Ideology, Structure, Target, and Tactics of Al-Shabaab - Essay Example

?Policy Paper Table of Contents Overview of the Paper 3 Section I: Examination of Al-Shabaab 3 Ideology of Al-Shabaab 4 Structure of Al-Shabaab 4 Targets of Al-Shabaab 5 Tactics of Al-Shabaab 5 Section II: Description of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 2 (HSPD 2) and Analysis of its Power 6 Ability of HSPD 2 to Fight against Al-Shabaab 9 Works Cited 11 Overview of the Paper The terrorist group that has been selected for fulfilling the requirements of the paper is Al-Shabaab. The group has been selected on the basis of its intent of attacking the American homeland. The structure of this paper has been designed in the form that in its first section, comprehensive insights will be generated about Al-Shabaab. Thus, the ideology, structure, targets and tactics of Al-Shabaab will be discussed in the first section. The second section of the paper will be consisted of identification of a homeland security policy in the US and presenting its effectiveness towards protecting the American homeland from terrorist attacks. The policy that will be discussed is that of the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 2. Section I: Examination of Al-Shabaab Al-Shabaab, actually the Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin, was the rebellious branch of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts. A major portion of the southern Somalia was taken over by this group during the last six months of the year 2006. The group has exercised control over the southern and central Somalia, at times temporary, otherwise sustained through recruiting local sub-tribes along with their armed force, even forcibly. Majority of the fighters within the group are concerned with fighting against Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The senior leadership of Al-Shabaab group is associated with al-Qa’ida and it is believed that a number of the terrorists within the group have received training and battled in Afghanistan (The National Counterterrorism Center, “Al-Shabaab”). Ideology of Al-Shabaab The ideology of Al-Shabaab is another tread towards the vision of the global ‘jihadist’ movement. The group operates with the notion that the troubles of Somalia can only be eradicated through such governance that runs on religious values. They work with the notion that everything has to be in compliance with the laws of the Islam. According to a report written by Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, an American mujahid, a conference was boycotted by the Al-Shabaab group because it was violently against working with any non-Islamic group. Al-Shabaab’s ideology was that if they work with any group that does not value religious belief, the scope of political feeling within the group increases. The politics ultimately build up a path that gives rise to defeats and losses. Ideology of the group that is developed upon the God’s verses makes the terrorists’ group believe that they are ‘good Muslims’. This idea of the group bars them from realizing their misdeed through taking the lives of many (Gartenstein, “The Strategic Challenge of Somalia's Al-Shabaab”). Structure of Al-Shabaab The nominal leader of the Al-Shabaab group is Sheikh Mohamed Mukhtar Abdirahman. However, according to various experts, the group’s activities are guided by a number of senior leaders. Al-Shabaab group is classified into mainly three geographical locations. The locations are: the regions of Bay and Bokool where it is led by Mukhtar Roobow, Mogadishu with southern and central Somalia and Somaliland and Puntland. There is another unit whose leader is not a member of the Al-Shabaab group but is believed to have a strong association with the group. A report of the ‘December 2008 UN Monitoring Group’ revealed that the four regional units of the group operates separately and even passes through conflicts among themselves. There are carious estimates about the exact size of the group. However, it is according to the notions of analysts that people believed the group to be consisted of thousands of fighters. A major portion of the group belongs to the Hawiye tribal community (Hanson, “Al-Shabaab”). Targets of Al-Shabaab The targets of Al-Shabaab have undergone various shifts during the last three years. During the period from the year 2007 to 2009, the targets of the group were nationalistic. The period was the time when Al-Shabaab was fighting against the Ethiopians for eradicating them from Somalia. The nationalistic target of the group was to transform Somalia into a nation that is led by the Somalis. During the end of the year 2010, their targets were converted towards more global perspective. The group, however, continued with their fight against the militants of TFG and peace maintainers of the African region to acquire control over Somalia. The primary targets of the group, then, were to throw away the foreigners from the region of Somalia and to establish “Sharia” culture within the region. Along with these short-term goals, the long-term prospect of Al-Shabaab is to depict participation within “jihad” rebellion around the world (Curran, “Global Ambitions: An Analysis of al Shabaab's Evolving Rhetoric”). Tactics of Al-Shabaab Similar to the targets of Al-Shabaab, the tactics of the group also kept on transforming from time to time. At the time of initial operations during the year 2006, the group followed the tactics of attacking through shootings, murders and serial bomb blasts. These tactics are collectively called “classic guerilla tactics”. These tactics were used to be applied on the government and also against anyone who would be perceived as allies of the government. During the year 2008, the group followed the tactics of reaching out to the people of Somalia through serial visits to various towns. They targeted to convince the Somalis through various tactics such as that of delivering food and money to the needy. Through these