during the Reagan Administration, following four years of service as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy. Previously, he was a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee under the chairmanship of the late Senator John Tower, and a national security legislative aide to the late Senator Henry M. Jackson