US COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY AND THE ALSHABAB TACTICS
In the meantime American leverage on many Muslim countries, deteriorating dramatically and the
significance of counter terrorism policy seems to be obsolete; Alshabab appears
for speeding up new strategies like divide-and-defeat, outlawing its name
“Alshabab” and rankling to the prominent Somali Ulema (clerics). Although it
might be a coincidence yet it can’t be ruled out that there must be an analogy
for the unfolding events concerned to the respective strategies. America has
almost lost potential friends in the region of Middle East and many others in
South Asia, would certainly follow the suite sooner or later, but Alshabaab
despite it had been driven from Mogadishu doesn’t look like to be studying where
the wind is moving to; instead it is implementing yet far more naive policies
and strategies that may not only facilitate their eventual decline but would
likely led severe consequences on the Alshabab leadership.
Right after the momentum of indigenous movements inspired by
the concepts of democracy, dignity and self-realization broke out in Middle
East and North Africa (MENA region) earlier this year; American policy makers
rightly calculated that it would be very late if right now not committed an American-foreign-policy
shift and as a result of their rational decisions the exploitation of East Asia
and Pacific regions were recognized as less costly and more beneficial for
America, however, the shift policy was largely considered as an attempt to contain
the increasingly Chinese influence on those regions. Nevertheless, the American
attempt could not solely be regarded for the Chinese factor while it is
observable that the American influence on the Muslim minds had abruptly
diminished due to combining factors which emanate rightly or wrongly from the
conclusion of USA America America
Soon after the negativity of American foreign policy is
widely felt in MENA and the youths of the region had bravely disqualified and
inhumanly killed long term dictators who probably were the American
instruments, the South Asians, particularly, Pakistanis along with their
militants had likewise opted not to be pathetic. With the culmination of the
incident of November 26, where 25 Pakistani military soldiers were pre-down
attacked and killed by NATO helicopters; the Pakistanis have already lost their
confidence on American regimes and blamed them for every desperate situation in their country, but interestingly
now the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan – an offshoot militant of Al-Qaeda have given
their sympathy to the people and the government, acknowledging that it is for their best interest to join their
hands together. Maulvi Faqir, the leader of TTP speaking on an ongoing
negotiation between his group and the Pakistani government echoed these remarks
on Sunday 11, 2011; “Talks are ongoing in right direction and soon we will be
able to sign a written agreement. We have no wish to fight against our own
armed forces and destroy our own country”. In return the government has
released 145 Taliban fighters, according to the Long War Journal.
On the other hand, America vacated Air Shamsi base where had
been using for the launching of drone attacks after the Pakistani government
ordered to do so in the protest of November 26 incident and no doubt that this
move have led to the destruction of many valuable military equipments as the
time space given to the Americans was hardly fifteen days and won’t able them
to deploy all the equipment within the given time. As Dawn news reported
earlier when the third Chopper crushed near Abbottobad during the May 2 raid in
which Osama Bin laden was killed, American military deliberately destroyed the
Chopper and hit it a missile assuming that Pakistani military would furnish it. Similarly 20 NATO supply trucks were
torched some days back in Quetta
In summary: The growing decline of the US
Where Alshabab stands?
When the Salafi-Jahadi group which Alshabab belongs have
either lost ground or denounced violence in areas like Iraq, Pakistan and MENA
region, at the same time the nationalist sentiments overpowered by the
religious fanatics as Tip O’Neill also noted when he said: “All politics is
local, what they are concerned about is what going on at home not foreign”,
Alshabab demonstrates otherwise by introducing new versions of ruling and
declaring some unique verdicts. It had a global vision and agenda that
stretches beyond the borders and still bedeviling on it while other Islamic
groups appear reluctant to the global vision and prioritizing mainly the local
interests. Even Hamas never globalized its liberation war against Israel. More
surprisingly, its leadership has recently proven to be guilty for not
politicizing the clan identity in order to manipulate the youths which many people
got alarmed further when three of its top leaders – Abdi Ahmed Godane, Hassan
Dahir Aways and Ali Dhere have in a same fashion addressed the importance of
clan identity in their Jihadi war. Godane had frequently acknowledged many
Somali tribes not he loved them but he praised them for their full admission to
the Jihadi war precisely under his guidance and Aways had looked the other
dimension and strongly criticized three of Somali clans on last November for
what he called “followers of infidels”, while Ali Dhere reportedly said that
the Daynile (a district in Mogadishu) inhabitants would completely destine to
the heaven since their commitment to the Mujaahiden is crucial to the fight
against “Traitors”. Experts on Islamic militants have translated such scenario
as a tool to maximize the psychic war within their entity and aimed to
differentiate who is on the right path according to their interpretation of
Islam and therefore would be easily for them to dominate their militants as
long as they can. Ahren Schaefer and Andrew Black on Global Terrorism Analysis had come to the conclusion that even Somali’s most feared Islamists, clan
politics is spearhead than everything else for gaining and consolidating
alliances.
Nonetheless, on December 4, 2011; a general conference
sponsored by Alshabab was concluded in Baidoa – a strategic town in
Southwestern Somalia controlled by the group and as the group’s media reported
some 85 clerics attended that meeting for the purpose of marking a new Islamic
Emirate in East Africa . The declaration
followed by the Baidoa meeting was highly controversial and prominent Somali Ulema immediately denounced it and termed it
as the most dangerous convention ever produced by this group. The Somali Ulema
not only academically challenged the result of the meeting but literally proved
that there are much more illiterate figures in the ranks of Alshabab who have
neither in a position to lead a Jihadi war nor merit issuing Islamic fatwa.
Their outspokenness have further reddened an already disagreement between the
top leadership of this entity as some analysts cautiously argued considering
the then remarks from Sheikh Mukhtar Robow who publically said that Somali
clerics should correct Alshabab if they perceive that the group are wrong! Robow
is widely believed to have some diversions from Godane, the leader of Alshabab.
While the former mainly localizes the agenda of Alshabaab the latter undyingly
globalizes it. Moreover, the name of Harakatul-Shababul Mujaahidiin would no
longer be valid from now onwards and it had to be replaced by the Islamic
Emirate in Somalia in a move likely to please by the new group recently joined
Alshababa, led by Shiekh Hasan Dahir Aways. Although this move was explained as
the Taliban-style which proclaimed as an Islamic Emirate in 1996 in Afghanistan
To sum up, the American influence on many Muslim countries
have at least diminished if not declined and the belief that the spread of
Islamic militants in many parts of the world was partly American job had either
ended or failed, and the desire of democracy is highly consolidating
accommodation in resistive regions at the same time the Anti-Americanism is in
its peak. People don’t hate American people and its philosophy but they
courageously rejected the American policies including counterterrorism. For
Alshabaab, the credence that Islamic militants is good compared for warlordism
has ended futility and their example had extraordinary worsened the country’s
already bleak, the wise idea is to get the advice from those Somali clerics
whom they have rankled and Somali Ulema should stand united and educate the
people into the right path.
References:
1)
Dawn News
Paper, December 11, 2011, Pakistan
"Didiinglay dhamaateih"
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