Yesterday's co-ordinated attacks confirm Africa and particularly Kenya as what one US official described as the "soft underbelly" of the fight against international terrorism.
For the second time in four years, a radical group has used the east African nation for a major terrorist attack. The first was the 1998 al-Qaeda bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi which left 219 dead and 5,000 injured. Both times, terrorists have used the Islamic cultural and religious cloak of the Mombasa coast as the staging ground for their ruthless operations.
Yesterday several witnesses, both at the Paradise Hotel and the attempted downing of the tourist jet, described seeing men of "Arabic origin".
Most of Kenya's Muslims say they abhor such violence and local imams expressed their sympathy with the United States after September 11th. Nevertheless, Osama bin Laden has become something of a cult hero for the many unemployed men living in the economically deprived coastal regions.
Some corner cafés have pictures of the bearded extremist on their walls and in the past year graffiti such as "bin Laden victor!" has started to appear. Analysts say such manifestations do not necessary show agreement with bin Laden's violent tactics, but they do point to a shared hostility towards the Israel and the US.
The Kenyan coast, which has historical ties with the Arab and Muslim world and is home to immigrants from Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, is also an easy environment for terrorists to blend in to. However the country's notoriously weak national security offers an equally valid explanation for the proliferation of attacks.
Police and immigration officials are underpaid and often corrupt, while the coastal area is a busy transhipment point for illegal drugs. Although security at airports and ports was tightened in the wake of September 11th, it slipped again in recent months.
Last month, the British High Commission in Nairobi issued a security warning to its citizens that "the threat of attacks on Kenya remains real".
The Kenyan government is staunchly pro-west and pro-Israel. In the 1970s, it allowed Israeli paratroops to refuel in Nairobi as part of a surprise attack on Palestinian hijackers in Uganda. During the Cold War, President Daniel arap Moi, due to step down shortly, was solidly behind the US.
Some of Kenya's immediate neighbours, however, are seen as being less sound on terrorism.
Sudan harboured bin Laden in the mid 1990s but expelled him in 1996. After September 11th, Somalia become the focus of intense US interest.
There were initial fears that bin Laden might attempt to hide in the largely lawless country, which has been at war since 1991. There were reports that Bush administration hawks were pushing for military strikes against a radical Somali militia, Al-Ittihad al-Islamiya, thought to be part of the al-Qaeda network.
To the south, Tanzania has been tenuously linked to al-Qaeda. Last year US jewellers placed a ban on the precious stone Tanzanite following reports that the terror group was funding its activities through sales of the precious gem.