We can win the war on terrorism, but we must have a comprehensive strategy

Recent terrorist attacks by the radical Islamist group Al-Shabaab have exposed the country’s soft underbelly as a state that is unable to secure its borders, offer protection to its people, and safeguard their property.

A string of advisories from foreign missions in the country reinforced the general feeling that the country is under siege from Al-Shabaab.

Chaotic government response to terrorism-related incidents have not helped the perception that it is not in control of the country’s security. The shambolic, reactive, and uncoordinated responses point to a government that lacks a coherent, comprehensive, and well-thought-through strategy to combat terrorism.

I contend that the war against Al-Shabaab can be won. There are already signs that the group is on the back foot, especially after a series of drone strikes by the US that eliminated some of their senior leaders, throwing the group into disarray. This, coupled with the continued squeeze by Amisom forces in Somalia, presents Kenya with the best opportunity to once and for all deal Al-Shabaab a deadly blow.

Only a sound, multi-pronged internally and externally focused counterterrorism strategy can deliver positive results. Building and restoring public trust in the police, which is desperately low, is a definite starting point to encourage the community to share information and report any suspicious terrorism-related activities.

Working with religious and community leaders as well as opinion shapers to address radicalisation of the youth is another important cog in an effective counterterrorism strategy.

This has to go hand in hand with a deliberate effort to address historical injustices and the continued marginalisation of certain communities, which has for a long time been a source of tension, especially in the coastal region and the restive northeastern frontier.

POLICE TRAINING

The government must ensure that the training of police officers remains relevant, adaptable, and responsive to the evolving nature of terrorism. Police must be properly equipped, housed, and remunerated to boost morale and remove the temptation to engage in corruption.

Law enforcement agencies must endeavour to attract the best candidates. This means that we must stop the current trend to accept the lowest qualified recruits, thus turning the police force into a dumping ground for high school failures.

Creating working conditions to attract professionals from the private sector who can bring into the police force ready and proven skills and knowledge in areas such as information technology, leadership, and strategic planning is yet another pillar to a strong counterterrorism strategy.

CYBERSPACE

We must acknowledge that the new frontier in fighting terrorism is cyberspace, which requires individuals with advanced strategic planning and leadership skills as well as the technological wherewithal to utilise and deploy varied technological innovations.

Terrorist groups have become adept at using technology to transmit their propaganda and also attract and recruit young people. Groups like IS are known to frequently use the Internet, especially social media, to spread their agenda. The police force needs individuals with the skill set to continually track and disrupt these activities.

After the Westgate response fiasco, it is clear that there is a desperate need to create and enforce a clear and integrated critical incident response structure to seamlessly coordinate law enforcement and intelligence agencies responses with strictly limited military support where required.

The threat of terrorism is both domestic and external, making cross-agency cooperation critical to the success of any counterterrorism strategy.

There is also a need for tighter and targeted financial regulations to monitor the movement of money, especially to groups such as Al-Shabaab. This will go a long way in starving the group of funding from local and diaspora sympathisers.

It is critical that law enforcement and intelligence agencies work in collaboration with regional, continental, and global partners as terrorism is transnational in nature.

It is to be hoped that the government is learning useful lessons from its fight against Al-Shabaab, enough to enable it to spare Kenyans the agony of another Garissa, Mandera, and Westgate.

The war against Al-Shabaab can be won, but only with a clear, rational counterterrorism strategy.

The writer is a security and terrorism analyst based in Melbourne, Australia. [email protected]