Republicans responded with their own event on Capitol Hill where like-minded economists such as Douglas Holtz Eakin, former adviser to Senator John McCain who lost the 2008 election to President Obama, questioned his approach to recovery.

VOA: standard.2009.12.05

Peter Pham, Associate Professor of Justice Studies, Political Science and Africana Studies at James Madison University, says conditions in Somalia threaten security and stability of the Horn of Africa: "Even without toppling the TFG, al-Shabaab has already achieved a major objective by securing a territorial base from which like-minded militants and terrorists can carry out attacks elsewhere, especially against targets in the Arabian Peninsula as well as participating in the current violence against Somalis,".

VOA: standard.2009.06.26