PROTECTING AMERICA FROM
TERRORIST ATTACK
Director Addresses the Threat of Homegrown
Terrorism
06/23/06
On
Friday, June 23, as terrorism-related
arrests were announced in Miami, Florida,
FBI Director Robert Mueller spoke to the City
Club of Cleveland on the changing shape of
terrorism—specifically, the threat of
homegrown terrorism and the radicalization
process in the United States.
Citing
the London and Madrid bombings and the recent
terrorist prevention in Toronto, Director
Mueller noted that these extremists "lived
in the area they intended to attack. They
were not sleeper operatives sent on suicide
missions; they were students and business
people and members of the community. They
were persons who, for whatever reason, came
to view their home country as the enemy. ...While
we have made great strides in disabling traditional
terrorist models like al Qaeda, the convergence
of globalization and technology has created
a new brand of terrorism...smaller, more loosely
defined individuals and cells who are not
affiliated with al Qaeda, but who are inspired
by a violent jihadist message."
Who
are these individuals? They are people
who may be religious or who may turn to religion
out of frustration with their lives or the
politics of their home government. They become
fervent. They discover and link up with other
extremists. They become radicalized...isolated
from their families and the larger community...involved
in extremist activities...and ultimately they
can take the last step into terrorist action.
Where
can they be found? Anywhere--from schools
and universities to mosques to prisons to
community centers to the 5000+ virtual extremist
websites on the Internet.
How
can they be identified before they take that
last step into terrorist action? It's
not easy and it takes enormous resources,
carefully administered within the rule of
law.
"Our
greatest challenge is mapping these underground
networks. This can be tedious, intricate work,
but it is absolutely essential to the safety
of this country. We need to see how certain
individuals fit into the big picture. We need
to know where to set the trip wires to identify
the line between the extremist and the operational.
To meet that mission, we are relying on
three things: firstly, intelligence; secondly,
technology; and thirdly, partnerships."
We
strongly encourage you to read
Director Mueller's speech in full, to
learn the details of FBI efforts against the
threat of traditional and homegrown terrorist
attack...and how they are integrated with
the efforts of law enforcement, intelligence,
Muslim, and private sector groups at home
and around the world.
"Our
greatest weapon against terrorism is unity.
That unity is built on information sharing
and coordination among our partners in the
law enforcement and the intelligence communities.
It is built on partnerships with the private
sector and effective outreach to the public
as our eyes and ears. It is built on the idea
that, together, we are smarter and stronger
than we are standing alone."
Links:
Director
Mueller's speech on Homegrown Terrorism
| Counterterrorism
| Counterterrorism
stories
