Terrorist organizations in Somalia, located in the Horn of Africa, represent a current threat to the region and to US interests. This paper will address the implications of a terrorist network in Somalia by analyzing the actions and motivations of Al-Shabab, the Somali government, and the United States. Al-Shabab is rallying support using religion, weakening the Somali government, and providing jobs and opportunities for the Somali people. If Al-Shabab continues to grow in power, it could lead to more extreme terrorist attacks in Somalia and the region. One of Al-Shabab's methods of gaining supporters in Somalia is to use religious rhetoric to wage a jihad to eliminate those they consider enemies of Islam. . As Ibrahim stated, "Al-Shabab also began to employ militant 'crusader' language to exploit and evoke primitive fears of powerful outsiders, claiming that the TFG relied entirely on the protection provided by 'foreign infidels'" (Ibrahim 284). They also took advantage of the situation where the Somali government was having difficulty enforcing laws and standards in some parts of the country. This led Al-Shabab to begin enforcing Sharia law as a better alternative to what was in place. Although the people have to deal with “its harsh interpretation of Sharia law, which prohibits various types of entertainment, such as films and music, the sale of khat (an often chewed narcotic plant), smoking, beard shaving and many other "non-Islamic" activities” (Masters). In 2006, Al-Shabab threatened the Somali government in Baidoa by seeking to overthrow the local government and establish its own Islamic Courts Union (ICU) courts. Somalia had no intention of handing over the city, but it did not have… half the paper… a development hailed by the United Nations as a sign of improved security” (Galkayo). Now, with the help of the United States, the Somali government will continue to stabilize. The United States has a vested interest in stabilizing Somalia as “three high-profile foreign terrorists have used Somalia to recruit, train, hide, and smuggle weapons, most notably for the 1998 attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania” ( Ibrahim 284). Additionally, the United States is helping Somila's government prevent extremist terrorists from taking power by training troops and giving them more resources. This is demonstrated by “greater coordination between the forces of AMISOM (of the African Union Mission in Somalia) and TFG (of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia) and by the training of Somali intelligence agents by Central Intelligence Agency. (Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens)