Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Former Ambassador Calls Al Shabab Attack in Mogadishu Abhorrent Joe DeCapua 24 August 2010 A former U.S. ambassador says Tuesdayâs suicide bombing attack on the Muna Hotel in Mogadishu is âanother sad day for all Somalis.â Over 30 people were killed in the attack. David Shinn, adjunct professor of international affairs at George Washington University, says, âThese suicide bombings in particular, which have become a hallmark now of the al Shabaab organization, are tactics that are abhorrent to essentially all Somalis, except for the leaders of al Shabaab.â Al Shabaab recently used similar tactics in attacks in Kampala, Uganda. Ugandaâs been targeted by the militia because its troops are part of the AU force in Somalia. They were also used last December in a bombing that killed many graduating students at Benadir University in Mogadishu. âAnd theyâve done them numerous times before inside Somalia,â he says. Shinn recently traveled to East Africa and says he spoke with many Somalis, who were now living in Kenya. âI didnât encounter anyone who approved of this kind of a tactic, even though some of them may have had some mild sympathies for al Shabaab. They just saw this as something that was totally un-Somali,â he says. The former ambassador to Ethiopia goes on to say the attack âshows theâ¦corruptionâ¦of Islamic values as itâs being carried out by al Shabaab.â Young recruits Nevertheless, Shinn admits that the militant group is successful in recruiting people willing to carry out suicide attacks. âThey tend to be young people, very young people,â he says, âwho are very impressionable and very malleable and manipulable (sic), and convincing them that this is something that is good for them personally and perhaps even good for the organization. And theyâve obviously had considerable success. Thatâs very scary that theyâre able to do that,â he says. Shinn says the reason for the success may be due to young Somalis being very poor and unemployed. âThey have no future. They have nothing.â Weak Government The Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the target of Tuesdayâs attack, controls very little territory in Somalia. Many analysts believe the TFG is very weak and would collapse without the support of AU forces. But Shinn believes al Shabaab has suffered, too. âThese kinds of things I think have had a very negative blowback for al Shabaab,â he says. Most Somalis, he says, do not support the group. âThe support for al Shabaab is quite weak,â he says, adding, âThe TFG is equally weak, if not weaker. And as a result, al Shabaab is operating in many parts of the country in something of a vacuum because there is no TFG presence there.â Shinn says the TFG has failed to convince Somalis that it actually has a âvisionâ for the country, which it can implement. Unless itâs able to do that, he says, it will fail to attract the support it needs. âBut to suggest that significant numbers of Somalis approve of al Shabaab I think is just plain inaccurate,â he says. .