US counterterrorism policies radicalized disaffected Somali youth into insurgency

Evidence

Brutal counterterrorism policies, encouraged by the United States, in both Somalia and neighboring Kenya—which had a swelling Somali refugee population and had experienced its own devastating al-Shabaab attacks—had pushed bitter youth into the hands of the insurgents. Drone strikes, indiscriminate neighborhood raids, and mass detentions of the mostly innocent had left young people distrustful of their governments and, in some cases, filled with desire for revenge. Extremist ideology was an answer to their alienation. — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 250

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 250
• XREF: connects to: Somalis practiced moderate tolerant Islam with open romance before militancy — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 257; The U.S. assumed its technical superiority would easily overwhelm the Somalis — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 628; Al-Ittihad attacks in Addis Ababa triggered Ethiopian retaliation and a Somalia reconciliation conference — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 667 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Somalis practiced moderate tolerant Islam with open romance before militancy #responds-to (0.55) — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 257
• Liberal containment of Islamophobia serves counterinsurgency strategy, not tolerance #expands (0.35) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 574
• Local clan-based peacemaking in Somaliland outdid international conferences in the south #complicates (0.20)