From Retweets to Raqqa
The report, ISIS in America: From Retweets to Raqqa consists of two parts. The first examines all cases of U.S. persons arrested, indicted, or convicted in the United States for ISIS-related activities. A wide array of legal documents related to these cases provides empirical evidence for identifying several demographic factors related to the arrested individuals. This section also looks at the cases of other Americans who, while not in the legal system, are known to have engaged in ISIS-inspired behavior.
The second part of the report examines various aspects of the ISIS-related mobilization in America. Here the report analyzes the individual motivations of ISIS supporters; the role of the Internet and, in particular, social media, in their radicalization and recruitment processes; whether their radicalization took place in isolation or with other, like-minded individuals; and the degree of their tangible links to ISIS. It concludes with recommendations to combat ISIS recruitment.
Phi Beta Iota: On the one hand, this is deja vu. Here is Steve Emerson's map of Islamic nodes in the USA in 1994, where radical clergy were calling for the murder of Americans on American soil and the FBI was keeping a studied distance. As we know, little came of this. Today there is a difference: the FBI is actively enticing people into terrorist-related activities, and social media makes it much easier for young people and frustrated middle-aged people to vent in ways that can be turned against them. We are losing our mind as a nation, having already lost our soul.
See Also:
Review: American Jihad–The Terrorists Living Among Us
Review (Guest): The Terror Factory – Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War on Terrorism
