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The Fear of the U.S. Jihadi

Siddharth Ramana - 12/27/2009

A number of incidents involving radicalized U.S. citizens over the past couple of months have caused alarm to security agencies in the United States and around the world. These fears stem from the growing Islamic radicalization experienced in the US by its own citizens. These threats are particularly worrisome in the cases of David Headley, a suspected member of the Lashkar E Taiba, and Nidal Malik Hassan, the shooter in the Fort Hood mass shooting, and in the recent detainment of five American citizens in Pakistan, arrested for attempting to contact Al-Qaeda allied groups in the region.

While it is already on record that terror groups have operated in the United States prior to 9/11, in some cases of fundraising, (as exemplified by the Hezbollah cigarette smuggling cell broken up by the FBI in 1999), others have included ideological preachers such as Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, who preached in the New York region and provided mentoring to El Sayyid Nosair and Ramzi Yousef, convicts in the 1993 World Trade Centre Attack. Domestic terror plots by Islamist groups are not new to the United States can also be documented in the foiled attempt to bomb the New York Subway system by Hamas in 1997.

It is important to note that in most terror cases in the United States, many suspects were not citizens, but, merely possessed residency permits. Incidents such as another foiled New York Subway bomb plot in 2006, which was to be carried out by a Pakistani immigrant and the misuse of student visas by the September 11 hijackers, have made it significantly more difficult for legal immigrants in the United States to participate in a terror attack. The United States learnt from its mistakes- plugging loopholes in its visa policy, improved background screening of immigrants and domestic terror surveillance, which have resulted in greater difficulty for an immigrant terrorist to enter the country.

The recent developments in the United States paint a far grimmer picture of the challenges that anti-terrorism agencies face- The citizen terrorist. While cases such as John Walker Lindh, the first American to be captured fighting U.S forces in Afghanistan, were seen as an aberration, the truth is that a number of American citizens are being radicalized and making their way into terror training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If potential terrorists are unable to travel abroad for training, terrorist groups have attempted to open up training camps inside the United States. Media reports in 2002 and again in 2005 detail a foiled attempt to open a Jihadi training camp to be mentored by radical U.K. cleric sheikh Abu Hamza.

Over the years, Al-Qaeda has made repeated efforts to address American and European domestic audiences by appealing for a truce agreement and warning of strong retribution if such an agreement is not conferred. Bin Laden made such an offer of truce in a videotaped statement addressed to the American people on the eve of the 2004 Presidential elections, while Al-Qaeda member and American national Adam Yahiye Gadah chillingly reminded Americans that their “streets would flow with blood” if they did not accede to Al-Qaeda’s demands.

There are a number of reasons why the domestic radicalization of American citizens poses a potent challenge to security agencies. Beyond the ostensible threat posed by American citizens to the mainland, it is worrisome as, until now, America has not featured in the list of countries whose nationals are frequently charged on terror counts. This would allow an American terrorist to bypass certain security barriers imposed on citizens of countries, such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

The case of Major Nidal Malik Hassan is unique in that he was not a known member of any extremist group and was ostensibly self-radicalized through websites and communication with a Yemenite cleric. A dangerous trend, for it discounts the physical presence of a radical mentor/ preacher. This is especially true for the United States, where restrictions on entry to supporters of radical groups are in place.

What is borne out in the commando-style attacks in Mumbai, Kabul, and Rawalpindi has been the sophisticated training made available to the gunmen. Authorities suspect that an established military training was made available to the perpetrators of these attacks. Major Hassan’s military training combined with tactical support and resources from a terror group could have significantly increased his lethality. Similarly, having a serving member of the US Army assisting in logistics and training to a terror group, would provide improved effectiveness to new recruits.

The absence of a large-scale terror attack on American soil since 9/11 is likely due to the improved intelligence and coordination between security agencies in the US. However, with this absence, there has been a correlated increase in the number of attacks on American interests abroad. These attacks include both soft targets such as hotels housing westerners, as well as increased attacks on hard targets like American military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Moreover, foiled plots such as the Heathrow airline plot of 2007 indicate that terrorists are intent on targeting American civilian interests worldwide.

For this reason, the ability to travel unrestrictedly is essential in their operations. As explained earlier, terrorists struggle to take advantage of any loopholes or gaps in the system, and even more so when such actions remain legal. One example of this is the Visa Waiver Program established between the U.S. and a number of developed states worldwide. This program allows citizens of member countries to travel to and from the U.S. without a visa.

Such a program can potentially be exploited by terrorists who use the ease of travel to conduct attacks. An example of this is illustrated in the British suicide bombers who entered Israel in 2003. Their entry into the country went largely unnoticed because of the relaxed visa norms between Great Britain and Israel.

While improved measures including the use of biometric passports have lessened the threat, the case of David Coleman Headley and his plot to attack interests in Denmark and India, indicate that the threat perception from relatively free travel still remains. Media reports suggest that, in his travels to Denmark, Headley did reconnaissance on the Jyllands Posten Newspaper office, the controversial publication that came to international attention when it printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Reports have indicated that American citizens arrested on charges of membership to terror groups are not limited to South Asian-based terror organizations, but stretch to include attempts to infiltrate countries on the Horn of Africa. As radicalization, fund raising, and membership to such groups grow, so too does the diminishing capability of security forces to effectively monitor high level suspects looking to exploit loopholes in the security structure. Therefore, it is imperative for the US to strengthen its efforts in reducing domestic radicalization.

The horn of Africa region is integral to Jihadi groups because of its close proximity to new Jihadi fronts such as Yemen. Additionally, this region is important in recruitment as it is necessity to increase their numbers, and therefore, their network’s ability to carry out cross-border attacks on American targets, such as the 1996 embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania.

As mentioned earlier, radicalization can occur without the physical presence of a radical mentor to terror suspects. In such circumstances, it would be relatively easy to paint the entire community as a suspect, and subject them to increased scrutiny and harassment. One of the leading causes of recruitment to such outfits is the perception of isolation and discrimination by members of the Islamic community. Terror attacks also lead to hate responses on communities, as was seen in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. As a result, it inflames social tensions and provides a fertile breeding atmosphere for fresh recruits to Jihad.

Consequently, there is an urgent need by the anti-terrorism community in the U.S. to address Islamo-phobia and develop a working relationship with community leaders and members of the Islamic community in order to eradicate radical and extremist Mosques and clerics and provide sound counseling to those youth who perceive community discrimination.

It is important that ‘Action Taken Reports’ compiled by the United States be shared among the counter-terrorism and intelligence community, along with friendly countries, (especially those presently instituting de-radicalization programs). Such sharing of information would provide a more comprehensive picture of how to address the multi-faceted radicalization threat.