The United States of America has over the in the recent years strongly involved itself in fighting and stopping attacks by insurgent groups. These groups are largely associated with terror and extremist movements. Therefore, they consider them as enemies who are merely waiting for the best opportunity to strike. In Africa, the insurgent movement in Sub-Saharan Africa is a group that has existed for a long time. It is a major cause of terrorist activities globally (Poynting and Whyte 97).
Information obtained from the United States Commission Report on Terrorism against the United States repeatedly mentioned that Sub-Saharan Africa was hosting Libya mercenaries and the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) among other insurgents. This region is a hub for terrorists (Gus 200). Notably, the USA has never argued that Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole is a threat to people. Its involvement is a move aimed at curbing terrorist activities and destroying terror networks while protecting the lives, property and economies of nations.
The involvement of the USA
United States has bombings moved to great lengths in fighting against terrorism in Africa since the September 11. There is great level of threat both at home and overseas where its embassies and citizens are located. The Sub-Saharan Africa is faced with diverse religious dynamics, underdevelopment, low literacy levels in some regions and high rate of unemployment. These factors have made it possible for terrorist insurgent groups to easily form and grow. The group has grown because it has been able to tap the jobless youths in the region, women and ex-military officers (Gus 210).
Besides, the group has been a major cause of terror attacks in the horn of Africa, Europe and the USA. Its network is believed to receive major support materially and financially by certain politicians and interested groups globally (Poynting and Whyte 115). The easy recruitment of members especially for this group, financial capabilities, state of the art weaponry and the fact that states harbor and hide terrorists creates the sense the United States that indeed there is a greater support of terrorism. Consequently, it will indeed be very difficult to fight racialism because an influential faction rides on it and further use it to achieve key objectives such as inflicting terror.
The insurgent movement generally holds the largest number of terrorist groups in Africa (Gus 100). Groups designated as terror organizations (such as Al-Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood) are closely associated with this insurgent movement. As a result, there is a sense that fighting terrorism in the Middle East without extending it to Africa will not bear much result. While this is not enough to justify their involvement since African nations are capable of handling their security issues, it is true that dealing with a terrorist network requires a holistic approach.
Nonetheless, the major force that drives the USA to implement the necessary certainty for action is the most important step that ought to be taken. Analysts consider the insurgent movement in Sub-Saharan Africa to have a vast network while local communities are ill-equipped professionally, diplomatically, and even technologically in addressing the worst state of terrorism problem. This requires full involvement of the Western world and other like-minded nations (White 100). Although successful coordination by the insurgent groups invokes the necessary intervention by the USA, it is imperative to employ appropriate intelligence in order to understand and stop acts of terror before taking place.
Works Cited
Gus, Martin. The Sage encyclopaedia of terrorism. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication, 2011. Print.
Poynting, Scott and Daniel, Whyte. Counter-Terrorism and State Political Violence: The ‘war on terror’ as terror. Abingdon, OX: Routledge, 2012. Print.
White, Jonathan. Terrorism and homeland security. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.