Long-Term Solutions vs. Short-Term Revenge

By Seth G. Jones

Seth G. Jones is director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation, as well as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University's School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He served as the representative for the commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations. Before that, he served as a plans officer and advisor to the commanding general, U.S. Special Operations Forces, in Afghanistan (Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command–Afghanistan). Jones specializes in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism, including a focus on al Qa'ida and ISIS/ISIL.

On Saturday, a truck bomb struck the Somali capital of Mogadishu killing more than 320 people and injuring more than 500 others. While no group officially claimed responsibility for the brutal attack, Somali officials and counterterrorism experts have pinned the responsibility on al Shabaab, an al Qaeda linked organization that has carried out several attacks inside Somalia as well as in neighboring Kenya, Uganda, and Djibouti. Since its creation in 2008, al Shabaab has posed a significant threat to the Horn of Africa region. The group pledged allegiance to al Qaeda in 2012 and remains al Qaeda’s affiliate in East Africa. The Cipher Brief spoke with Seth Jones, Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation, to discuss the current threat posed by al Shabaab as well as how the U.S. should respond to the most horrific terrorist attack in Somali history.

The Cipher Brief: How likely is it that the attack in Mogadishu over the weekend was al Shabaab affiliated?

“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62

Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Subscriber+

Categorized as:InternationalTagged with:

Related Articles

How Safe Would We Be Without Section 702?

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW — A provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that has generated controversy around fears of the potential for abuse has proven to be crucial […] More

Search

Close