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The attack on Nairobi's Westgate mall is seen as retaliation for strikes by Kenyan forces on al-Shabab targets in Somalia.
Now, the U.S. is weighing how to respond and possibly boost assistance to the Kenyan army.
Defense analyst Seth Jones, testifying before a U.S. congressional panel, told lawmakers the approach should not end up helping al-Shabab recruit more fighters.
"I think one thing that we gotta be careful about is we don't encourage the Kenyans to overreact, conduct over attacks within Somalia."
Observers say images of Kenyans attacking Somalis with U.S. assistance would help al-Shabab gain sympathy ? especially among young Somalis.
The U.S. has announced no plans to boost its presence in Kenya beyond the 150 U.S. troops who are now there, helping Kenyan forces build their capacity.
Al-Shabab has lost much of its territory in Somalia, but analyst Katherine Zimmerman says the Nairobi attack shows the U.S. and its partners have much more work to do.
"The strategy is working in parts but it's not going to work long term. It's been able to hold off the rise of al-Shabab enough to keep it from growing throughout East Africa but what we've seen is a resurgence there." |
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