DoD: Accused December 25th Bomber Was Found, Trained In Just A
Few Weeks
Testifying before the Senate Armed
Service Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities on
Wednesday, Garry Reid, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Special Operations and Combating Terrorism, said that militant
groups are using the internet to quickly identify, recruit, and
train individuals to carry out attacks. "Enabled by 21st century
technology, extremists have optimized the use of Internet chat
rooms, Web sites, and email chains to spread their virulent
messages and reach a global audience of potential recruits," he
said in his prepared remarks. Reid said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab,
who is accused of attempting to bring down a Northwest A330 on a
flight to Detroit, went from student to alleged bomber in a period
of weeks.
"It is this highly evolved radicalization process that enabled
al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula to make contact with a wealthy
Nigerian student living in London, recruit, train, and equip him in
the remote tribal regions of Yemen, position him in the
Netherlands, and ultimately dispatch him on a suicide mission to
the United States, all within a period of weeks," Reid told the
subcommittee. "By contrast, the 9/11 operation took about 2 and a
half years to develop from the time Osama bin Laden approved it in
April 1999. The condensed timeline of the December 25th attempted
terrorist attack over the United States underscores the critical
need to get in front of the radicalization cycle sooner, and more
effectively, than ever before."
Reid said that DoD understands the
limits of military action in what he described as a "complex global
security environment." "As Secretary Gates has said many times, we
cannot capture or kill our way to victory in war against al Qaida
and its affiliates," Reid said. "Although we will continue to take
immediate, necessary actions to protect the United States from
terrorist attacks, our long-term focus is on working through and
with partner nations to build their security capabilities, reverse
the momentum of insurgents and extremist groups, create conditions
that promote development opportunities, and disrupt the forces of
violent radicalization that provide terrorists and extremists with
new recruits."
Reid went on to describe DoD's ongoing efforts in Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Iraq, and other regions including Africa, the Arabian
Peninsula, and southern Asia. "In each of these endeavors our
approach is to improve the capabilities of our partners – not
just of their kinetic forces, but also their general ability to
provide security," he said. "When the host nation can counter the
threats to its security posed by violent extremists, and increase
its legitimacy in the eyes of its population, we are on the road to
successfully countering violent extremist messages of intolerance
and hatred."
Reid said that DoD's contributions to countering terrorism will
vary based on regions and political circumstances. He said the
department is always looking for new ways to counter violent
extremism.