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The violent Islamist terrorist threat has evolved and expanded since al Qaeda planned the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and radicalization of disaffected Muslims and recent converts to Islam is increasingly occurring here in the United States. Yet the federal government has "no cohesive and comprehensive outreach and communications strategy in place to confront this thread." Those are among the findings of a new report by the staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The report, "Violent Islamist Extremism, the Internet and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat," is the first in a series of reports to be issued jointly by the majority and minority staff and is notable for its bipartisan conclusions.

The report points out that both Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and FBI Director Robert Mueller testified about the growing threat of "homegrown" extremists in February before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. According to McConnell, evidence suggested the radical and violent segment of the Muslim population in the West was growing, although the cells detected thus far in the United States have been less sophisticated than those in Europe or elsewhere overseas. Through Internet connections, however, these groups were bound to become more sophisticated and capable without having to travel overseas for training, he said.

The study examines al Qaeda's online media operation and identifies four highly sophisticated production centers that use cutting-edge technology to produce a range of products, including online magazines, official statements, news updates, white papers and even poetry.

Once content is created by one of the production centers, it is funneled to a clearinghouse before it is posted on the Internet. "One of the most active Internet clearinghouses today is the al-Fajr Media Center, which was established in January 2006. Like the production centers, al-Fajr is almost entirely virtual. The approval process for dissemination is unclear, but once approved, content is moved from al-Fajr to preapproved Web sites. On a daily basis, al-Fajr issues a host of material, including statements from violent Islamist groups taking credit for attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan, Algeria and elsewhere," the report stated.

The clearinghouses perform two key functions: They ensure the authenticity of the message, which is essential to maintaining the movement's strict interpretation of Islam and its long-term goal to destroy the West; and they facilitate the near-instantaneous dissemination of new propaganda, according to the report.

"The propaganda regularly produced by this process finds its way to literally thousands of violent Islamist Web sites across the Internet, many of which are either 'mirrored' versions of one another, or 'simply bulletin boards' that disseminate the same material created by the production houses," the report said.

Charles Allen, chief intelligence officer and undersecretary for intelligence and analysis at the Homeland Security Department, said in a May 6 speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy that al Qaeda "has ratcheted up the speed and accuracy of translated statements openly marketed to U.S. and English-speaking audiences." Al Qaeda's objective, Allen said, "is to gain wide Muslim support, empathy, financing and future recruits."

The growing sophistication of al Qaeda's Internet campaign poses a serious threat and has the potential to erode the United States' cultural and community characteristics (especially the integration of Muslims into American society) that have thus far discouraged violent radicalization. Left unchallenged, al Qaeda's message espoused over the Internet will drive more individuals in the United States through the radicalization process and encourage them to conduct actual attacks, the Senate committee report noted.

Nonetheless, testimony the committee received showed that, "no federal agency has been tasked with developing or implementing a domestic communications strategy."

Perhaps the most significant outreach effort has come from Homeland Security's Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which meets regularly with religious and ethnic community leaders in five major cities and tries to address the concerns of participants. Yet the effort is not part of a governmentwide outreach effort, nor does the office coordinate with the FBI, which has substantial contact with communities throughout the country via its 56 field offices. Neither the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties office's program nor the FBI's own outreach program is designed to counter violent Islamist ideology.

"Efforts that rely on relatively uncoordinated outreach to American-Muslim communities and fragmented communications strategies must be improved. Indeed, the most credible voices in isolating and rejecting violent Islamist ideology are those of Muslim community leaders, religious leaders and other nongovernmental actors who must play a more visible and vocal role in discrediting and providing alternatives to violent Islamist ideology," the committee concluded.

COMMENTS

• J. Edgar Hoover? Some faults? Please, God, no. The methods Hoover would have used to prevent this theoretical growth in American radical Islam (Ms. Peters is extremely light on any specific details in this article) would be an extreme and counter-productive reaction. Anyone in America who'd seek out and adopt al Qaeda's mindset probably already has serious issues and in all likelihood, is already known to local and/or federal law enforcement. The PATRIOT Act and reorganization of some national agencies, while flawed, is still more than adequate to combat any rise of radical Islam in America. While we currently seem to be lacking an overall federal strategy, the basic freedom and acceptance of American culture has prevented the kinds of problems faced by our European allies. So let's keep things in perspective. The system is working; our government has been informed of this lack of strategy and will act accordingly. We don't need to give our government unlimited, Hoover-like power. Can a radical American Islamist group trained by al Qaeda pull off another 9/11? Not likely. We got sucker punched before but now our guard is up. Can an individual out of nowhere pull off a Timothy McVeigh attack? Possible. But empowering our government with the resources and erosions of our rights to be able to track every potential mad man would destroy America. To paraphrase Davy Crockett, any government powerful enough to protect you from anything is powerful enough to do anything. Jerry Posted May 15, 2008 5:21 PM
• History has a lesson for us. Lebanon was once had a Christian majority that was taken over by Muslins who brought in a totally new culture. The clash of cultures has resulted in that countries demise. Those true to the Muslim faith and its teachings promote peace, but those who have personal agendas are using it to promote themselves and their own view of the world different than what was taught by the prophet Mohammad. Not much different than Rev Wright whose teachings are for his own personal gain and those who would PAY to hear his message. Thus, the problem of a paid clergy. Stanley J. Stolpe Posted May 15, 2008 8:06 AM
• A always the case with our gov.t, we appear to operate best by "complacency" over a latte at lunch.Whatever they dish out, we will likely have no plan to deal with it... only memories of having discussed it with someone at somepoint in the past.We can't seem to get off our Asses to do anything proactive as a resolution to a problem we know we are going to have. Chuck Posted May 15, 2008 7:11 AM