The Somali terrorist group al-Shabab catapulted onto the international stage after its September attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi. The group remains a dynamic and adaptive threat that has confounded efforts to eliminate its influence. A panel of experts on al-Shabab examined the evolving threat in Somalia and beyond, identifying policy prescriptions for African governments, the United States, and the international community.
Stig Jarle Hansen
Stig Jarle Hansen is an expert on al-Shabab with extensive field experience inside Somalia. He has published widely and is the author of the book Al-Shabaab in Somalia (Oxford University Press, 2013). Hansen has been an expert commentator for media outlets including CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera.
Clint Watts
Clint Watts is a consultant with Miburo Solutions in New York and editor of the national security blog SelectedWisdom. Additionally, Watts performs counterterrorism research on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies. He is a senior fellow at the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University and at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.
Bronwyn E. Bruton
Bronwyn E. Bruton is an expert on the conflict in Somalia and author of articles including “In the Quicksands of Somalia” for Foreign Affairs. Bruton was an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to her fellowship, Bruton managed the National Endowment for Democracy’s grants portfolio in East and southern Africa, and led post-conflict political transition programs in Africa for USAID.