Domestic Radicalization: Tactics vs. Strategy
A lot of the discussion surrounding the two individuals from New Jersey arrested last weekend for allegedly trying to join al-Shabaab in Somalia has focused on how they were discovered, what they had planned, and, as more information becomes public, the investigation that led to them being caught.
Understandable and valid as this approach is, we should also take the time to consider to what degree this actually represents a victory and what it says about our ability to combat domestic radicalization in the future.
These types of arrests, though clearly positive developments, underscore our need for a truly multi-layered strategy. Relying exclusively on the uncover-and-catch-them-before-they-leave approach to domestically radicalized Americans going abroad for training feels a bit like trying to end the illegal drug trade by cracking down hand-to-hand narcotics transactions; we pour our energy into targeting the visible manifestation, what is tangible and close to us, because we have absolutely no idea how to effectively approach the underlying problem that seems so multi-faceted and monolithic as to be nearly impossible to address.
I don’t have an answer for how we as a society can effectively stop “homegrown terrorism” and domestic radicalization from continuing apace. As these incidents increase in frequency, however, it is becoming clear that until we come up with a more comprehensive strategy to deal with the core issues underlying domestic radicalization and self-recruitment, or to at least understand them, we’ll be stuck chasing hand-to-hands, hoping that by hitting what we can see the bigger problem will somehow go away on its own.
Given that it quite clearly won’t, it is critically important that we move now to develop real strategies for the future.
