As Islamic State militants blasted their way into international
headlines again with the March 22 attack in Brussels, U.S. officials are
underscoring their determination to quash the terror group as soon as
possible.
“No attack will affect our resolve to accelerate the defeat of ISIL,”
said U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, using one acronym for the
terrorist organization.
But not everyone within U.S. borders wants to see Islamic State (ISIS)
defeated. The terrorist group is increasing its ideological appeal to
some Americans, wooing sympathizers with a slick social media campaign
promising glory and purpose. In recent weeks, U.S. federal courts have
charged two American ISIS sympathizers: one for attempting to recruit
and provide material support for the terror group, and the other for
attempting to join it.
What are American officials doing to catch these potential homegrown terrorists or stop them before ISIS recruits them?
“It depends on local law enforcement to identify people vulnerable to
Islamic radicalization within their jurisdiction and to provide
off-ramps for these individuals,” said Matt Mayer, a scholar with the
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) who works on homeland security,
counterterrorism, and domestic preparedness and response issues. He said
robust systems like the Los Angeles Police Department collaborate with
mosque leaders in the area to detect ISIS-wannabes, based on suspicious
behavior and social media posts.
Islamic State recruiters are sophisticated in leveraging social media
to attract and inspire. Recruitment propaganda is short and flashy,
often targeting a vulnerable audience with the promise of being swept up
in a grand, glorious global cause—or a way to belong.
“For somebody searching for meaning and feeling disconnected, that’s a
very powerful message, and difficult to resist,” said John Cohen, a
criminal justice professor at Rutgers University and the Department of
Homeland Security’s former counterterrorism coordinator.
Last week, the U.S. federal court in Rochester, N.Y., sentenced Mufid
Elfgeeh, a New York pizza shop owner, to more than 22 years in prison
for trying to recruit for ISIS. Elfgeeh, a naturalized Yemeni-born
American citizen arrested by the Joint Terrorism Task Force in May 2014,
pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a terrorist
organization.
“The defendant showed use of social media, through various aliases, to
support ISIL and help encourage other members,” said U.S. Attorney Brett
Harvey. “The defendant worked to send three people to Syria to fight
with ISIL, and though he did not fight on the ground, he considered
himself a fighter to help form the Islamic State and impose Shariah
Law.”
In an unrelated case, Joseph Farrokh of Virginia pleaded guilty last
week to a federal terrorism charge and admitted he was attempting to fly
to Jordan to join ISIS. In conversations recorded by the FBI, Farrokh
said he wanted to die a martyr.
House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., recently cited two
dozen ISIS-inspired plots in the United States since 2014, including
last year’s San Bernardino attack and the stabbings at Merced’s
University of California campus.
The best way to counterattack the ISIS social media blitz is with the truth, Mayer said.
“Fight propaganda with accurate facts and images. Show the truth behind
ISIS and al-Qaeda, in a way that repels rather than attracts,” he
advised.
Courtesy: WORLD News Service
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