Do you agree with Francis Miko's assessment that terrorism in the Horn of Africa will remain a problem? Explain your reasons

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Terrorists are currently active in the Horn of Africa
• After 9/11, the United States worked with governments in the region to create the Combined Joint Task Force, Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). Its purpose was similar to the domestic Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) in the United States.
• The CJTF-HOA detects and disrupts terrorist activities before the terrorists can commit violence. Unlike a JTTF, CJTF-HOA relies heavily on military force and national security intelligence. It is not limited to law enforcement activities. Francis Miko (2004) states that although the CJTF-HOA has been effective, terrorism in the Horn will remain a problem because of porous borders, lax security, and political instability.
• United States activities in the Horn have ranged from targeted killings to intelligence gathering.
• As in the Cold War, the U.S. foreign policy has favored repressive governments when it benefits American interests. Miko (2004) says that America justifies its actions by the regional presence of al Qaeda and other jihadist groups.
• Kenya is the only sub-Saharan country with known al Qaeda cells, but there are many other known jihadist organizations in the Horn.
• Jihadist activities bleed across Kenya's borders into Somalia.
• The Islamic Courts Union (ICU), for example, represented a coalition of groups wanting to rule Somalia with Islamic law.
• An Ethiopian offensive in 2006 displaced the ICU, but left militant in its wake. Opponents contentiously debate the relationship with these groups to the jihadist network, and they dispute Miko's claim about the presence of al Qaeda, believing that it has had cells in Somalia since 1998 (Bruton, 2009; Rothmyer, 2009).