The Radicalization Of Somali Youths

Conflicts within the nation of Somalia were sometimes planned as a means to an end. Whereby the United States Government supported a certain regime before they used their power to gain control of the situation and overthrow the tyrant. In other cases the use of national power was used such as the Islamic Courts Union to gain control over Somalia by implementing logical line of operations by providing the people their needs and services to gain their trust. In these situations it would be considered as an irregular warfare environment, because they were violent struggles

Sudan, the largest country in Africa, was ruled jointly byBritain and Egypt from 1899. Thisended once Sudan gained independence as a parliamentary republic in 1956[1].Since their independence, Sudan has been governed by a succession of volatilecivilian and military governments. The war in Sudan was engaged by alongstanding conflict between the Arab Muslims from the north of Sudan, whogenerally controlled the governmental institutions, and the black Africans ofthe south of Sudan, who follow mainly Christian beliefs. This conflict wasintensified following the imposition of strict Muslim Shari'a law in 1983 underthe the en President Nimeri. Two years later President Nimeri was removed througha peaceful coup and the new government decided that it was in the best interestof Sudan to relax of the usage of Shari'a law pertaining to non-Muslims[2].

As chaos erupted in Somalia in the early 1990s, the United Nations came to the conclusion that intervention was the only method of preventing the nation from total loss. Drought and disease combined with oligarchic rule resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians across the country. The U.N. took immediate action, mobilizing a relief effort to provide food aid and humanitarian assistance to Somalia. However, once in country, members of the U.N. Security Council realized the magnitude of the situation they had become involved in. The recent death of Dictator Muhammad Siad Barre had left the country in ruins as local warlords fought violently for power over the region. The result, civilians were caught in the crossfire of

2. Somalia has a fractured political past. There has been little stability in the country since it gained independence from Great Britain in 1960.1 However, in 2011, an internationally backed organization took over Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Now called the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), they ratified a constitution and held the nation’s first ever presidential election in 2012.1 This new government has made strides in stabilizing Mogadishu, but much of the nation is still divided. Two major regions, Somaliland and Puntland, have their own independent governments and consider themselves self-autonomous.1 Also, the FGS isn’t flawless. A second

Somalia's first government in over a decade. Shortly after its first year in office, the Somalian

Originally Somalia was on the road to a democratic government; the Somali people ratified a new constitution on July 20, 1961 and elected Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as president and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as prime minister (“Italian Somaliland” 3). However, the British government failed to prepare the Somalis for independence. As a result, Somalia, though its goals were to unite and form a stable democratic government, has only cycled through corruption, from the autocracy of Siad Barre to Farrah Aydid’s corrupt rule in 1991, a government so destructive it was followed by anarchy (“Somalia Post-Independence” 1-3). Had European imperial powers not interfered in Somalia’s development, it might not have begun moving in the direction of a modern democracy but it would have remained functional and peaceful as an Arab sultanate. But since imperial powers did interfere, Somalia was not prepared to stand on its own when given independence, and as a result is in a volatile position and is widely regarded as a “failed state” according to the Economist (“Poll” 1). The turbulence in Somalia’s government that followed the period of imperial rule would not have occurred had Britain and Italy never interfered in the first place, thus showing that imperialism leads to governmental instability.

Since 1991the Civil War began, and during the 90s the United States and the United Nation made several efforts to bring peace to the region which failed. In 1998 the northern punt land region declares autonomy. In the 2000s in Somalia the unrest would continue; from several attempts to have a stable government and bring peace to the region. Ethiopian troops also made an effort to bring peace to the region, but eventually also gave up and left Somalia as well. The country also has problems with pirates, and the terrorist group Al-Shabab who has control over part of the country. It was not until 2012 when Somalis elected their first president and parliament but even then this new government its still dependent on outsiders to stabilized and offer

A weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was established with the aim of restoring national institutions to Somalia. Though internationally recognized, this transitional government often came into conflict with Islamist militia groups and had very little real control over the country. Later, in 2006, Islam warriors attacked and succeeded in gaining control of the southern domain of Somalia including the capital, Mogadishu. But their control there ended later that year when Ethiopian troops were sent to back up the loyal forces of Somalia in order to repossess the land. However, in late 2008, Islamist insurgents once again carried out an onslaught in south Somalia and Ethiopia, no longer able to handle the situation, pulled back its troops. After the Ethiopian forces left the country in early 2009, a group of insurgents known as the Al Shabaab seized control of much of Somalia prompting president Sharif Sheik Ahmed to appeal for help from abroad. With the help of African peacekeeper offensives and a Kenyan army incursion in 2011, Somalia was able to regain most of its territory by the end of 2012. Also in 2012 Somalia replaced its eight year period of transitional government with its first formal parliament in more than 20 years. In September 2012, parliament chose Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, an academic and civic activist with little political experience, as

