Additional Resources
- MPAC's December 2009 report: Forging Effective Counterterrorism Enterprise between Muslim Americans and Law Enforcement
- Dec. 15, 2009 House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing: Protecting Speech While Preventing Violent Extremism
- Sue Udry’s Feb. 16, 2010 blog: Will Lieberman Use Fort Hood Shooting to Crush our Right to be Radical?
- March 10, 2010 Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing: State and Defense Officials To Senate: Military Alone Cannot Counter Violent Extremism
- March 17, 2010 House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing: House Hearing Examines Government & Community Engagement Efforts To Disrupt Terror Plots
The Issue of Countering Violent Extremism in the 111th Congress (January 2009 to January 2011)
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- Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010
- November 2009 Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing: The Fort Hood Attack: A Preliminary Assessment
- December 2009 House Homeland Security Committee hearing: Violent Extremism: How Are People Moved from Constitutionally-Protected Thought to Acts of Terrorism?
Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010
On March 4, responding to the decision to try Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in civilian criminal court, 2010, Sen. John McCain (R- AZ) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) introduced the Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention and Prosecution Act (S.3081). This Act would empower the U.S. military to arrest anyone, U.S. citizen or otherwise, who is suspected of terrorist associations and detain them indefinitely, without right to a trial.
Critics say the language used in the bill is too vague and denies basic due process rights guaranteed in the Constitution. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
November 2009 Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on the Fort Hood Attack: A Preliminary Assessment
On Nov. 19, 2009 the Senate committee on Homeland Security held a hearing about the Ft. Hood shooting. Speakers at this hearing assigned possible blame for the shooting on “cultural training inside the federal government and law enforcement agencies.” McCain asked if “political correctness” encumbered authorities from preventing the Ft. Hood tragedy.
December 2009 House Homeland Security Committee hearing: Violent Extremism: How Are People Moved from Constitutionally-Protected Thought to Acts of Terrorism?
In contrast to the Senate hearing the House Homeland Security subcommittee's December 2009 hearing, Violent Extremism: How Are People Moved from Constitutionally-Protected Thought to Acts of Terrorism? took a more big picture approach.
Speakers shared the sentiments of Michael W. Macleod-Ball, Acting Director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office, who said, there "was no single identifiable pathway to extremism.” He added, "Congress must tread carefully when attempting to examine people's thoughts or classify their beliefs as inside or outside the mainstream to avoid infringing on fundamental rights that are essential to the functioning of a healthy democracy."
Kim Cragin, a terrorism expert at the Rand Corp. think tank, told the Committee, "Research suggests that no single pathway towards terrorism exists, making it somewhat difficult to identify overarching patterns in how and why individuals are susceptible to terrorist recruitment, as well as intervention strategies."
"It's not what people say or think, but whether they commit violent acts that counts," said Dr. Stevan Weine, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago said at the December hearing. "Terrorist researchers argue that our central concern should be on preventing violent radicalization and not radicalization per se," he added.
