U.S. Starts Domestic Program To Curb Extremism, Potential Terrorists
In its continued effort to stop the Islamic State, the United States has reportedly started a new program for training communities in the country to spot radical religious extremism.
The Islamic State, a growing al-Qaeda affiliate based in Iraq, has reportedly been successful in recruiting young people from western countries like the U.S. and Great Britain. In a recent video showing the gruesome beheading of American journalist James Foley, British intelligence suggested that the extremist carrying out the horrific act was of British nationality.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced the program this week, saying that the new initiative will seek to collaborate with teachers, mental health officials and social workers to ensure no teenager is becoming radicalized, especially in the Islamic religion.
"Today, few threats are more urgent than the threat posed by violent extremism," Holder said of the program, according to Reuters.
This most recent plan is part of President Barack Obama's larger plan to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State. The president outlined his plan to the American public in a speech last week, saying that along with a domestic focus, the plan will also include a military effort that begins with airstrikes in Syria.
Last week, both the White House and the Pentagon said the U.S. was engaging in a 'war on the Islamic State."
Secretary of State John Kerry has sought to downplay the term "war," saying instead that the strategy should be viewed as a massive "counter-terrorism operation."
"If somebody wants to think about it as being a war with ISIL, they can do so, but the fact is it's a major counter-terrorism operation that will have many different moving parts," Kerry told CNN.
