Somali Jihadists Clarify Stance on the United States

By Douglas Farah

For many months there was a debate inside the State Department and elsewhere in the policy community on how seriously to take the _jihadist_ threat from al-Shabaad al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia, and whether the group was really linked to al Qaeda.

Ultimately, the group was designated by the Treasury Department as a terrorist entity in February.

This was the right decision, in my opinion. What I find interesting is how unable we often are to believe people when they say they want to kill us, even though they have a proven track record of doing so.

As my colleague Evan Kohlmann noted recently, the al Shabaad statement was in direct response to the Treasury designation.

As the document recently translated by the NEFA Foundation shows, the group is more than willing to answer the question for those who thought they may be the sort of group one could talk to.

Our lack of clarity towards groups who clearly state what they want-to eliminate us and all those like us, is not unusual. There is almost always a part of the policy community that wants to find a way to talk to those who may be misunderstood or who could potentially be our allies. Often, the goal is to make the United States a country that these people like instead of hate.

That is rational in many cases, but does not hold when dealing with radical Islamist groups. There is nothing to negotiate with them, as there was with the enemy in the Cold War or other wars fought over ideology. When the enemy embraces death, as the _jihadists_ do, and demand submission or surrender as the only alternatives, there is nothing to discuss. My full blog is here.

TrackBack