One of the more puzzling things about the Nairobi mall assault by al Shabaab that has killed 69 innocents so far is the claim by one analyst I heard that this is great for their recruiting efforts.
The terror attack is great for recruiting since al Shabaab have been on the run since Kenyans, African Union peacekeepers, and Ethiopians have knocked the group around in Somalia and denied al Shabaab their little Islamist kingdom.
Hey, wait a minute.
I thought Guantanamo Bay was the greatest recruiting tool ever.
Or was it the Iraq War? Yeah, I definitely remember that.
No, drone strikes on jihadis in Pakistan--or any fighting back against jihadis, since that just "creates more jihadis." Remember that? That was hauled out for Afghanistan, if I remember correctly.
Wait, wait. It was global warming once. Didn't Osama bin Laden once claim that?
Whatever. The key is that rather than what we do being a recruiting tool, what really gets the young Islamists to sign on the dotted line for the great jihad is the sight of actual jihadis striking a blow for Allah and the Ummah by slaughtering innocent men, women, and children.
Got it.
About Me
- Brian J. Dunn
- I live and write in Ann Arbor, Michigan. University of Michigan AB and MA from Eastern Michigan University. One term in the Michigan Army National Guard. Former American history instructor and retired nonpartisan research analyst. I write on Blogger and Substack. Various military and private journals have published my occasional articles on military subjects. See "My Published Works" on the TDR web version or under the mobile version drop-down menu for citations and links.
