Voice of America quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on why defeating al-Shabaab will mean more than just a military victory:
However, a military defeat of al-Shabab would not equate to a total defeat of the group, said Peter Pham, the Africa Center Director at the Atlantic Council.
“The movement has transformed itself from less a territorial entity seeking to control parts of Somalia into a transnational terrorist entity,” said Pham.
The group “has to be fought not just with purely military means but also police, intelligence and also social, economic and political development and inclusion,” he said.