Homeland Security Implications of Radicalization
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THE HOMELAND SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF RADICALIZATION HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, INFORMATION SHARING, AND TERRORISM RISK ASSESSMENT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SEPTEMBER 20, 2006 Serial No. 109–104 Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 35–626 PDF WASHINGTON : 2008 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY PETER T. KING, New York, Chairman DON YOUNG, Alaska BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas LORETTA SANCHEZ, California CURT WELDON, Pennsylvania EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut NORMAN D. DICKS, Washington JOHN LINDER, Georgia JANE HARMAN, California MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon TOM DAVIS, Virginia NITA M. LOWEY, New York DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of JIM GIBBONS, Nevada Columbia ROB SIMMONS, Connecticut ZOE LOFGREN, California MIKE ROGERS, Alabama SHEILA JACKSON-LEE, Texas STEVAN PEARCE, New Mexico BILL PASCRELL, JR., New Jersey KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN, U.S. Virgin Islands BOBBY JINDAL, Louisiana BOB ETHERIDGE, North Carolina DAVE G. REICHERT, Washington JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island MICHAEL MCCAUL, Texas KENDRICK B. MEEK, Florida CHARLIE DENT, Pennsylvania GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, INFORMATION SHARING, AND TERRORISM RISK ASSESSMENT ROB SIMMONS, Connecticut, Chairman CURT WELDON, Pennsylvania ZOE LOFGREN, California MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana LORETTA SANCHEZ, California DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California JANE HARMAN, California JIM GIBBONS, Nevada NITA M. LOWEY, New York STEVAN PEARCE, New Mexico SHEILA JACKSON-LEE, Texas BOBBY JINDAL, Louisiana JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island CHARLIE DENT, Pennsylvania KENDRICK B. MEEK, Florida GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (Ex Officio) PETER T. KING, NEW YORK (Ex Officio) (II) C O N T E N T S Page STATEMENTS The Honorable Rob Simmons, a Representative in Congress From the State of Connecticut, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment .......................................................... 1 The Honorable Zoe Lofgren, a Representative in Congress From the State of California, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment .................................... 60 The Honorable Peter T. King, a Representative in Congress Frome the State of New York, and Chairman, Committe on Homeland Security ...................... 6 The Honorable Charlie Dent, a Representative in Congress From the State of Pennsylvania .................................................................................................... 6 The Honorable Nita M. Lowey, a Representative in Congress From the State of New York .......................................................................................................... 5 WITNESSES Mr. Javed Ali, Senior Intelligence Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 15 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 16 Mr. Randall Blake, Al-Qa’ida Group Chief, National Counterterrorism Center: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 7 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 9 Mr. Don Van Duyn, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division, Federal Bureau of Investigations: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 11 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 13 PANEL II Mr. Frank Cilluffo, Director, Homeland Security Policy Institute, The George Washington University: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 31 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 33 Mr. Steven Emerson, Executive Director, The Investigative Project on Ter- rorism: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 45 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 47 Dr. Walid Phares, Senior Fellow, Foundation for the Defense Democracies: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 25 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 28 Mr. John D. Woodward, Associate Director, RAND Policy Institute: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 39 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 42 FOR THE RECORD Dr. M. Saud Anwar, Chairman, American Muslim Peace Initiative: Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 2 (III) THE HOMELAND SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF RADICALIZATION Wednesday, September 20, 2006 U.S.HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY, SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, INFORMATION SHARING, AND TERRORISM RISK ASSESSMENT, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1:32 p.m., in Room 2212, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Rob Simmons [chair- man of the subcommittee] presiding. Present: Representatives Simmons, King, Dent, Lofgren, Lowey, and Langevin. Mr. SIMMONS. [Presiding.] A quorum being present, the Com- mittee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Intelligence, Infor- mation Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment will come to order. Today the subcommittee meets to hear testimony on the home- land security implications of radicalization. For some time, members of this subcommittee have been inter- ested in this issue, but this hearing began to take shape last July when members of the subcommittee travelled with me to Toronto, Canada, to learn more about the alleged plot involving a group of individuals in the Toronto area who were arrested for conspiring to attack their own homeland using approximately three tons of am- monium nitrates. We visited the neighborhoods, we saw the schools, and these were not disadvantaged individuals. In fact, as we observed the neighborhood, we were told that the homes were $300,000 homes. It was an integrated neighborhood. The schools looked like the same sorts of schools that I have back in my hometown in Stonington, Connecticut. And so, the question that I had in my mind and that we had in our minds was, what exactly caused these young, second-genera- tion Muslims, many of whom were of Pakistani background, to be- come radicalized? What were the conditions that were at work here? And how can we better understand this issue? This is not an issue just for Canada or just for Great Britain. This is an issue for us as Americans, here within the continental United States. This is an issue for us as people concerned about the homeland security. This is an issue for us who have Muslims in our districts and in our communities, who want to better understand what the forces might be at play that could cause this radicalization to take place. (1) 2 Not testifying today but submitting testimony is a friend and a colleague of mine from Connecticut, Dr. Saud Anwar, who has writ- ten a paper on the subject and who has shared with me his thoughts on the subject. And I just want to mention a few of the conclusions and recommendations, and then I will ask that his whole paper be put in the record for future reference. But one of the things he says is that the American Muslims are more integrated and assimilated into U.S. society than perhaps their European or Canadian counterparts. They are working to counter current challenges by being more socially and politically ac- tive. They are looking for better integration within our political community and increasing communication and coordination. And so on and so on and so forth. And I can tell you that, from my own experience in dealing with Dr. Anwar, his family and his community, we have had many long and very constructive discussions about the issues that might give rise to radicalization. And I would hope that this hearing, in a way, would become the beginning of a conversation—a conversation that we might initiate here in this subcommittee but that we can then extend out into our districts and into our states, to talk with our friends and neighbors in the Muslim community, to meet in their meeting places, to gath- er to exchange views, so that we can attempt to better understand what their issues might be and then attempt to better understand what the issues of other Muslims elsewhere in the world might be. And so, it is with that in mind that I have called for this hearing. [The statement