PROFILE
FROM Jessica Stern
What Does ISIS Want? Early this morning, French police raided an apartment in a Paris suburb. They were looking for suspects connected to Friday’s terrorist attacks. Two people died and eight were arrested during the raid. As investigations continue in Paris, we’re taking a step back to ask: What does ISIS want?
Can Intervention Prevent Homegrown Terror? Today or tomorrow, an 18-year-old Somali-American is expected to be transferred from jail to a halfway house in Minnesota—to await trial on federal charges of terrorism. The goal is to keep him out of prison—where hardened prisoners might radicalize him further. We look at the risks of a new approach toward homegrown extremists. A Minneapolis neighborhood is known as “Little Mo,” short for Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. It’s home to the nation’s largest population of Somali-Americans, some 30,000 people. Abdullahi Yusef, is 18, had a job at Best Buy and planned to attend community college. Then, he was arrested by the FBI—on the way to the airport for a flight to Turkey.
The Allure of Extremism We’ve just heard what world leaders are discussing in terms of how to deal with the growing threat from ISIL, but here’s the question that lies behind everything that’s happening now: What draws someone to join an extremist group? Terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East are not lacking for recruits—whether it’s fighters from within the continent, or foreign fighters from Western nations joining the effort against their own countries. There are tens of thousands of them, and their ranks are said to be growing with each passing day. Today, a conversation about what these recruits are looking for in their lives, what conditions make them ripe for recruitment, and put simply: What is the allure to join up in violent jihad?
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