that is the show for today. i'm david shuster in for ali velshi, thanks for night. in a world where breath-taking mass murder is too common, al-shabab's attack on a kenyan college, and the killing of 147 people stands out. the somali armed extremist group took responsibility for the attack without hesitation or shame, and promised more. understanding al-shabab,

it's "inside story". welcome to "inside story" on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. there was a time somali's violent extremist group al-shabab vied for control of much of the cratering state. it collected taxes, set up religious courts, and with remorseless pitiless violence, it threatened the stability of the fledgeling government. these days that al-shabab is in trouble in somali. revenues are down, territory under the group's control is whittled down. al-shabab is under pressure, in decline, and very dangerous. the photos from the provincial college in garissa kenya was shocking. the death toll exacted by an armed military organization storming a school, and with steady brutality killing students and staff.

a spokesman for al-shabab in somali told "inside story" kenyan violence towards muslim just giifiedthe attack and included this declaration: we'll start the programme in the kenyan capital nairobi, with al jazeera's mohammed adow. welcome to the programme. i hear that the government moved against groups of which it has suspicions. >> indeed. yes. the government this evening released a list of the not only organizations it considers terror organizations namely among them al-shabab, a local

kenyan organization with members in the postal part of the country, al qaeda, islamic state and boko haram but also a list of individuals, company, organizations that it says are associates of al-shabab and have been funding them, and has frozen their accounts. some of the individuals include prominent clerics, and also companies and money transfer companies, a business dominated by somali businessmen for a long time. it seems as if all the money transferred companies in operation in kenya are now shut, and that the government directive, under their direct h.i.v. there's a non-governmental organization fighting for human rights. that has been included in this list. i have

spoken to some of the people who had the businesses shut. they are in shock, they do not know what to do and do not expect action from the government before given an opportunity to defend them. they say they'll go to court and seek legal redress. >> mohammed adow, i understand you come from part of the country where the attack occurred. tell us about garissa, for people not familiar with that part of africa. is it a big up to , a small city. how would you describe it? >> it is a town of a couple of hundred thousands people. this is the place i grew up in. that's where i was born and raised. it started as a small settlement but largely increased over the last two decades to become a big and cosmopolitan town. it used to be the headquarters of the north-east.

this is a place that is 360km away from nairobi. the northern part of the country - it is largely a desert area, where little grows, there's little rain fall and the people are poor. insecurity from somali, because of the porous border between kenya and somali has affected the people inordinately. and apart from the insecurity, the people have faced back lashes from the system. wherever the government sends forces to go and deal with an issue of insecurity, the people are the victims. >> al jazeera's mohammed adow joined us from the capital nairobi. thank you as we continue the edition of "inside story", let's stay in nairobi, we are joined from ion security, a military veteran consulted on security in kenya, welcome to the programme. after this attack in garissa university, and the west field

maul attack, there were complaints about the slowness and the quality of the response of the kenyan military. is the military trained and equipped to respond to these kind of attacks? >> yes. in a few years ago. a few years ago, the military formed special forces, meant to respond to this kind of attacks. that unit is still in its infancy. however, we have an order, older and more experienced team, that is united states trained, and that has affiliations with special forces in israel and the u.k., and else wear. it is the equivalent of the united states secret service, and protects the life of the president. and the men are highly trained, equipped and they are u.s. equipped. the men are able to deal with this situation.

they came in, and in a few minutes it pinned out the terrorists, and the military came over, there was not a plan or coordinated handover, and that's how we lost the battle. in garissa the men came to control, and within 12 minutes they eliminated the terrorists. >> can the government say to the people of the country with confidence that they are ready for the next attack. al-shabab has threatened the country and says it has done more operations than this one. >> i do not purport to speak on behalf of the government. i'm not sure if they say with confidence, but if i was the one speaking on my personnel relation, i would say i do not think we have thoroughly ready. we have the men to

eliminate it. we took nine hours to move them to site. when you take nine hours to get forces to the terrorist attack area, you can't tell me you are ready for the next one. >> does an attack like the one in garissa threaten the unity of the people before west field, before garissa and the embassy bombings, did the kenyans of different groups and religions get along well? >> well, certainly as it may be understood, i am sure there are people of different feelings towards each other right now religiously because recently al-shabab has been systematic in their attacks. they consistently made it clear that they are killing people of a certain r.e.m.agon and -- religion and leaving those of other religions, and caused a lot of bad feelings in a lot of people.

