North AFrica seen as breeding ground for terror

This article is disturbing at best and a dire warning to developed countries at worst. There is now evidence that terrorist groups are uniting and cohering in Northern African countries. These groups seek to train militant Muslims. They are uniting and establishing links with Al Queda. Currently, they have already claimed responsibility for numerous small bombings, but when are they going to plan another major terrorist attack? Last week in class, we talked about the US's motives for placing a permanent AFRICOM command in Africa. One of the motives was to deter and persecute terrorist attacks. Well, this seems to be a reasonable assumption gived the new intelligence given in the article.
Fighting terrorism in African states is especially hard because they lack the basic infrastructure which western nations take for granted in combating criminals. There is no reliable police force, army or intelligence gathering. The leaders of the nations only have their personal interests in mind, and therefore may support or finance these groups if it offers them personal gain. As we read last night, It is quite easy for terrorist groups to finance themselves from enclave economies. Therefore, it is easy for these groups to proliferate in African states. The solid eveidenccec that there are now such groups is very disturbing for developed nations. We must act together to find and eliminate such groups. Perhaps one of the best ways to do this is by helping these countries to develop. As Leonard and Straus argued, international guarantees would help to build goverrnamental stability in these unstable states. By ensuring the stability of African countries, the developed nations will also gain because they can ensure that terrorist groups do not proliferate.