"There is intense focus by our government on the Horn of Africa now,"
For good reason too. The growing piracy industry in Somalia partly funds terrorist organizations, such as al Shabaab, on Somalia's mainland.
Al Shabaab, the "Youth", which has official ties with al Qaida, has recruited youths from the US, Canada and Britain to wage jihad. The terrorist organization is threatening the stability of neighboring countries, has threatened to assassinate President Obama, and recently fired mortars at a US congressman.
The Obama administration is taking a cautious approach with regards to al Shabaab because according to the administration their intentions aren't clear. But the al Qaida linked terrorist organization has made it crystal clear that once Somalia is ruled by shariah law it wants to "establish islamic rule from Alaska and Chile to South Africa, Japan, Russia to Solomon Islands and all the way to Iceland." NY Daily News
The attempted hijacking of the U.S.-flagged ship Maersk Alabama and the hostage drama that followed has called attention to a U.S. military presence in the region that has steadily increased over nearly two decades.[...]No time like the present.
The U.S. has rained down at least five air strikes on Al Qaeda and its allies in Somalia in the past two years and has unmanned drones spying on targets, said David Shinn, former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and State Department coordinator for Somalia.
Counterterror operations in Somalia remain "very covert" as analysts increasingly fret that Al Qaeda will gain a foothold there in a potential safe haven, Shinn said.
While intelligence officials downplay any hard links between Al Qaeda and the pirates, the crisis has increased pressure on President Obama's Pentagon to draw up plans for nailing the brigands in their home bases in six Somali ports, sources said.[...]
"If we can 'fix' [locate] a terrorist in Somalia and there is a decision made to take him out, we can do it," the official insisted to the Daily News.
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