CNN, 11 Dec 09: A leading Muslim-American civil rights group is advocating intense grassroots engagement among police and U.S. Muslim neighborhood leaders to thwart the emergence of homegrown Islamic terrorists.
A report, issued Friday by the Muslim Public Affairs Council, reflects the shock among American Muslims over the Fort Hood massacre, the arrests of five American Muslims in Pakistan suspected of plotting terrorist attacks, and the arrests of eight Somali-American men on charges related to what prosecutors said were efforts to recruit youths to fight for a Somali guerrilla movement.
Titled “Building Bridges to Strengthen America: Forging an Effective Counterterrorism Enterprise between Muslim Americans and Law Enforcement,” the paper stresses a division of labor and a collaboration between police and community groups: Police should fight crime, including terrorism, and neighborhood leaders should deal with the causes of radicalization, it says. At the same time, the paper says, both need to work hand in glove.
“We will capture the narrative from those who seek to misguide the young people,” said Haris Tarin, the head of the council’s District of Columbia office. . . . .
Der Spiegel, 11 Dec 09: Switzerland’s recent vote to ban the construction of new minarets has shocked and angered Muslims around the world. But the controversial move also reflects a growing sense of unease among other Europeans who have trouble coming to terms with Islam’s increased visibility.
In the small Swiss town of Langenthal, the battle over the minarets has been fought, and there seems to be no hope of reconciliation between the victors and the vanquished. “I feel abused and injured as a person,” says Mutalip Karaademi. “We wanted to hit a symbol,” says Daniel Zingg, “and we hit it.”
Zingg has prevented the minaret that Karaademi wanted to build, and has managed to make it illegal for any other minarets to be built in Switzerland. He was one of the authors of the referendum that was passed by the Swiss on Nov. 29 with 57.5 percent of the votes. The constitution will now contain the following sentence: “The building of minarets is banned.”
The Swiss decision has shocked Europe and the world because its ramifications go far beyond the building of minarets — they also concern the identity of an entire continent. This was a referendum on Western society’s perception of Islam as a threat. The issue is generating intense debate: Just how much of Islam is predominantly Christian Europe prepared to accept? The decision by the otherwise so tolerant Alpine country reveals the deep-seated fear of an Islam that is becoming increasingly visible.
Are Muslim immigrants threatening European values? This is a concern shared by many Europeans across the continent. Surveys last week revealed that 44 percent of Germans oppose the construction of minarets, followed by 41 percent of the French. Fifty-five percent of all Europeans see Islam as an intolerant religion. . . .
. . . . Roberto Castelli, a top politician in Italy’s Northern League said: “The Swiss have once again given us a lesson in civilization. We have to send a strong signal to stop pro-Islamic ideology.”
CBS Channel 2/Chicago, 10 Dec 09: It’s back to the drawing boards tonight for investigators trying to protect us from home-grown terrorists. Robert Grant, Chicago’s FBI special agent-in-charge, gives CBS 2 Chief correspondent Jay Levine a frank and sobering assessment.
. . . . Grant offered an unusually candid read on what counter-terrorism forces here are up against. “We’ve seen the radicalization process speed up,” Grant said. “It’s not a long process anymore, it can be very short. It can go from sympathizing to suddenly an active, radical threat to the community within a matter of weeks.”
That’s due in large part to the Internet, where radical websites attempt to convert the curious to committed. “It’s a propaganda war,” Grant said. “I wouldn’t say they’re winning. I would say that they understand the tools that are at their disposal.” . . . .
. . . . .More recently, local police officers have become the FBI’s eyes and ears. “If they’re not also looking for the unusual behavior, the behaviors that might be indicators — as we call them, tripwires — of somebody who may be radicalized or somebody who may be plotting, it’s very possible that we will not see it,” Grant said.
Recent seminars with local police have led to cases like the arrest of Michael Finton, who was allegedly about to detonate a car bomb in downstate Springfield. Grant said a Chicago police officer got that case rolling by spotting something unusual in a routine traffic accident. . . . .
CI Centre Course 362: Informant Development for Law Enforcement Officers to Fight Terrorism
AFP, 10 Dec 09: Long-feared by US intelligence, Muslim radicalization is gaining momentum in the United States, hit by a spate of recent cases featuring youths recruited and trained overseas for jihad, analysts say.
The latest case — five US nationals arrested in Pakistan Wednesday on suspicion of plotting an attack — deepened concern that militant Islamist groups are successfully enlisting potential attackers inside the United States, much as they have in Britain. . . . .
. . . . We’ve known for several years that Al-Qaeda and its allies like Lashkar-e-Taiba have put a high priority on recruiting assets in the Pakistani communities in the United States, and the United Kingdom, the rest of the world,” said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official.
Riedel, who led a White House review of US strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan earlier this year, said a recruit with a US, British or Canadian passport is “a gold mine for them.” “Put it this way: they know that 15 young Saudi males are not going to get into the United States on one-way visas to do flight training,” he told AFP. “What they need are people who are not going to arouse any suspicion when they arrive at JFK, or LAX or Washington-Dulles (airports). It’s a high priority for them.”
The US intelligence community warned in a 2007 assessment that the spread of radical Internet websites and a growing number of “self-generating” cells in Western countries “indicate that the radical and violent segment of the West’s Muslim population is expanding, including in the United States.” But it noted that the “internal Muslim terrorist threat is not likely to be as severe as it is in Europe.”
In the past year alone, however, there have been a dozen cases in the United States involving jihadist plots, attacks and other incidents, some involving homegrown radicals but others with direct links to extremist groups in Pakistan and Somalia. . . . .
CI Centre instructor Dr. Walid Phares predicted this in his 2006 book:
DNI, 11 Dec 09: The Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced today that it will again offer about 40 highly motivated graduate students and college seniors an opportunity to study with currently serving intelligence analysts and other experts.
The National Security Analysis & Intelligence Summer Seminar, a reprise of the first such program the ODNI held last summer, is planned for July 13 through July 24 in Washington, D.C.
The intensive, residential seminar will include lectures, field trips to agencies and work on substantive topics under the direction of Intelligence Community analysts, academics and other professionals. Career opportunities will be highlighted. Students who are selected and approved will receive secret-level security clearances for the duration of the seminar. . . . .