i do not thing, as a nation, we can be pushed to that base of religious hatred. i think we have come along for a long time for the tourist to tip us over this point. however, the tension of - the inner feelings are there. escalate. >> thank you for joining us on "inside story". while al-shabab may be on the run in somali, it's putting pressure on kenyan state, exploring shortcomings in the military, deepening divides in somali and kenyans of other backgrounds, between christian and muslims. we continue the look at al-shabab, the objectives and how to prevail against an enemy prepared to die in order to kill. stay with story." >>

you are watching "inside story" on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. kenya is reeling from the attack on the university students in garissa. a complicated country since the day of independence. kenya's struggle to keep the meltdown of somali at bay and stop religious based extremism taking control at home. it is home to a large muslim minority. what is at stake for east africa and the wider world if an armed group on the run next door can successfully metastasize in kenya. a u.n. special advisor in somali, and teaches at davison college joins me, and peter, director of the atlantic council's african center. peter, what do you do about an enemy that swears it will kill your civilians, if you fight against it? >> the first thing you have to do is recognise that it's an evolving threat.

kenya and the other countries in the african union mission have been effective insofar as fighting al-shabab, the insurgency. they scored military successes, rolling the group back, they have to face al-shabab, the terrorist group, it's a different order, they need different resources and strategies, that's where they are coming up short. >> the news, up until recently, had been good. when people talked about al-shabab, they talked about the fighters abandoning the cause, going home, revenues drying up. the area under control shrinking. how did this happen. >> it was in large part due to the fact that al-shabab was in control of a large part of territory and had to gosh it, making mistakes.

exposing them to the african peacekeeping forces. and over time lost forces and territory to the african union peacekeeping forces. >> a lot was draconian, a lot opened the obituary, thinking it was a movement in decline. it has resurfaced in a new form, as peter said. one thing that many analysts pointed out. the organization is running lean. it's a cut-rate terror group much explain that to me. how do you keep the photos on side, keep them fed, armed, and transport them from place to place if you have no money? they do have money, they have lost major revenue sources.

they continue to attack somalis wherever they can, and they have a long reach to shake people money. and they have money from outside. the main thing is these attacks involved four men with semiautomatic inspections. there is a low risk. they don't need much money and if you are sitting in lake place it swork. if you are watching television, this is a horrible thing, but i'm not sure that it has anything to do with me. should americans be worried if kenya is teetering? >> yes, for several reasons. >> first and foremost this is a regional problem. it's not just a problem, it's a problem that flows, and other countries that united states has

a history of economic and political ties with. you have to remember that al-shabab has reach into europe, and into the american homeland. now, smathizers for al-shabab represent an infinite intest imally small minority, many of home have nothing to do with this. there has been cases where al-shabab recruited americans, had supporters, and have a reach that other terrorist groups don't have into groups in america, itself. is al-shabab more dangerous now than it was when this was trying to become a somali government? >> it is. ironically it is weaker and more dangerous at the same time. the fact that it's engaging in asymmetrical terrorist attacks. in a country like kenya, where there's tens of thousands of

targets, it will be difficult if not impossible to prevent the group from exacting more of these kinds of costly attacks. >> what is the way forward. we had our security expert on from nairobi a couple of minutes ago. he said the unit that was formed to fight the actions is still getting its legs, is still getting its training. can the kenyan state protect the urban centers, universities, important pieces of the built environment. or are we in for a rough couple of months here? >> we are in for a rough couple of years. this will take time. this will be solved if a strategy is developed that has three prongs. strategic, political and social. the strategic or security dimension involves better intelligence and response

capacity, more committed security forces who are protecting people and not preying on them. a problem in kenya is many security forces are not trusted by kenyans. the political goal is going to be - to win over somalis in the region and address the greenances that somalis in general have felt. and socially the key is going to be to convince the somali kenyans that they are going to have to engage in community policing. this group is ultimately burdening them with many more costs than anyone else. they'll pay a heavy price for the attacks in terms of police crackdowns, in terms of lost investments in northern kenya. which is slighted to receive kenya's biggest infrastructure development project. 26 billion project. it could be in jeopardy if this

control. >> threts against somali kenyans, it's terrible to do that. for a long time kenya was a state that was able to sustain multiple or religious neutralism -- pluralism without a degree of tension. >> this is the saddest thing about the attack, not just the loss of the lives, but a loss of sense of togetherness. that is at risk. this is what al-shabab is trying to do as it metastasizes into a transnational regional terrorist threat, one that is upping the state. this is the type of intrareligious conflict that they are trying to stoke. it will be sad if it battle. >> if we were talking about a country with strong snooucks, that would be -- institutions, that would be challenged by a

terrorist group. kenya had disputed elections, communal violence, ethnic violence, and a great deal of dependment in the urban centers, because economic growth has not been sustained. is this a bigger threat to a country that is a little wobbly, than it would be to one with more secure institutions. >> it certainly is. >> beyond the threat to kenya, it is the fact that in somalia, we have not consolidated. the military success there have been, but the strategic successes haven't followed political, social and economical building up of institutions. until the problem is resolved, kenya and other neighbours in the region continues to get the shores. >> somali problem-solved. ken its - is somali more like a country than it was five, 10 years ago. there.