Backed by the international community, including the UN, the U.S. attempted to provide basic services to the people of war-torn Somalia. Although these stability operations ultimately failed, the U.S. has been able to capitalize on the lessons learned from Somalia. Somalia greatly changed the way the U.S. conducted irregular warfare activities, such as stability operations and two other significant ones.

For many Americans, September 11th 2001 gave insight for the first time about Islamic extremism and that even America was vulnerable to attacks on a grand scale. Aside from promoting fear among Americans, the motivations backing the attacks and the messages expressed thereafter through broadcasted beheadings, kidnappings, suicide bombings, and other attempted attacks in and outside of United States borders have attracted some American citizens to join the global jihad. In recent months, the Al Qaeda splinter group ISIS have made headlines for their recruitment of American citizens unbiased of age, gender, or ethnicity. In fact, associations to the group inside the United States are targeting individuals to join the cause. To understand why the idea of radical Islam is so appealing to individuals, it is important to first identify the history and grievances associated with the west that created the foundation for their religious ideology, ultimately leading to the only course of action being violence. With their grievances towards the West builing up long before that fateful day in September 2001, and how the opportunity of utilizing the internet and media to spread their message globally, at the click of a mouse. (FIX THIS!!!!!!!!) “what was once an obscure movement on the other side of the world has become the subject of unprecedented attention.”

What if you were told that there is a country that is in a civil war that has lasted twenty-six years and they have not made headlines in twenty years. This is life in Somalia, a country located in the most northeast horn of Africa. Here in the United States, we have avoided the subject of their civil war for many years. This brings up the question, “How did the Somalia Civil war start and what has been done to prevent further war?” The rest of the world, not just the United States, needs to stop ignoring all the horrible things going on in Somalia and collectively begin to help again. They have struggled for too many years and are now finally on the right path to becoming a prosperous country again. Here are the things to

The Somali Civil War started in 1991 and goes on to the present day. Although it's not in every part of somalia it's in the most popular region. Due the fact that the war started, between 1998 and 2009 two regions formed called Puntland and Somaliland and the remaining motherland Somalia. I visited the capital of Somaliland Hargeisa. There I saw the results of the war, whole streets were destroyed, people were displaced, roads were dusty, countless housed destroyed and many houses made from clothes and paper bags stitched together covered the streets. I saw children who were surviving by themselves no family or friends only themselves. They would either survive on begging or looking in for garbage left on the streets. The sights that

However, Director Nicholas Rasmussen of the National Counterterrorism Center estimates that an estimated three thousand and four hundred westerners have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) (as cited by Yan, 2015). The Director of National Intelligence James Clapper (as cited by Perez, 2015) estimates that one hundred and eighty Americans have tried to leave the country, which pales in comparison to citizens of France and the United Kingdom. Muslim youth are not the only youth who become radicalized the problem supersedes religion. However, as terrorist organizations such as ISIS and Boko Haram dominate today’s conversation, looking at the radicalization process from this perspective will help us understand the effects of radicalization on youth. Therefore, this paper seeks to understand what radicalization is, why young people become radicalized, how it works, the mechanisms, and propose counter-radicalization strategies and

By 1975 the UF came to be so strongly controlled, organized and equipped by Mogadishu, that it was considered “an arm of the Somali army” (Gilkes 1994b:722). In January 1976, the movement was split for logistical and propaganda reasons into the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) and the Abo-Somali Liberation Front (ASLF) (Compagnon 1995:378). Aiming to keep militancy on either side of the Somali-Ethiopian border at bay, Barre not only restricted the WSLF’s activities (Gilkes 1994b:722), but even avoided mentioning their existence to the Somali population (Markakis 1987:227; Lockyer 2006:5).

The future of Somalia is uncertain at this point however fortunately through the efforts of peace-keeping forces like those mentioned above, numerous women’s organizations advocating the rights of women and improving the health and violence problems facing the country, the situation could improve and peace be restored in a matter of time. How long that takes really depends on all the Somali people most especially the militants who continue to create problems for everyone and prevent Somalia from returning to be the mythically treasured country that it once was.