THE US SENATE Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs just issued their preliminary recommendations to the Department of Defense regarding the Committee’s investigation into the Ft. Hood Jihadist attack where 13 people died at the hands of their fellow soldier, US Army Major Nidal Hasan. The entire document is found on here our CI and CT News site, but below are highlights from this important advance forward to recognizing the threat and keeping military personnel safe:
RECOMMENDATION 1:
DoD Should Update Its Approach to Extremism in the Ranks Given the Threat of Homegrown Terrorism Inspired by Violent Islamist Extremism.
. . . the increasing incidence of violent Islamist extremism in the United States, the Department must revisit its policies and procedures to ensure that violent radicalization, whether based on violent Islamist extremist doctrine or other causes, can be identified and action taken to prevent attacks before they occur. Exhibiting signs of violent extremist views, behaviors, or affiliations, including those associated with violent Islamist extremism, is incompatible with military service and access to classified or sensitive information.
An April 2005 report by DoD’s Defense Personnel Security Research Center, Screening for Potential Terrorists in the Enlisted Military Accessions Process, concluded that
“The allegiance to the U.S. and the willingness to defend its Constitution must be questioned of anyone who materially supports or ideologically advocates the legitimacy of Militant Jihadism.”
and that
“Determination of participation in or support or advocacy of Militant Jihadist groups and their ideologies should be grounds for denial of acceptance into the Armed Forces of the U.S. and denial of access to classified or sensitive information.”
As seen in the cases of Major Hasan and Sergeant Akbar, the adoption of violent Islamist extremism has been associated with violence against military personnel and other Americans. . . .
RECOMMENDATION 2:
DoD Should Increase Training of DoD Personnel Concerning Violent Islamist Extremism.
Increased training of servicemembers at all levels – from enlisted personnel to commanders – is needed to ensure that they can understand the warning signs of violent Islamist extremism. Such training will need to be crafted carefully and will likely need to vary by rank. Training should include:
- Why exhibiting violent Islamist extremist views, behaviors, or affiliations is incompatible with military service and access to classified or sensitive information.
- The process of violent radicalization, including the warning signs of violent Islamist extremism.
- Servicemembers who exhibit signs of violent Islamist extremist views, behaviors, or affiliations are not necessarily members of any established or recognized group. Instead, the servicemember could be a “lone wolf,” having undergone a process of self-radicalization via Internet sites, literature, or videos.
- What violent Islamist extremism is, and how terrorists distort the Islamic faith to promote violence. . . .
RECOMMENDATION 3:
DoD Should Revise its Policies to Address Violent Extremism Generally and Violent Islamist Extremism in Particular.
RECOMMENDATION 4:
DoD Should Ensure that Servicemembers Report Signs of Violent Islamist Extremism.
The Department and the Services should also revise their policies to ensure that servicemembers have a clear obligation to report servicemembers who exhibit signs of violent Islamist extremist views, behaviors, or affiliations. As General Keane testified before our Committee,
“It should not be an act of moral courage for a soldier to identify a fellow soldier who is displaying extremist behavior. It should be an obligation.”
. . . . The threat posed by servicemembers who exhibit signs of violent Islamist extremist views, behaviors, or affiliations raises both personnel and counterintelligence / subversion concerns. . . . .
————————–
CI CENTRE NOTE:
The CI Centre already has a proven, highly effective training course that covers all the topics the Committee believes should be included in the training of DoD personnel concerning violent Islamist extremism.
What’s more, the 361: The Global Jihadist Threat Doctrine course:
- Has successfully been given to members of the US Intelligence Community, military personnel and law enforcement officers since January 2007
- Is taught by the nation’s leading experts on the Jihadist threat
- Is ready to go right now; no development time wasted
- Can be delivered at our training facility or at your location
- Is on the GSA Schedule for the already-best price negotiated by the Government
NOW IS THE TIME to call us and schedule runnings of this very important and timely course for all members of your organization. When Congress comes calling demanding answers, already having a tested program that is training your employees to recognize the warning signs of radical extremism goes a long way in satisfying Congress and ensuring them that your organization is doing the right thing to protect Americans.
