Kenya: One Year After Al-Shabaab Attack on Garissa University College

Foreign Policy published on 7 April 2016 an article titled "Je Ne Suis Pas Garissa" by Nanjala Nyabola.  One year after the horiffic al-Shabaab attack on Garissa University College in northeast Kenya, the author concludes that the once vibrant university town "is now suffocating under a harsh military deployment that amounts to the government's only real response to the tragedy."

Al Shabaab's April 2015 Attack in Garissa

The Foreign Policy Journal published on 12 June 2015 an analysis titled "The April 2015 Attack in Garissa by Al-Shabaab" by Mathilde Simon, a specialist in trauma and psychology living in Tanzania. 

The author analyzes the April 2015 attack by al-Shabaab that killed 147 people, mostly Kenyan students, at Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya.  The author argues that the violation of the Somali community's basic needs in Kenya has developed into a cycle of violence that has led to the current situation, although this hardly excuses al-Shabaab's killing of innocent students. 

Why Kenyan Forces Should Stay in Somalia

The African Executive published in its 6-13 May 2015 edition a commentary titled "Terror: Why KDF Should Not Pull Out of Somalia" by Okwaro Oscar Plato, analyst with Gravio Consulting.  It makes the case that Kenyan Defense Force troops should remain in Somalia as part of AMISOM.  Recalling the force means that Kenya has lost the battle.

Kenya's Wrongheaded Approach to Terrorism

Hussein Khalid, executive director of the Kenyan nongovernmental organization  Haki Africa, wrote an oped for the Washington Post on 1 May 2015 titled "Kenya's Wrongheaded Approach to Terrorism."  He argues that Kenya's counterterrorism tactics are only making the situation in the country worse. 

Kenya's Garissa University Tragedy

The Institute for Defense Analyses Africa Watch published on 16 April 2015 a short article titled "Another Kenyan Tragedy--A Pattern Too Familiar" by George W. Ward.  It concludes the attack demonstrates both al-Shabaab's resilience and its evolution from a  popular resistance movement to a full-blown international terrorist organization.  It also points out that al-Shabaab is becoming more deeply rooted in Kenya itself and the Kenyan government's response to the attack is following a policy that only exacerbates the problem. 

Nairobi's Little Mogadishu under Siege

Foreign Policy published on 14 April 2015 an article titled "Little Mogadishu, Under Siege" by Amanda Sperber.  The author argues that in the wake of the Garissa University attack, Somalis living in the Eastleigh neighborhood of Nairobi are caught between an increasingly indiscriminate al-Shabaab and a heavy-handed Kenyan police force. 

Education's Role in the Garissa University Terrorist Attack

The GW Hatchett, the student paper at George Washington University, asked me to comment on the al-Shabaab terrorist attack against Garissa University in Kenya.  The paper ran my commentary on 9 April 2015 as "Education's Role in the Garissa School Attack."

Al Shabaab: Terrorist Turf Wars

Foreign Affairs published on 7 April 2015 a summary of a longer article titled "Terrorist Turf Wars" by Joshua Meservey.  It discusses the decline of al-Shabaab and its new focus on terrorist attacks against soft targets.   The full article is only available by subscription. 

Al-Shabaab: Killing on the Cheap

The New York Times published on 6 April 2015 an article titled "Shabab Militants Learning to Kill on a Shoestring" by Jeffrey Gettleman.  The article explains how al-Shabaab has adapted to significant losses by picking soft targets and killing on the cheap. 

Lessons from Garissa University in Kenya

The Center for Strategic and International Affairs in Washington published on 5 April 2015 a commentary titled "Lessons from Garissa" by William Bellamy, a former U.S. ambassador to Kenya.

Ambassador Bellamy suggests that Kenyan security forces have responded to past al-Shabaab attacks in Kenya in a manner that further alienates the Muslim community.  He argues that reforms of Kenya's entire security sector are long overdue. 

Al-Shabaab Crosses the Rubicon

Foreign Policy published on 3 April 2015 an analysis titled "Al-Shabab Crosses the Rubicon" by Bronwyn Bruton, Atlantic Council in Washington.  You can access the article by registering for free.

The author aruges that the recent attack by al-Shabaab on Garissa University in Kenya represents a final point in al-Shabaab's long evolution from a populist resistance movement into a full-blown, international terrorist organization that may be trying to emulate Boko Haram and even establishing links with the Islamic State.

While I agree there have been factions within al-Shabaab from the beginning, to consider it once a "populist resistance movement" gives it a credibility that it never deserved.  It has always relied on draconian measures and terrorist tactics; the tactics have just become more draconian and offensive with the passage of time. 

Al-Shabaab Attack at Kenyan University

The New York Times published on 2 April 2015 an article titled "Somali Militants Kill 147 at Kenyan University" by Jeffrey Gettleman, Isma'il Kushkush, and Rukmini Callimachi.  It offers a good wrap up of the horrific al-Shabaab attack at Garissa University in Kenya.