White House Troubled By Al Shabaab Recruitment In U.S.

[Purveyor]

Source: REUTERS

WASHINGTON | Mon Sep 23, 2013 12:39pm EDT

(Reuters) - U.S. officials are closely watching efforts by Somalia's Al Shabaab group to recruit in the United States, but have no direct information that Americans were involved in the attack on a Nairobi shopping mall, a U.S. official said on Monday.

"All we've seen are the same reports coming out of Al Shabaab ... but we have to run those to ground," White House deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters, when asked whether any Americans took part in the assault.

"We do monitor very carefully and have for some time been concerned about, efforts by Al Shabaab to recruit Americans or U.S. persons to come to Somalia," Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president to the United Nations.

"So this is an issue that has been tracked very closely by the U.S. government and it's one that we'll be looking into in the days ahead," he added.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/23/us-kenya-attack-americans-idUSBRE98M0VO20130923

[KamaAina]

1. Yay! A new boogeyman!

[libdem4life]

2. Well then, looks like we have been diplomacy-shuttered out of the Middle East, but recall that

the Libya event went well...so voila another opportunity to succeed? (Hey y'all...lookee over here!!!)

[azurnoir]

3. geebus

that means they're very likely make that very very likely to be crawling all over my city and its twin (Mpls/St Paul) both of which have large Somali populations, who have been under surveillance and random arrests, not to mention outright physical attacks by 'concerned' citizens attacks by since 2001

[Populist_Prole]

4. Geez! They're gonna get their coveted war by hook or by crook

So utterly predictable, even if not quite the level of those inane color coded threat levels of the Bush era, but cliche enough. But don't worry, their will be a succession of victories in the taking out of the #2 man of whatever bogeyman organization they're trying to fight.

[vdogg]

5. I didn't see anything in the article about war

Nor do I think "they" want one. Fact of the matter is that if Americans are being recruited into terror groups we have to take that seriously. Would you rather they say nothing about it at all? Malls are soft targets and I'm honestly surprised that such an attack didn't happen here first. This threat is real unfortunately.

[seveneyes]

6. I'm not convinced that is the goal

But if they want to use their new Utah processing center to catch those planning attacks here, I'm all for it.

[jzodda]

7. I don't think so

What war are you referring to? Back to Somalia? I think not.

and who are "They're" ?? Who are you referring to? You not another one of those President Obama haters who have proliferated around DU of late are you?

[Populist_Prole]

8. Oh come on! Don't be so naive.

Whaddya mean "what war"? If you can't see this as another in a long line of hysteria inducing "war on terror" bullshit ways to prop up the MIC then I don't know what to tell you. By "they", I mean the MIC, which BTW, and it should be made brutally clear, transcends whatever political party's president is in office. Always has: always will, though the recent public ( and by extension, political ) opposition that put the kibosh on attacking Syria gives me much satisfaction.

[geek tragedy]

10. So, you think the proper White House reaction to US citizens conducting terrorist attacks in

Kenya should be "who gives a fuck?"

Some people actually take terrorism seriously.

[Alamuti Lotus]

9. there's no need for the US to involve itself...

Kenyan, Ugandan, and Ethiopian foot soldiers already do the heavy lifting on Washington's behalf, to say nothing of a few assorted warlords propped up for the purpose.

[geek tragedy]

11. They're going to bomb the Mall of America? nt