Article Title: Al-Shabaab grew amid Somalia’s lawlessness

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/02/world/africa/somalia-al-shabaab-explainer/index.html?hpt=iaf_t5
Article Date: Sept. 2nd, 2014
The issue discussed in this article from CNN is about the Somali group Al-Shabaab that is defined by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. It discusses how this group seeks to make Somalia an Islamic state and their control over Somalia as well as their influences in other nearby nations. It goes on to explain that the size of their organization is not known exactly, but that estimates say it may have around 1000 members, as well as ties to other fundamentalist Muslim terrorists groups such as Al-Qaeda. The article continues on by discussing the rise of this organization in Somalia, which they attribute to the many years the country has dealt with poverty and bad government that makes it possible for such groups like Al-Shabaab to take control. The group has a strong social network and media presence, as there is an Al-Shabaab twitter page, and the group produces videos that are, as the article puts it, “[as] slickly produced as a reality TV show.” Al-Shabaab has BECOME a sophisticated economic group that pulls in massive funds for their cause, using various schemes and crimes to fund their activities, primarily extortion and illegal taxes. They also have been a very negative influence over Somali people, turning away aid from other nations that would help those in Somalia suffering from poverty and starvation that has been exacerbated since Al-Shabaab gained control of the weak Somali government. The U.N. has helped fund and aid counter-terror efforts against the group, which the U.S. has also supported, and helped the government carry out a landmark election that has been the beginning of what hopefully will lead to a more stable and prosperous Somalia. That being said, Al-Shabaab still has influence over Somalia, according to CNN, and more recently had captured a member of French intelligence commando that led to a failed rescue mission that left about 20 people dead, including the captured commando. This CNN article outlined the Al-Shabaab terrorist organization that, although had recently lost some of its power over the nation, had been controlling significant parts of Somalia and has helped contribute to the poverty and starvation that a large portion of the Somali population suffers from. This article does little to dissuade western stereotypes of Africa and Somalia but at the same time it is hard to say otherwise due to the nature of this group and the amount of control they did exhibit over the country before the election. They also include how the U.S. and other outside forces had helped in the attempt to remove the group from the country, which also contributes to the stereotype that Somalia and other African nations are in need of saving.