Al-Shabab attacks Somali hotel

[vorlon13]

Another clusterfuck brewing it appears:

BBC report on attack

[abaris]

Before anyone chimes in with explaining this away with extremism - look beyond the obvious. There's an strategy behind that. First, Somalia is largely muslim, and secondly, the target has been a hotel. A source of income. It's on the same lines as the attacks in Tunesia, where they targeted a resort to destabilize the country. Destabilized countries are an ideal breeding ground for extremism.

[vorlon13]

Somalia is the penultimate third world shithole pretenders like Haiti aspire to become.

[abaris]

Somalia is the penultimate third world shithole pretenders like Haiti aspire to become.

Yes, but Mogadishu is paradise compared to the rest of the country. point stands. Always look at the strategy. The biggest mistake we can make is to think of something like that as being mindless.

[paulpablo]

Before anyone chimes in with explaining this away with extremism - look beyond the obvious. There's an strategy behind that. First, Somalia is largely muslim, and secondly, the target has been a hotel. A source of income. It's on the same lines as the attacks in Tunesia, where they targeted a resort to destabilize the country. Destabilized countries are an ideal breeding ground for extremism.

So the explanation of this isn't extremism.  The true explanation is that this group is shooting down people in a hotel to make the country an ideal breeding ground for extremism.

Isn't extremism therefore the best good explanation. Purely going off your description of events and motivations?

 Muslim extremists want to destabilize the country in order to create more extremists.  

I'd say the attackers probably had some form of political or religious extremism if the strategy is blowing themselves up while other members of the group march in and kill people. 

I wouldn't describe their political and religious beliefs as being quite keen on Islam.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Somali = another Clinton screw-up.

[Minimalist]

Obviously they should not be referred to as an "Islamic" group.  Try going with "people who face Mecca every so often."

[abaris]

Obviously they should not be referred to as an "Islamic" group.  Try going with "people who face Mecca every so often."

They shouldn't be refered to as stupid. And I may repeat, unpopular as that may sound, this is a muslim country. So, maybe rub together a few brain cells to understand what they're up to, instead of playing shrub.

[Minimalist]

I doubt they can make the place much shittier than it already is....largely due to their own actions.

[paulpablo]

Obviously they should not be referred to as an "Islamic" group.  Try going with "people who face Mecca every so often."

In what sense are they not Islamic?