Heading Off the Next Extremist

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/19/opinion/sunday/heading-off-the-next-extremist.html

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Though the motives of Omar Mateen may never fully be known, the massacre he committed in Orlando has raised an urgent question. How does a democratic society counter self-radicalization and prevent domestic attacks by those who have absorbed the call of terrorist groups to kill innocent civilians?

The United States is not alone in struggling to find an answer that will keep its people safe, thwart extremists and still preserve basic liberties, including freedom of speech, assembly and movement. France and indeed much of Europe are engaged in the same debate, for which there is no easy solution.

There is simply no way to monitor all the phone calls, social media postings, emails and other methods that might be used by extremists to reach those susceptible to their propaganda. Even if there were, doing that would transform an open society into one in which government monitoring is pervasive.

So what can be done? One response lies in rigorous investigations and law enforcement, which have led to arrests as plots are developed and put in motion. This month, for example, three young Somali-American men from Minneapolis, a center for extremist recruitment in this country, were found guilty in federal court of trying to travel to Syria in 2014 to join the Islamic State. They could face life sentences. In all, federal prosecutors have publicly charged 20 people in Minnesota in connection with the Shabab, an African terrorist group; 10 others have been charged with supporting the Islamic State.

But such arrests happen late in the process, after individuals become radicalized or succumb to the message of terrorist groups. The challenge is to try to identify those who are vulnerable to extremist ideologies and develop programs and strategies that could turn them toward a better path.

The Obama administration has begun to take some important steps, including revamping the State Department’s effort to counter the Islamic State’s very successful messaging on social media, which drew thousands of mostly European youths to the battlefield. The plan is to put more money into the program, train more staff members and more precisely tailor messages to specific populations.

In 2014, as the terrorist threat evolved from Al Qaeda’s large-scale attacks to a more diffuse network looking for soft targets, the administration began reaching out to local communities that were already trying to confront the problem of young people attracted to violent extremism. Minneapolis, Boston and Los Angeles were chosen by the Justice Department for pilot programs that worked with local civic groups and leaders.

Minneapolis has been a particularly difficult challenge: It has the country’s largest Somali immigrant population, and more of its young people have left to fight with extremist groups than any other city’s. Federal, local and corporate money has financed initiatives there, including mentoring programs for Somali youths with access to employment resources. A soccer league and a special nonprofit organization were established to forge connections among community-based groups, schools and public agencies. And imams are being urged by federal prosecutors to leave their mosques and engage young people in less formal venues.

One complication to carrying out these strategies is the Justice Department’s central role, which has raised suspicions about whether such efforts are aimed more at gathering intelligence than at providing real assistance. Experts say that is why community leaders must be at the forefront of all such initiatives.

Identifying youths at risk for self-radicalization and turning them away from terrorist recruitment won’t be easy, quick or cheap, but the country has to make this a priority.