Patterico's Pontifications

5/22/2010

Profiling Terrorists in the U.S.

Filed under: Education,Terrorism — DRJ @ 10:22 am



[Guest post by DRJ]

For years, experts have warned of the myth that Al Qaeda terrorists are “poor, desperate, single young men from Third World countries, vulnerable to brainwashing.” Instead, as Dr. Marc Sageman told an international terrorism conference back in 2004:

Most Arab terrorists he studied were well-educated, married men from middle- or upper-class families, in their mid-20s and psychologically stable, said Sageman, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Many of them knew several languages and traveled widely.

But when they settled in foreign countries, they became lonely, homesick and embittered, he said. They felt humiliated by the weakness and backwardness of their homelands. They formed tight cliques with fellow Arabs and drifted into mosques more for companionship than for religion. Radical preachers convinced them it was their duty to drive Americans from Muslim holy lands, killing as many as possible.”

That sounds a lot like the description of Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad and, apparently, his associates:

“Two men detained in Pakistan admitted with pride that they helped the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing, and one of the men angrily accused his interrogators of “siding with the infidels,” a senior intelligence official said Saturday.

The pair are among six men officials say have been detained in Pakistan for alleged ties to Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American arrested in the United States two days after the failed May 1 attack in New York. Like Shahzad, the detainees are all from their country’s urban elite, including several who were educated in the United States.

Details about the six were released late Friday, though officials have not said when they were detained. Five were picked up in the capital, Islamabad, and one is co-owner of a posh catering company that the U.S. Embassy said was suspected of ties to terrorist groups.

The intelligence official, part of the team questioning the men, cited the two suspects as saying they did not do anything wrong and “proudly” describing Shahzad as their friend.

The official said one of the suspects had even accused his interrogators of “siding with the infidels.”

The radical mosques seem to be a pivotal factor. In addition, I’m curious how much their American college experiences contributed to any feelings of discontent and anger.

— DRJ

14 Responses to “Profiling Terrorists in the U.S.”

  1. As others have said on this blog, I highly recommend the book The Strong Horse by Lee Smith. It gives a look into this other world on the other side of the world. We tend to focus on religion but Smith shows how the religion grew out of culture. Right now I am reading Ralph Peters’ Endless War for more of the same.

    Arizona Bob (e8af2b)

  2. And maybe the natural order of things is reflected in the Middle East and Western Civilization is the exception. I mean was the exception.

    Arizona Bob (e8af2b)

  3. The radical mosques seem to be a pivotal factor.

    That is a common thread that seems to run through all of the attacks–they all attended fundamentalist mosques with radical imams.

    Allowing these mosques and the radical imams to continue with their fifth column efforts seems counter-productive.

    iconoclast (7bd231)

  4. The radical mosques

    When the founder of Islam was into assasinations — including the murder of people who merely mocked or criticized him — and other forms of ruthless behavior, I’m not sure if applying the adjective of “radical” to the religion in question — or parts thereof — isn’t rather redundant. Sort of like using the phrase “hot fire” or “cold ice.”

    Mark (411533)

  5. I understand the argument that Islam is inherently violent and exclusionary, but there are moderate mosques and imams. Why target the religion if we can instead target those who radicalize it?

    DRJ (d43dcd)

  6. #5, Because DRJ, moderate Islam is the “radical” interpretation of the Muslim religion.

    Moderation in the service of Allah falls well outside any recognized school of Islamic thought. In fact, it’s anathema to the core beliefs of Islam, past or present.

    Mainstream Islam is the mother of jihadi terrorism. That’s why al Qaeda is so successful in finding recruits, Osama bin Ladin speaks with the full weight of the Koran behind him, his authority for the holy war against the infidels comes directly and unambiguously from the unvarnished words of Koran itself.

    ropelight (4a690a)

  7. Remember where the source of the funding comes from for the “radical mosques” and madrassas:
    It is our (oil) money washed through the Wahhabist Regime in Saudia.

