"Report Details Terror Cell Threat" or does it?
Associated Press ran the story yesterday; Report Details Terror Cell Threat. The report, drafted by the New York Police Department, said that disaffected Muslim youth, instead of hanging out in mosques, were more likely to use ''cafes, cab driver hangouts, flop houses, prisons, student associations, non-governmental organizations, hookah bars, butcher shops and bookstores” to gather and potentially develop terrorist cells.
AP indicates “the report warns that potential terrorists are difficult for law enforcers to detect because they blend in well with society. It also argues that more intelligence gathering is needed to thwart potential terror plots at their earliest stages.
“Potential homegrown terrorists ''are not on the law enforcement radar,'' the study says. ''Most have never been arrested or involved in any kind of legal trouble.'''
“They ''look, act, talk and walk like everyone around them,'' the study adds. ''In the early stages of their radicalization, these individuals rarely travel, are not participating in any kind of militant activity, yet they are slowly building the mind-set, intention and commitment to conduct jihad.'''
In a college town, this report shudders my spine because it sounds so familiar. I remember the beatnics, the hippies, and hang around with the youth of today. As I walk through Chico and look into the cafes and bookstores that dot this town, the scene looks like the streets of Berkeley. Young people hang out, talk, experiment with society and develop what they learn in class into something they can use when they venture out in society.
This report seems to use what is normal interaction with youth and the young mind and attempts to turn it into something we need to fear. The phrase that leaps out to me is “young men ... grow disillusioned with life in America.. “ If disillusionment is to become a point of notice to law enforcement agencies, then many Americans would attract their attention.
Are we going to plant high definition microphones and cameras in every place young people hang out in order to keep this country safe?