As the calendar turns to 2016, homegrown terrorists seeking to carry out violent jihadi attacks continue to headline the most critical threats to U.S. security.
To date, more than 150 American citizens have traveled abroad with U.S. passports in hand to join the ranks of terrorist groups, such as ISIS. These individuals possess all the requisite documentation to return to the homeland and pose a substantial danger to the U.S. In an effort to mitigate this threat, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies track those who travel or attempt to travel abroad to nations where terrorist groups are most active.
But perhaps even more dangerous are individuals who become radicalized having never left the United States, the so-called “homegrown terrorists.”
National security officials and experts often highlight three key components when discussing the homegrown jihadi terrorist threat: the how, the who, and the what.
First are the radicalization mechanisms terrorist groups use to lure new members. Online channels through which terrorist groups, like ISIS, spread their propaganda and focus their recruitment efforts are the most effective medium for radicalization. Individuals residing in the U.S. are able to connect with terrorist groups overseas and learn about their extremist ideologies through various Internet platforms.
“Al-Qaeda, and now the Islamic State, have infested YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Yahoo's Flickr, and the Internet Archive, and adopt new social media – Ask.fm, Vimeo, Vidme, VK.com, and SoundCloud, to name a few – almost as quickly as they emerge,” explained Steve Stalinsky, Executive Director of the Middle East Media Research Institute. “With the exception of Facebook, major tech companies, led by Google and Twitter, have done very little to confront cyber jihad,” he continued.
A second factor is the type of individual sought by terrorist groups. According to Patrick Skinner, Director of Special Projects at the Soufan Group, ISIS is “talking to the people who feel that no one ever truly talks to them—the disaffected, the disillusioned, the discontented, the demented, and the dangerous.” These “at-risk” individuals are the most likely to undergo a terrorist transformation.
Third are the targets homegrown terrorists pinpoint for attacks. Since 2001, the U.S. has invested vast resources into upgrading its security infrastructure to prevent another large-scale attack like September 11. Radicalized individuals, who often don’t have the network or resources to attempt large-scale attacks, have turned their attention towards striking restaurants, theaters, pubs, holiday parties and other “soft targets” similar to what occurred last year in Paris and San Bernardino.
Experts have offered ways to address each of these components.
“{Social media} companies need to elaborate on a clear public policy that extremist activities will not be tolerated and move swiftly to identify and remove prohibited content,” wrote Ambassador Mark Wallace of the Counter Extremism Project. These companies, “must more proactively search for and remove the worst offenders, and adopt technologies that ensure violators cannot keep coming back under monikers that are only slightly different, spewing the same hatred and making the same threats.” Such efforts would disrupt al-Qaeda and ISIS messaging.
Others have pointed to the Obama Administration’s need for a cohesive strategy to effectively combat ISIS and counter the group’s narrative. There have also been calls for Muslim communities, both in the U.S. and abroad, to take a more proactive approach in retorting radical jihadist ideology.
Additionally, there has been a demand for increased security devoted to soft targets here in the U.S., as well as the recognition that local law enforcement must become more adept at detecting potential terrorist threats in their communities.
The homegrown terrorist threat is expected to remain a national security concern for the foreseeable future. Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen recently told The Cipher Brief, “There is every reason to expect that the threat of terrorism here in the U.S. will increase in 2016.” As the terrorist threat continues to evolve, so must the U.S. counterterrorism strategy.
