Report highlights growing risks of terrorism in the U.S.
Since last fall, five major incidents have brought the issue of "homegrown terrorism" to the fore, as Washington policy experts try to find new ways to combat what seems to be a growing trend. The U.S. government needs to refocus its efforts on extremists born and raised in American communities, through tougher confrontation of "Internet ...
Since last fall, five major incidents have brought the issue of "homegrown terrorism" to the fore, as Washington policy experts try to find new ways to combat what seems to be a growing trend.
Since last fall, five major incidents have brought the issue of "homegrown terrorism" to the fore, as Washington policy experts try to find new ways to combat what seems to be a growing trend.
The U.S. government needs to refocus its efforts on extremists born and raised in American communities, through tougher confrontation of "Internet radicalization," doing more to combat the notion that America is at war with Islam, and improving cooperation with local law enforcement, according to a report being released today by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Facing comparatively few restrictions, U.S. legal residents and citizens can travel abroad, connect with terrorist groups to gain explosives or weapons training, and return here to plan and execute attacks," the report warns.
Rick "Ozzie" Nelson, one of the principal authors of the report, told The Cable that his group tried to find a common thread in the recent spate of high-profile domestic terrorism cases, but none was apparent. The perpetrators had different backgrounds, family identities, levels of wealth, and various motivations. The suicide attack on an IRS building showed that not even religion can be seen as a common theme in domestic extremism.
Therefore, the U.S. government needs to build resilience and greatly expand its ability to detect domestic terrorist threats, which are increasingly organized online.
"The U.S. government needs to be much more aggressive and have a much more comprehensive plan to address these threats on the Internet," said Nelson. "We have to start to treat this virtual environment as a battlespace."
To the extent some domestic extremists are motivated by the perception that the United States is at war with Islam, that’s the government’s fault too and needs to be corrected, he said. "The U.S. needs to do a better job of counteracting this narrative."
Here are the five domestic terrorism cases examined by CSIS, all from 2009:
Sept. 19: Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan citizen and U.S. legal resident, was arrested on charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. Zazi later admitted to traveling to Pakistan to receive explosives and weapons training and to planning an attack in the United States.
Oct. 27: Federal authorities charged U.S. citizen David Coleman Headley with planning to attack a Danish newspaper. In December, revelations surfaced that Headley may have conspired with operatives of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani terrorist group, in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Nov. 5: U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly killed 13 and wounded 30 at Fort Hood Army Base outside Killeen, Texas. Early reports revealed that Hasan had previously communicated with a radical Yemeni cleric connected to al Qaeda.
Nov. 23: Federal officials unsealed indictments against eight people charged in connection with the alleged recruitment of approximately two dozen Somali Americans to fight with an insurgent group in Somalia.
Dec. 9: Five young Northern Virginia men were arrested in Sargodha, Pakistan. U.S. and Pakistani authorities claim that the group traveled there to fight alongside Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
"This rash of arrests has important implications for policymakers and officials in charge of counterterrorism and homeland security because U.S. legal residents and citizens are lucrative assets for global terrorist organizations," said the report.
Josh Rogin covers national security and foreign policy and writes the daily Web column The Cable. His column appears bi-weekly in the print edition of The Washington Post. He can be reached for comments or tips at josh.rogin@foreignpolicy.com.
Previously, Josh covered defense and foreign policy as a staff writer for Congressional Quarterly, writing extensively on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, U.S.-Asia relations, defense budgeting and appropriations, and the defense lobbying and contracting industries. Prior to that, he covered military modernization, cyber warfare, space, and missile defense for Federal Computer Week Magazine. He has also served as Pentagon Staff Reporter for the Asahi Shimbun, Japan's leading daily newspaper, in its Washington, D.C., bureau, where he reported on U.S.-Japan relations, Chinese military modernization, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and more.
A graduate of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Josh lived in Yokohama, Japan, and studied at Tokyo's Sophia University. He speaks conversational Japanese and has reported from the region. He has also worked at the House International Relations Committee, the Embassy of Japan, and the Brookings Institution.
Josh's reporting has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, C-Span, CBS, ABC, NPR, WTOP, and several other outlets. He was a 2008-2009 National Press Foundation's Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellow, 2009 military reporting fellow with the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the 2011 recipient of the InterAction Award for Excellence in International Reporting. He hails from Philadelphia and lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter: @joshrogin
More from Foreign Policy
Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.
Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.
It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.
Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.
Sign up for Morning Brief
Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter with what’s coming up around the world today. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
