Somalia terrorist activity in US raises concerns, questions

Over the past year American law enforcement officials have arrested several American citizens and residents on charges of aiding Al Shabab, the rebel group in southern Somalia. At first my impression was that these arrests primarily involved people in the largest Somali-American communities, especially Minneapolis, Minn. But a pattern of arrests elsewhere, especially in California, is convincing me that Al Shabab has supporters – still seemingly few in number – across the US. This poses serious problems for policymakers in Washington as well as for law enforcement.

Here is a partial list of recent arrests (spellings of Al Shabab vary in press reports/releases):

• June 5, 2010: “Police arrested two New Jersey men at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday as they prepared to travel to Somalia to join a militant group with the aim of killing American soldiers.”
• August 5, 2010: “The Justice Department announced that four separate indictments were unsealed today in the District of Minnesota, the Southern District of Alabama and the Southern District of California charging 14 individuals with terrorism violations for providing money, personnel and services to the foreign terrorist organization al-Shabaab.”
• October 22, 2010: “Three California residents were indicted on charges of providing funding and other aid for the Shebab.”
• November 15, 2010: “A federal grand jury has indicted a California woman on charges of aiding Islamic militants in Somalia.”

The arrested persons total 30, a number I imagine is large enough to worry federal authorities. There is no way for me to know how many supporters of Al Shabab have so far escaped capture, but it seems likely that there will be further arrests.

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