© AFP PHOTO/Mohamed DAHIRYoung fighters from Al-Shabab come together to count their bullets in Mogadishu, 2009.
Shabab was not organized until after 2007, and as an entity could not have been involved in 9/11. Obama's expansion will likely be used to legalize an escalation in counterterrorism measures and airstrikes in support of the Somali government and the African Union.
The decision to target groups far from Al Qaeda's base in Afghanistan is expected to be announced next month in a list of global deployments detailed in a letter to Congress. This major expansion has raised the eyebrows of anti-war activists and foreign policy experts, but it is not the first instance of the US relaxing its own self-imposed restrictions for battling militant groups abroad.
In a June letter to Congress Obama amended 9/11 legislation to include "associated forces" of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda who aimed to "achieve strategic effects," against the Afghan government. This also allowed Washington to "prevent a strategic defeat" of Afghan forces, effectively giving the US the ability to target groups who may not be a direct threat.
Comment: Typically the excuse dictates the legislation. Obama is a master at the reverse: The legislation dictates the excuse.
See also: Obama expands global reach of US Special Ops death squads