The Guardian newspaper made public today parts of a classified internal research document produced by Britain's MI-5. As someone who has worked in intelligence and law enforcement, I do not condone the unauthorized release of classified material. While it is important to keep the public informed, prematurely releasing classified material can put (human) sources and (technical) methods at risk. I wonder how much such considerations factored into the Guardian's decision to publish its "exclusive" report on this report.
The academic analyst in me, however, is intrigued by the findings of this study, which is reportedly based on in-depth case studies of "several hundred individuals known to be involved in, or closely associated with, violent extremist activity." Combined with previous reports that as many as 4,000 Islamic extremists trained in Afgan training camps before returning to Britain, and British security officials' estimates that as many as 2,000 persons may be plotting attacks within the country, the findings of the classified MI-5 report highlight the incredible scope of the problem of radicalization in the UK.
Terrorist suspects, the study found, are mostly British nationals and the remainder are, with few exceptions, legal immigrants. Still, while some are well-educated and some are not, most are employed in low-grade jobs suggesting a lack of economic mobility and social integration are a big part of the problem in the UK.
Many lack religious literacy and are therefore susceptible to radical interpretations of extremist preachers or internet sites. There is evidence, British analysts suggest, that a well-established religious identity could protect against violent radicalization. In other words, the problem may not be too much but too little religion.
That the UK is engaged in such data collection and analysis is extremely impressive. The study, and its findings, help explain why it is that the UK, along with Holland and a few other countries, is proactively developing cutting edge counter-radicalization techniques. Here in the U.S., immigrant communities are better integrated and enjoy a sense of economic mobility immigrant communities in Europe often do not. Still, American authorities would do well not only to learn from the studies and programs being implemented in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, but to implement some of their own.
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Spelling mistakes were corrected and highlighted in bold.
Otherwise the article remains untouched.
Very interesting informtion indeed.
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