Who is al-Shabab? (And How Will Obama Respond?)

At the Heritage Foundation, "Somalia’s al-Shabab and the Long War on Terrorism":

Sunday’s terror attacks in Kampala, Uganda are now known to be the work of Somalia’s Al-Shabab [the Youth], a self-declared ally of Osama bin Laden and operating arm of al-Qaeda in the Horn of Africa. Al-Shabab is increasingly being run by foreign fighters trained in Afghanistan. The group is also closely linked to Islamists in Yemen and to Yemini-American cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, the spiritual adviser to the Fort Hood shooter, Major Nidal Hasan.

The venomous religious-ideological core of al-Shabab is readily apparent. As an Islamist organization, al-Shabab’s aims are to drive out or intimidate moderate Muslims in Somalia, impose strict sharia law, and eliminate infidels. While al-Shabab cast aspects of its radical views in nationalist and tribal terms, its core message is war against “Christian invaders.” As Francois Grignon of the International Crisis Group warns, “If the foreign jihadis fend off their local challengers, al-Shabab’s rapid transformation into a wholly al-Qaida franchise might become irreversible.”

RTWT.

Experts suggest this could be an escalation of the transnational terror threat throughout Africa.

And how's Obambi responding? Not a peep so far, which is to be expected, even though at least one American was killed. More at Foreign Policy, "How Will Obama Respond to the Uganda Attacks?"

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