    AD - RtR/OS! (3c862f)

  8. It’s estimated there are 1.65 billion Muslims in the world. If all Islam is radicalized, why aren’t there millions of terrorists?

    DRJ (d43dcd)

  9. Who is to say that there aren’t?

    A cell here, and a cell there, pretty soon that adds up to real numbers.
    (with apologies to Everett Dirksen)

    AD - RtR/OS! (3c862f)

  10. It’s nice that the MSM is finally admitted something that has been common knowledge for decades. The poverty=protest meme is Marxism, and a lie, as any fool can now see.

    If you can read anything by Dr. Schura Cook, do. She wrote about the extremists of the ’60s. It was her point that violent, nihilistic movements arose in Germany, Italy and Japan–the Axis countries–for a reason: their educated, idealistic youth felt shame and anger about their own country’s sins in starting WWII and then projected their anger against all authority. Those protesters were of the educated middle class as well.

    (In fact, some of those less violent, like Joshka Fisher, now run their own leftist countries.)

    Patricia (160852)

  11. Why target the religion if we can instead target those who radicalize it?

    This may be a bit of a stretch, but not by all that much. IOW, one can also ask:

    Why target Nazism if we can instead target Hitler?

    Or: why target Communism if we can instead target Castro (or Mao or Stalin)?

    At the very least, when a belief system rests upon someone with the extremely ruthless history of Mohammed, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the non-radicalized Muslims have been rather quiet in their condemnation of — and certainly not too visible in clearly and vociferously demonstrating against — the radical Muslims.

    Mark (411533)

  12. #8, DRJ, Islam adapts it’s tactics to current circumstances and to the changing times. Today’s tactics for the expansion of Islam employs terrorism, immigration, and *deception, along with the “oil weapon” and participation in International financial markets to further Allah’s unchanging agenda: worldwide dominance.

    During an earlier time Muslims used invading armies and brutal occupations of foreign lands in their efforts to conquer the world. In the West Islam occupied all of North Africa, part of Spain, the balkans, and were only turned back in Europe at the gates of Vienna. (Bravo to the Polish Calvary who turned the Muslim tide and not only saved the city, but also prevented the Islamic conquest of all Europe.)

    In the East Islam reached into the heart of Asia, all the Alphabet “stans” in the old USSR, deep into India, and most of the islands in between, all Indonesia and most of the Sulu Sea for example.

    The mistake is assuming there are peaceful Muslims and that terrorism is only a tool of “radicals” who are guided by some sort of “fundamentalist” interpretation of the Koran, much like our own fundamentalists who roll around and handle snakes. People who are outside the mainstream of Christianity.

    Nothing could be further from the truth. The jihadis, the terrorists, are only the pointy end of Allah’s spear, the ordinary day-to-day Muslims are the support troops, the water carriers, the helpers and arrangers. All represent mainstream Islam and can be called upon to assist the warriors.

    *deception, often “holy” deception is the English expression for the Muslim concept of Taqiyya (various spellings) or “Lying to deceive the enemy” it’s part and parcel of today’s attempt to portray Islam as a religion of peace. It’s not, Islam is a religion of war, a holy war for world domination and nothing else.

    Think of imaginary “moderate” Muslims as wolves in sheep’s clothing.

    ropelight (4a690a)

  13. Comment by ropelight — 5/22/2010 @ 1:25 pm

    Better stock up on more ammo!

    AD - RtR/OS! (3c862f)

  14. “I’m curious how much their American college experiences contributed to any feelings of discontent and anger.”

    1. Looking around and realizing there aren’t 72 virgins anywhere.

    2. That C- in Freshman Government Class pissed me off. My essay involving 20 lashes for the lesbian professor was entirely correct under Sharia law.

    3. All football and no cricket

    4. The anarchists smell like old clothes

    5. Jews. Everywhere

    6. All the professors that told me that I am righteous and who empowered me and to whom I owe this great honor of the opportunity to burn up my nuts on the heathen holiday of Xmas

    Steve G (7d4c78)


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