Economic Development in West Africa Can Counter Terror

Posted: September 14th, 2017

By David R. Shedd

David R. Shedd served in the U.S. government for nearly 33 years. In August 2014, he was named Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency following four years of service as Deputy Director. Until January 2015, he led the Defense Intelligence Enterprise workforce comprising more than 16,500 military and civilian employees worldwide. From May 2007 to August 2010, Shedd served as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Deputy Director for Policy, Plans and Requirements. Prior to that, Shedd served in a number of capacities in the DNI, National Security Council, CIA, and in U.S. embassies overseas. Since leaving the federal government in February 2015, Shedd has been serving as a Heritage Foundation Distinguished Fellow and an Adjunct Professor at Patrick Henry College. He works as an independent national security consultant, serves on several corporate Boards, and is actively supporting several Missions/NGOs such as Justice & Mercy International and Samaritan's Purse.

Although the United States counterterrorism campaign is focused on key battlegrounds in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, the threat posed by al Qaeda in North Africa remains a concern for U.S. intelligence officials. The U.S. has partnered with France to combat extremist groups in the North African region, with France taking the lead in conducting operations. But despite this military support, many North African countries still lack adequate leadership and social systems that would enable them to address many of the root causes that lead individuals to join al Qaeda and the region’s terrorist movements in the first place. The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with David Shedd, former Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, to discuss the al Qaeda threat in North Africa as well as how the U.S. can more effectively beat back the group.

The Cipher Brief: In the last few years, we’ve seen al Qaeda’s offshoot in North Africa expand into Mali and more recently into Burkina Faso. How much of a threat does Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) pose in the Sahel region as well as to the U.S.?

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