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National Security
WEST AFRICA: AL-QAEDA NEW GROUND FOR RECRUITING

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WEST AFRICA: AL-QAEDA NEW GROUND FOR RECRUITING

I. Introduction Al-Qaeda and its allies are exploring the West African Region for their future operations. Their focus is on a region where institutions are weakened as result of tenuous economic structures, inadequate infrastructures, unprotected borders, civil war, and insufficient or poor governance; making them susceptible to corruption and lawlessness, and a fertile ground for terrorists and organized crime. The West African Region is strategically important economically to the US because of its geopolitical dependency on oil and natural resources; unfortunately, the US does not consider the need to assist in regional security and terrorist prevention as a national security interest. In his speech at the Senate, Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, told the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control that "West Africa is one of the most fragile regions of the world" (Command 2012). Carson emphasized that the West African Region needs help to build its security. National Security must be added on US West African Economic strategy Policy, in order to have a stable peaceful region and society.
Currently Al-Qaeda and its terrorists are now regrouped and using the West African Region as their new sources to operate, and recruit among Muslims and others. This research analyzes and critiques selected literature about Al-Qaeda and its allied terrorist groups in the West African Region to determine why terrorist groups are gaining ground and recruiting in West Africa. The focus will be limited to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), National Security, Governments and Economy. Created in 1975, the ECOWAS is of 15 West African countries members to include: The Republic of Cap-Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra-Leone, Ivory-Coast, Liberia, Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and


Bibliography: de Andrés, Amado Philip. "West Africa Under Attack: Drugs, Organized Crime and Terrorism as the New Threats to Global Security." UNISCI Discussion Paper, 2008: Issue 16, p203- 227, 25p, 1 Diagram, 1 Chart, 7 Graphs. Obi, Cyril I. "Terrorism in West Africa: Real, emerging or imagined threats?" African Security Review, 2006: Vol. 15 Issue 3, p87-101, 15p, p93. Robert M. Gates, Speech presented to the Center for Strategic and International Studies Washington, DC, 26 January 2008, http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx? Speech id=1211, (accessed 4 Jun 2012). UN. "Intervention Options in Northern Mali." UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (Nairobi), 2012: 1. www.nytimes.com www.usip.org (accessed 3 July 2012)
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