Dr. Mary Habeck - Dr. Habeck was appointed by President Bush to the Council on Humanities at the National Endowment for Humanities (2006-2012), and in 2008-2009 she served as the Special Advisor for Strategic Planning on the National Security Council staff. A few of Dr. Habeck's publications includeKnowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror (2005) and Attacking America: How al-Qa'ida is Fighting Its 200-Year War (2013). She is currently an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Dr. Ronald Machoian - The current International Safety and Security Director at the University of Wisconsin, Ronald Machoian, is a retired Commander in the US Air Force, and was previously an Assistant Professor of Military & Strategic Studies at the United States Air Force Academy.
Dr. Joseph Elder - Dr. Joseph Elder, a professor here at the UW, is an expert on sociology and the languages and cultures of Asia. He currently teaches Sociology 614: Social Structures of Muslim Society.
Question & Answer
Dr. Ronald Machoian - The current International Safety and Security Director at the University of Wisconsin, Ronald Machoian, is a retired Commander in the US Air Force, and was previously an Assistant Professor of Military & Strategic Studies at the United States Air Force Academy.
Dr. Joseph Elder - Dr. Joseph Elder, a professor here at the UW, is an expert on sociology and the languages and cultures of Asia. He currently teaches Sociology 614: Social Structures of Muslim Society.
- Definition of Terrorism
- Threat or use of deadly force against a civilian population for political or military goals
- Different groups can be categorized as terrorists due to military action on civilians
- The US in Japan (Nagasaki and Hiroshima)
- The US in Vietnam
- Al-Qaeda
- ISIS
- Radicalization as a Social Process
- Usually takes place in a region consumed by revolution or insurgency
- Radicalization as a fertile ground for terrorism
- Terrorists have become radicalized, but not all radicals are terrorists
- Not everyone who is radicalized will act in a violent manner
- There are many different and varied types of views considered radical
- It is defined by its process in relation to a spectrum
- The process is individualized to each person
- Holy radicalized groups see only room for their perspective
- If coercive violence does not succeed, resortment to attrition becomes the next step
- Various circumstances cause the process of radicalization to commence
- Immigration to an unliked country
- Disenfranchisement
- Partition
- Alienation
- Marginalization
- Subjects of brutality from a government
- Desperation is not always the cause - wealthy individuals may take on radicalization as well
- E.g. Osama Bin Laden
- Large percentage of radicals have some education and affluence
- Meta-Identity that transcends their personal experience
- Recent counter-insurgent efforts have led to increased radicalization due to the fact that it leaves the countries in tatters or ruins.
- The counter-insurgent group attempts to win over the local population, but ironically, tends to brutalize the very population they hope to win the support of
- Due to these aforementioned factors, greater resentment is fostered
- Motivation Behind Radicalism and Terrorism
- Push-Pull internal factors
- Most people develop their radical views from exterior messages
- Groups of most concern:
- ISIS and Al-Qaeda
- Paris Attacks
- Russian Airliner
- People have forgotten that Al-Qaeda is still out there
- Charlie Hebdo terrorists were trained by AQAP
- ISIS and Al-Qaeda
- ISIS and Al-Qaeda have both negative and positive messages to recruit
- There are Al-Qaeda documents online, outlining how to recruit
- The process of converting to radicalization is a slow process that begins with making friends and winning over the recruits
- Planting seeds of ideologies
- Planting the idea that you are being oppressed
- Solution: Practice the religion on your own
- Planting the idea that you are being oppressed
- ISIS and Al-Qaeda are cults
- Cut off connections with people who disagree with you
- Create a family, convince your family to practice your way of the religion
- Convince your neighbors, the communities to practice your version of the religion
- Training for Jihadism
- What is the vision these groups are providing their recruits
- There is a community of believers that is more important than your society, country, family - this community is the most important connection you can make
- Plant the idea that there is a need to fight the oppression of your religion, domestically and abroad
- Occupation of territory
- Radical groups paint the picture of Muslim countries who do not practice the religion the same way, as ruled by non-Muslims
- The need to save the suffering Muslims
- The creation of the Caliphate
- Muslims will no longer be oppressed
- Their religion will rule the state
- There will be effective and good leaders
- it will be a nation led by morality
- Very appealing to recruits
- The only way to achieve their goal is to conduct horrific violence
- 25,000 foreign fighters have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight for the IS
- Use of Social Media as a way to spread their message
Question & Answer
- Why are people always blaming socioeconomic factors the reason for radicalization/terrorism? Is there a fundamental issue with Islam and its hostility towards non-Muslims?
- The root causes are beyond socioeconomic factors
- There needs to be a solution that attacks the root causes as well as the criminal actions of these people
- There needs to be programs that work for short, mid, and long term solutions
- People who are conducting these violence attacks are from regions, areas, marginalized populations that experience alienation, persecution, prejudice
- Attempts to fix this is through homogeneous processes that conform society to one group - “melting pot”, “Americanization”
- Have had negative outcomes
- We are not talking about all Muslims, or all radicals - we are talking about the small portion of the population that chooses to take on a specific vision
- Those who are the most radical in Europe, have been found to have the least amount of religious knowledge, tradition, background
- People who carry out these attacks, come from non-religious backgrounds
- People who eventually decide against using violence/terrorism, find their way out through Islam, not from an exterior influence
- What is the difference between radical jihadists and radical right wing fundamentalists? Which group is more of a threat to the American people?
- People use ideologies to provide comfort to avoid their fear of expiration/death
- Radicals are unable to allow other views to exist - there is no “live and let live”
- The mere existence of another view/ or set of moral standards is seen as a threat to the radicals way of life
- Religion is trying to convince people of their view of the truth
- When religion goes bad, they say, “this is the only truth” and that creates a conflict and an apparent moral responsibility to defend it
- Radicalization is not just religious
- Do not other against religions
- People have moral beliefs whether they are religious or not
- Ex. people would speak out against the UW hiring a Nazi - everyone has their own set of moral beliefs, and they believe that these beliefs are correct
- How do you effectively conduct counter-insurgency without turning the population you are trying to protect away?
- It is extremely difficult - the two fighting forces will struggle and fight over the support of the population
- Insurgents will provoke the counter-insurgents into making mistakes, and they will capitalize on these mistakes
- By protecting the population from the insurgents, you are also dividing the population