>> i wish i could tell you yes, but the new post transitional government in somali is still very nai sent. it struggles to administer all of the capital city, mogadishu. it's beset by internal fighting and paralysis, by serious allegations of corruption. so we are not anywhere near there yet. in terms of a somali state that will be able to address both the security and the development problems that are needed in that country. region. >> that will be continuing to be a threat to its neighbours. kenneth, peter, good to talk to you both. >> thank you for having you. >> thank you more of the rumoured republican candidates for president are becoming real-live official republican candidates for 2016. today it was rand paul's term. we'll talk to david shuster, al jazeera america, about the kentucky senator and his

possible path to the white house. >> the peninsula, in arabic, is aljazeera. our logo represents courage. fiercely independent quality reporting. >> to take as much aid as possible... >> and standing up for the voiceless. when you see this symbol respected around the world it means you too can now count on all the things we stand for. aljazeera america.

you're watching "inside story" on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. and then there were two. joining senator ted cruz among the ranks of declared republican presidential candidates is another member of the senate. rand paul in kentucky, in a speech interrupted by thunderous applause, senator paul unleashed a crit eeg of a government that is too big, intrusive and expensive. >> we have come to take our country back from the special interest that uses washington as a special piggy bank. the special interest more concerned with their personal welfare than the general welfare. the

washington machine that gobbles up the machine. it must be socked. i'm joined by david shuster for a look at the theme by the senator and what he tells us about the campaign. >> great to be with you. >> is there a rand paul niche in the ideological range in the coming of this primary field? >> that's a question, and most republicans. most say no. they were making the effort, because the young libertarians. they were reaching out to minorities and inner city. they are thinking that that's the way to get the snom nation. -- nomination. the likely path is to the left of the field and attract the voters, and look and see there's not much of a contest. >> everything is relative. the far left of the field has a candidate who wants to spend big

money on the military, even though he's not sure about foreign adventure, want to run a state. has rand paul in recent months - over the past year, been rounding his hard edges, pulling the bunches to make them a plausible member of the field? >> he has been moderating things. they talked about foreign aid. they are the ones that they need for cutting foreign aid. when it comes to the surveillance, they were saying telephone records belong the american people, and we must protect privacy, it's a dramatic thing for someone in the party to say, it may come back to haunt him when he's hit with being weak on the threats to america.

he has a father that has run for p. is that a blessing or a curse? >> it's a blessing in the sense that he has tremendous organization and rand paul has the most organization, in all 50 says, some due to his father. while his father had an abrasive reputation despite the libertarian promotions, they are engaging on a personnel level. it goes to the diapers, it has a warm affect, and that may stand him in good stead, particularly with the activist on the primary and caucus dates. rand palm, marco rubio in the wings, a consistent critique is he had little experience, and had three senators ready to jump in, whose resume is not much

longer than the president. >> you will not here much about president obama's experience in the field. they believe the president proved, you can do to this way, the public doesn't care, they are in, and all the experience, they say look at the policies, experience. >> thank you, david shuster. >> thank you last month we did a programme on the perdigs drive to put a woman on the $20, the public voted. the final four have been announced. quarter of a million voted. eleanor rosa veldt. rosa parks, who refused to give up her seat and became an icon on the civil rights movement and harriet tubman a slave that led 300 others to freedom as a conductor on the underground railroad. womenunder20s.org added a man, because of public sentiments for

the choice of a native american to replace andrew jackson. the group has not said when the winner will be announced. the organization's goal is to lobby for a shaken in the 20 by 2020. tomorrow on "inside story". we'll take you inside the wars as military strategists and national security experts grapple with what a lack of access to water in one part of the world means to the rest of the world. that's all for this edigs of "inside story". we want you to talk to the television, give us your facebook. we invite you to follow us on twitter. the handle is inside story. follow me and get in touch. we'll see you next time on washington. i'm luis suarez. -- i'm ray suarez.

on "america tonight" - the muscle that rolls the crimson tide. michael oku reports. the machine is a coalition of all-right fraternities and those that rig elections. >> power is done in alabama secretly. it used to be understand white sheets, nous it's a basement of fraternity house. also, big league dreams, and anybody. >> why didn't you tell anyone. how do you do that without feelings. it's like a piece of dirt. >> reporter: do you think