To eliminate shabab will require a national strategy and all regions and federal government must play it's role in removing this cancer. I am sometimes suprised we over-spend on military, I mean yes we do need military in the event shabab switches strategies and fight's conventional or urban warfare and yes a military solution is needed to remove shabab from towns where they control. But a military solution isn't going to defeat shabab alone, they will automatically switch to insurgency tactics if their militarily overpowered.
What we need is much more investment in the intelligence sector to crush these guys, especially in the 'free zones'. In the areas free from shabab, we must adopt the following strategy to crush their insurgency method.
1. Establish a physical presence at port, airport, and road check-points to crush any explosive materials being transported. Sniffer dogs are very useful for this.
2. Establish a spy in the market place who's job is to track the sales of explosive making materials such as batteries, old mobile phones, etc
3. Establish a spy who's present to follow local money transfers at 'hawalas'.
4. Establish a spy at the telecoms, their duty is to audit new sim-card registerations to ensure they are being used for legitimate purposes
5. Our Military should remove shabab from the country-side or regions. These are recruiting grounds, bases, where they can operate.
6. Somaliland must be held accountable for housing shabab leadership, that's where they all hide and live.
7. Puntland must be told to get on board and shut down shabab logistic corridor which is thru ceelayo-mareero which is hidden in the mountains. Most of these weaponry end up going to the South.
We must not kill shabab foot soldiers but use them to spill information on shabab tactics by killing them, shabab can recruit a-lot more foot soldiers quite quickly and this won't harm their capability. They're is plenty of supply lines for them in the recruitment area. Our intelligence sector must follow these kids movements, houses, who they speak with, we need to find who is their 'chain of command' and even watch 'carefully' their chain of command as it may be a 'front-line command' while they're backdoor commanders are hidden away from public viewing or operating outside Mogadishu and under 'clan protection' in SL.
I know the high-level shabab are not operating in the 'war zone' and are operating in stable areas whether it be areas they control or SL. The PL shabab element in th mountains are clearly they're using it as an arm's supply corridor from yemen. Their cud be local business ppl who are in Bosaso wanting this 'clientele' so they make money from the War in Mogadishu and it could be argued that PL is being complacent by not shuttin these guys down or it cud be PL govt is benefiting from CIA funding to their intelligence sector.
Either way whatever the reason, to defeat shabab will require a national approach, it can't be left to the federal government only when it's obvious shabab has a presence nation-wide for various capabilities.
What we need is much more investment in the intelligence sector to crush these guys, especially in the 'free zones'. In the areas free from shabab, we must adopt the following strategy to crush their insurgency method.
1. Establish a physical presence at port, airport, and road check-points to crush any explosive materials being transported. Sniffer dogs are very useful for this.
2. Establish a spy in the market place who's job is to track the sales of explosive making materials such as batteries, old mobile phones, etc
3. Establish a spy who's present to follow local money transfers at 'hawalas'.
4. Establish a spy at the telecoms, their duty is to audit new sim-card registerations to ensure they are being used for legitimate purposes
5. Our Military should remove shabab from the country-side or regions. These are recruiting grounds, bases, where they can operate.
6. Somaliland must be held accountable for housing shabab leadership, that's where they all hide and live.
7. Puntland must be told to get on board and shut down shabab logistic corridor which is thru ceelayo-mareero which is hidden in the mountains. Most of these weaponry end up going to the South.
We must not kill shabab foot soldiers but use them to spill information on shabab tactics by killing them, shabab can recruit a-lot more foot soldiers quite quickly and this won't harm their capability. They're is plenty of supply lines for them in the recruitment area. Our intelligence sector must follow these kids movements, houses, who they speak with, we need to find who is their 'chain of command' and even watch 'carefully' their chain of command as it may be a 'front-line command' while they're backdoor commanders are hidden away from public viewing or operating outside Mogadishu and under 'clan protection' in SL.
I know the high-level shabab are not operating in the 'war zone' and are operating in stable areas whether it be areas they control or SL. The PL shabab element in th mountains are clearly they're using it as an arm's supply corridor from yemen. Their cud be local business ppl who are in Bosaso wanting this 'clientele' so they make money from the War in Mogadishu and it could be argued that PL is being complacent by not shuttin these guys down or it cud be PL govt is benefiting from CIA funding to their intelligence sector.
Either way whatever the reason, to defeat shabab will require a national approach, it can't be left to the federal government only when it's obvious shabab has a presence nation-wide for various capabilities.