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Congressional Report On Terrorism Finds Islamist Ideology is Motivator
The path from believing in radical Islamist political ideology to plotting attacks in the homeland can be triggered by a number of factors, a new Congressional Research Service report finds.The report focuses on homegrown Islamic terrorism, which in itself is remarkable given the reluctance many in Washington have had to clearly naming a leading source of the terrorist threat. The title, American Jihadist Terrorism: Combating a Complex Threat, uses the kind of language all-but-banned by the executive branch since 2008. Cabinet officials in the Obama administration have strained to avoid references to jihadist violence. But the Congressional Research Service is tasked with producing authoritative, confidential, objective and nonpartisan analysis, rather than catering to political semantics. The 137-page report contains more than 500 references to jihad or jihadist. The term Islam or Islamic is used 117 times. It doesnt deny the existence of other forms of violent extremism, including radical environmentalism, animal rights, or anti-abortion causes, but the reports focus is on the threat of attacks motivated by radical Islam. That is something House Democrats have treated with shrill accusations of bigotry. The report examines 63 homegrown jihadist plots since 9/11, noting that nearly two-thirds of those took place in just the last three years. That spike suggests that ideologies supporting violent jihad continue to influence some Americanseven if a tiny minority, the report says. Among those are two deadly attacks that have not even been charged as acts of terrorism. The shootings at Fort Hood and at a Little Rock, Ark. military recruiting office were lone wolf attacks that left 14 people dead. Posted by: tipper 2013-02-01 |
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