Terrorists Take Fight to Cyberspace

May 3, 2007 — -- Congress heard sobering testimony Thursday that the Internet is proving to be a powerful medium to spread violent Islamist extremism.

A terrorism expert, Army Lt. Col. Joseph Felter, testified to the Senate Homeland Security Committee that al Qaeda "would not be possible without the pervasiveness of Internet accessibility and the capability it offers al Qaeda's thought-leaders to define the way disillusioned youth think about the world."

Scholars, Ideologues' Voices Stronger Than Bin Laden's

Felter may have surprised the senators when he said, "The most important thought leaders … are not Osama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri."

Instead, he said, they are scholars and ideologues that most Americans have never heard of.

Spanish authorities investigating the Madrid train bombings found more than 50 electronic books on the hard drives of the bombers' computers.

The authors tracked closely with the list that American authorities had compiled of the most influential jihad writers. Their words are sent around the world on the Internet.

Cyberspace Front in War on Terror

Another witness, Frank Cilluffo, who heads the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University, said, "Cyberspace is now the battlefield, and the war is one of ideas. The real time, two-way dialogue of chat rooms has taken the fight global, enabling extremist ideas to be shared, take root, be affirmed and spread exponentially."

Cilluffo added, "Internet chat rooms are now supplementing and replacing mosques, community centers and coffee shops as venues for recruitment and radicalization by terrorist groups like al Qaeda."

Tactical to Radical Use of Internet

The senators heard that over time terrorists have changed the way they use the Internet.

Initially, it was to communicate with one another about upcoming operations. But after the events of 9/11, security forces around the world improved their ability to search for such plans on the Internet.

Terrorists became more careful. But, at the same time, they and their followers expanded Web use to spread radical ideologies. They have also increased their cyberspace skills.

Cilluffo explained, "If you look at the quality of their video from 2002 to 2007, it has improved exponentially."

Their message, he said, "is meant to resonate with a younger generation. … Muslims are told that Islam is under siege, that only adherence to the terrorists' ideology can save it, and that they have a personal duty to commit violence in the name of Islam."

Felter described, "One book available on online, titled '39 Ways to Participate in Jihad,' spells out a variety of options to aid and abet the terrorists' cause short of overt participation in terrorist attacks. [The book] urges mothers to socialize with their children with … bedtime stories of the great jihad fighters, or showing them videos of successful jihad attacks against American forces."

Felter continued, "Today we see video games distributed online that focus on killing effigies of President Bush and teaching a distorted version of history that emphasizes the role of terrorists."

'Chilling' Testimony, Action Unclear

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who is chairman of the committee, called the testimony "chilling" and questioned whether the government is doing enough, such as shutting down Web sites that advocate violence.

Witnesses were skeptical that this would be effective. Cilluffo said closing Web sites will just mean "they will move to other Web sites."

Sen, Susan Collins, R-Maine, the ranking Republican on the committee, wondered if there should be exceptions, such as closing down a Web site that shows how to shoot down a helicopter.

The witnesses acknowledged that might be a justifiable exception.

Michael Doran, a senior Mideast expert on Bush's National Security Council, said, "I come down in the middle" on the question of closing Web sites.

Lieberman said his takeaway from the hearing was that "We ought to develop a counternarrative to compete [with terrorists] in their radicalization and recruitment of Muslims."

He felt the United States should do more in rebutting claims made on pro-extremist Web sites.

Doran said the government is trying to do that by reaching out to Muslims all over the world.

But the other witnesses, Cilluffo and Felter, felt the effort is falling short both from the government and from private Americans, including educators.

Part of the problem is lack of translators fluent in Arabic. But there is also a shortage of people who are well-schooled in Islam, and who can make the argument that extremists are wrong when they use the Islamic religion to justify violence.

Cilluffo said, "I think we have to go to people versed in the Koran and get them to counter claims" on radical Web sites.

But the witnesses acknowledged that is easier said than done.

Felter said many Islamic people in the U.S. will not work " for the government, but they will work with academics. We must give them more ways to be comfortable [helping us]."