moves, they settled to generate disputes within the locality. This way the group gradually gained control of the southern Somalia region. With the control, the group started using political tactics too. By the year 2009, the group started ruling over most of the southern parts. They would attack any country that would show their interest towards participating in the activities of peace maintaining in Somalia ((Hanson, “Al-Shabaab”). Section II: Description of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 2 (HSPD 2) and Analysis of its Power The Homeland Security Presidential Directive 2 (HSPD 2) is aimed towards prevention of entry of any alien supporters of terrorism within the region of the United States. The policy is also aimed towards detaining, prosecuting and banishing any terrorism supporter who are already living within the borders of the country. The policy permitted the establishment of the Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force that is targeted to coordinate with the Federal agencies. The Force was assigned the job to assist in implementing the hostile objectives of the policy. Enhancement of the INS and Customs Service’s scope is provided by the policy. The policy directive also permitted the attempts of coordinating with every activity related to immigration by the authorities of the Mexican and Canadian governments (Bush, “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 2: Combating Terrorism through Immigration Policies”). The Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force was set up by the end of the year 2001, after the massive terrorist attack (9/11) within the US. The job of this force is to overview that, guided by the law, the Federal agencies cooperate along the programs for fulfilling the following objectives of the policy: (1) to deny entry of any alien within the US who are suspicious of supporting terrorism, and (2) to combat against the aliens who are already there in the country through every possibilities (Bush, “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 2: Combating Terrorism through Immigration Policies”). The policy, after the 9/11 terrorist attack, instantaneously developed and implemented long run plans for improving the abilities of the INS and Customs Service. The policy aimed to enhance the capacities of investigation and intelligence of the INS and Customs Service. The objective of this move of the policy was to apply every ways and means out for fighting against terrorism (Bush, “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 2: Combating Terrorism through Immigration Policies”). There was prompt move soon after the 9/11 terrorist attack through which the US initiated discussions with the governments of Mexico and Canada. The theme of the discussion was to generate assurance of the greatest potential compatibility of policies for immigration and visa. The move was generated for ensuring that immigrants from other countries for legitimate purposes only enter the country. It was also agreed in the discussion that databases will be shared with the two countries that will be controlled through customs and immigration policies (Bush, “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 2: Combating Terrorism through Immigration Policies”). Ability of HSPD 2 to Fight against Al-Shabaab The terrorist group of the Al-Shabaab is a violent threat to the peace in the United States. According to a staff report published during the month of July, 2011, greater than 40 Somalis who used to live in America went to Somalia for participating in the “jihad” movement initiated by the Al-Shabaab group. In the violent attack of the Al-Shabaab group, a minimum number of 15 Americans were killed, while still trace of about 21 Americans have not been found. The US administration headed by Barack Obama is initiating towards preparation of a new military intrusion in Somalia (IPT News, “House Panel: al-Shabaab Poses "Direct Threat" to U.S”). It is due to the counter-terrorism policies of the HSPD 2 that the administration department in the US has started focusing towards Somalia on an increased basis. Recently, Somalia had to face consequences of airstrikes from the US aimed towards responding to the violence of Al-Shabaab in Somalia. The incident of 9/11 and their repercussions made the US led administrations severe and as a consequence, the supporters of Al-Qu’ida (inclusive of Al-Shabaab) were subjected to a series of target killings by the US militants. The HSPD 2 policies towards counter-terrorism initiated the various moves of the Barack Obama led administration in the US. In the same way, the various guidelines generated within the policy have risen to the efficiency of the US in preventing, protecting and responding towards the Al-Shabaab groups in Somalia. The enhanced focus upon the operations of Al-Shabaab within Somalia led towards finding of various connections of the group with Al-Qu’ida. This has been a result of the improvement of task force’s activities in relation to analysis of investigation and intelligence reports. Considering various facts about the capabilities of the HSPD 2 policy, it can be inferred that the policy hold string ability to fight against the Al-Shabaab groups operating from Somalia. Works Cited Bush, George, W. “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 2: Combating Terrorism Through Immigration Policies”. September 01, 2011. Homeland Security, 2001. Curran, Cody. “Global Ambitions: An Analysis of al Shabaab's Evolving Rhetoric”. September 01, 2011. Critical Threats, 2011. Gartenstein, Daveed. “The Strategic Challenge of Somalia's Al-Shabaab”. September 01, 2011. Middle East Forum, 2009. Hanson, Stephanie. “Al-Shabaab”. September 01, 2011. Council on Foreign Relations, 2011. IPT News. “House Panel: al-Shabaab Poses "Direct Threat" to U.S”. September 01, 2011. US, 2011. The National Counterterrorism Center. “Al-Shabaab”. September 01, 2011. 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