Call Kristina Scholze directly at 703-642-7453 or Adam Hahn at 703-642-7454 to find out how you can begin providing this course to your employees.
The Global Jihadist Threat Doctrine is a very powerful, eye-opening course. See the effect the course has on attendees by reading a sample of their feedback. Over and over again, people who’ve taken this course ask why they didn’t know this information earlier and now that they do, it will completely change the way they do their job.
No other course is more important and needed in this age of ever-present, continuing threats by Jihadists to the safety of citizens both here in our homeland and overseas. Lives are at stake. You need to know this information in this course now more than ever.
CBS/AP, 15 Jan 10: Pentagon inquiry into the case of the alleged Fort Hood shooter could lead to punishment of up to eight Army officers, a U.S. official said late Thursday.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said an internal Pentagon policy review stemming from the Fort Hood massacre “raises serious questions” about the military’s ability to cope with security threats within its ranks. Gates did say the review shows that “it is clear that as a department we have not done enough to adapt to the evolving internal security threat.” The secretary also said it demonstrates that the Pentagon “is burdened by 20th century processes and attitudes mostly rooted in the Cold War.”
The official said a Pentagon inquiry finds fault with five to eight supervisors who knew or should have known about the shortcomings and erratic behavior of the shooting suspect. Hasan is accused of killing 13 people at the Texas Army base on Nov. 5. . . . According to information gathered during the internal Pentagon review and obtained by The Associated Press last week, Hasan’s strident views on Islam became more pronounced as his training progressed. Worries about his competence also grew, yet his superiors continued to give him positive performance evaluations that kept him moving through the ranks. That led to his eventual assignment at Fort Hood. . . . . .
CI CENTRE COURSE: 361 The Global Jihadist Threat Doctrine
Government Executive, 14 Jan 10: Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee leaders on Wednesday asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to revise department policies to address Islamic extremism The committee is investigating the Nov. 5, 2009, shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 13 and injured dozens more. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist who apparently adopted radical Islamist views, some of which were reportedly known by his peers, has been charged with the killings.
“We are committed to completing a comprehensive fact-finding investigation concerning the U.S. government’s failure to identify Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan as a possible threat and to take action that may have prevented the attacks,” Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, wrote in a letter to Gates. Lieberman is chairman of the committee and Collins is the ranking member. “Even at this stage of our investigation, however, it has become apparent to us that DoD’s approach to the threat of service members who adopt a violent Islamist extremist ideology needs to be revised,” the lawmakers wrote.
Specifically, the lawmakers want the department to:
- Examine, and revise where necessary, policies and procedures to ensure extremists can be identified and actions taken against them before future attacks occur.
- Increase training of Defense personnel so they can more readily recognize and respond to warning signs and understand how terrorists distort Islamic teachings to promote violence.
- Revise policies to make it clear to service members that they have an obligation to report signs of violent Islamist extremist views. Current policies do not require such reporting, the letter stated. . . . .
CI CENTRE COURSE: 361 The Global Jihadist Threat Doctrine
Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan 10: Between five and eight Army officers are expected to face discipline for failing to take action against the accused Ft. Hood shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, over a series of behavioral and professional problems in the years leading up to the November rampage.
Had corrective action been taken, Hasan’s career might have been cut short before the Nov. 5 spree at the Texas Army base that left 13 people dead, an official familiar with results of a Pentagon review said Thursday.
In addition, the review concludes that the Defense Department does not adequately share information about personnel internally. It also found that the department’s policies toward internal threats are outdated, focusing more on hunting spies than ferreting out extremists, according to officials familiar with the review.
The review found that Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, repeatedly failed to meet basic officer standards for physical fitness, appearance and work ethic, but that superiors allowed his medical career to advance. “Had those failings been properly adjudicated, he wouldn’t have progressed,” and could have been forced out of the armed services, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the review’s findings had not been made public.
Instead, the investigation found that for much of Hasan’s career, supervisors were blinded by his resume, believing they had found a rare medical officer: someone with a stellar undergraduate record, prior service in the infantry and intimate knowledge of the Islamic faith. “The Army thought it had hit the trifecta,” the official said. . . . .
