"Defending Ourselves Against Extremist Use Of The Internet"

             Radical movements bent on violence are nothing new.  The Internet, however, has dramatically expanded the ability of radical groups to recruit, train, motivate, and coordinate terrorists over vast distances without direct contact.               In late April, for example, three British Muslims went on trial in London on charges that included using Web sites and e-mails to urge terrorist acts both inside and outside the United Kingdom.  The prosecutor said, “Each of them was adept at the use of computers and the Internet, and primarily by that means they each demonstrated ... an avid adherence to the need for violent holy war.”  At the same time, a federal court in Toledo, Ohio, heard charges against five men that included distributing information on bomb making that they had downloaded from the Internet.  They await trial.               Since the development of browser software in the early 1990s that allows easy access to text, image, sound, and video files, the Internet has become a potent tool for delivering radical materials to target audiences in distant or hostile locations.  These materials can be stored on any server connected to the Internet, ready for instant access by the curious or the committed.                           The recruiting and reference materials on the Web for violent extremists are truly disturbing.  Our enemies can consult Web sites to learn techniques for shooting down helicopters, to watch videos of hostage beheadings, to read letters left by suicide bombers, or to listen to messages from militant leaders.               Consider this: Most of the 42 groups on the U.S. State Department’s 2005 list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations have Web sites to promote their violent message.  Those Web sites can also serve terrorist groups as forums to plan and coordinate operations, as well as to finance their murderous activities.  And, even if there were no Web sites, the Internet would still allow radicalizing messages as well as operational instructions to be passed along by e-mail.               We do not yet know if the use of the Internet rivals or even exceeds the importance of community-based and personal recruitment.  It does, however, represent a troubling extension of their reach – easy, inexpensive, immediate, and powerful.  As journalist Tina Brown has observed, “The conjunction of 21st-century Internet speed and 12th-century fanaticism has turned our world into a tinderbox.”               We must find answers to some urgent questions:  What is the role of the Internet in radicalizing, recruiting, and financing terrorists?  What techniques and appeals are used?  Are Internet sites targeting potential recruits in our country?  How can we shape effective countermeasures?                Senator Joe Lieberman and I recently presided at a Senate Homeland Security Committee on this issue.  This was our third hearing on the domestic threat of violent Islamist extremism. The testimony we heard from three experts was both alarming and encouraging.  It was alarming because, as George Washington University’s Frank Cilluffo put it, Internet chat rooms and password-protected forums are used as tools for recruiting and coordinating terrorists.  Our witnesses noted that extremists Internet sites also host documents, videos, and other material that can be downloaded, copied repeatedly to CDs or DVDs for viewing by anyone with a computer, even if they have no Internet connection.               Our witness testimony was also encouraging because it demonstrated that federal agencies are working hard to counter this threat. In addition, considerable research is underway to help us better understand the triggers for radicalization.
            The appeal of violent Islamic extremism rests in part on distorted readings of religious texts and on falsehoods about America and other democracies. One weapon against terrorism is therefore to increase the flow of accurate information about America and its tradition of religious freedom, and to work harder at engaging moderate Muslims in the fight against extremist violence. That will help to undercut the credibility and appeal of the extremist propaganda as they seek new recruits.                         While that vital work proceeds, of course, we must continue to monitor and defend ourselves against violent extremists’ use of Web sites and online forums.  I will continue working with other members of Congress and the federal agencies we oversee to resist the perversion of the World Wide Web into a weapon of worldwide war.