It appears we are reaching the end of the story (this particular story!) of the twenty plus Somali youths who left the good life we gave them in America to join an al-Qaida affiliate, al-Shabab, in East Africa where they underwent jihad training.
Below is a fairly brief summary of the story that we have followed extensively since 2008 here at RRW. In fact, when you type into our search function the words ‘Somali missing youths‘ you will see an archive that probably runs to at least 50 previous posts.
The only glaring error I see here is that, perhaps recruiters appealed to the youths to help rid Somalia of Ethiopians, but that is not what this was all about. I noticed when I went to the Senate hearing, here in March 2009, Senators Lieberman and Collins were obviously hoping it was all about “patriotism” for the homeland (a “homeland” that most had never set foot in previously!) but we learned in trial testimony later that al-Shabab was busy violently building an Islamic caliphate.
Here is the summary at the Lacrosse Tribune. Don’t you think it’s interesting that this news will likely not appear on Fox, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS etc. etc.
Must be a local crime story!
Nine people convicted in a government investigation of terror recruitment and financing for an al-Qaida-linked group in Somalia are to be sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
Authorities say more than 20 young men have left Minnesota to join al-Shabab since 2007. Some have died, several remain at large, and others have been prosecuted in what the FBI has said is one of the largest efforts to recruit U.S. fighters to a foreign terrorist organization.
Some of the issues in the case, based on court testimony, court documents and AP interviews:
HOW IT BEGAN
In 2007, small groups of young Somali men began holding secret meetings at a Minneapolis mosque, in cars, and at restaurants to talk about returning to their homeland to wage jihad against Ethiopians. The Ethiopians had been brought into Somalia in 2006 by its weak U.N.-backed government, but were viewed by many Somalis as invaders.
Al-Shabab recruiters in Minneapolis appealed to patriotic ideals and told young men _ some in their teens _ that it was their “duty” to return to Somalia and fight. Recruiters also quoted from the Quran, appealing to religious beliefs to deepen the fighters’ resolve.
The men began leaving Minnesota in small groups to avoid detection, with the first departing Minneapolis on Oct. 30, 2007. Additional groups left in waves over the next months and years, with some raising money for their trips under false pretenses.
The FBI began investigating in 2008. The U.S. declared al-Shabab a terrorist organization in early 2008.
Read it all. Everything discussed in this summary was reported at some point on the pages of RRW.