CNN Security and Intelligence Analyst Robert Baer and National Security Analyst Peter Bergen said that while Al Shabaab’s call for terrorist attacks on malls was a “shot in the dark” by a group with “no network,” and an attempt to get publicity, the group is attempting to inspire a lone wolf who was “not assimilated well” on Monday’s “Wolf.”
“What they’re doing is, they’re appealing to the Somali — young Somalis there who have not assimilated well in Minnesota. Let’s don’t — let’s don’t forget that Minnesota is not the best — it’s not that gateway to immigration like New York city or Los Angeles, some place like that. So, what they’re really hoping for is some lone wolf will find a weapon, attack a mall and they hope to get a lot of mileage out of this. But, as the FBI said this is not a credible threat. On the other hand, they can’t account for lone wolves that haven’t popped up on the Internet or anything” Baer said.
Bergen added, “while Al Shabaab has absolutely, no network really to speak of, able to carry out an attack in the United States, they certainly could inspire perhaps a lone wolf who might take this call for a jihad against the Mall of America seriously.”
Earlier, Bergen stated, “Al Shabaab is not doing at all well in Somalia, Wolf. When they attacked the mall in Kenya, it’s really almost a sign of weakness rather than strength. After all, their real enemy is the Kenyan Army, they didn’t go after a Kenyan military installation, they went after an undefended mall. So, here I think ISIS is taking up all the oxygen, the publicity, which they want. This is a group that’s not doing very well. This is guaranteed to draw attention to them and it has,” to which Baer agreed, “this is a shot in the dark, they need publicity. They’re not doing well. They’ve been driven back, by Kenyan troops and African troops. They’ve lost a lot of land.
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