NYPD Warns of Disaffected Muslim Youth

Is this something America should have seen coming years ago?

I think so.

Average citizens who quietly band together and adopt radical ways pose a mounting threat to American security that could exceed that of established terrorist groups like al-Qaida, a new police analysis has concluded.

The New York Police Department report released Wednesday describes a process in which young men — often legal immigrants from the Middle East who are frustrated with their lives in their adopted country — adopt a philosophy that puts them on a path to violence.

The report was intended to explain how people become radicalized rather than to lay out specific strategies for thwarting terror plots. It calls for more intelligence gathering, and argues that local law enforcement agencies are in the best position to monitor potential terrorists.

Read the Report ( PDF ).

Read the rest of the MSNBC story.

Analysis of the Report comes in a Commentary by Christopher Dickey, of Newsweek:

The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist: The real threat to the West is not from foreign jihadis but from ‘unremarkable’ civilians within our societies, says an insightful new report from the New York Police Department.

Comments

[joy]

I suppose some of them think it's easier to blow something up than actually go out and work for a living.

[The Flyer]

Its easy to forget about the ones closest to home. I think it doesn't matter what religious or ethnic or socioeconomic group one comes from, as a member of a community, its our responsibility to look out for one another, and help each other like a big family, and in the process, no one gets left out... so no one feels like they're helpless and forgotten and so feels no need to blow things up just to get heard.

[joy]

Yeah, well, what about personal responsibility? Since when is it society's job to make sure someone gets everything they want?

I grew up in one of the poorest parts of the US. I worked hard to get where I am and no one, especially not "society" gave me anything.

I would be sympathetic if they were actually out there trying to succeed, but some just don't try. It's so much easier to sit back and say it's all someone else's fault rather than taking responsibilities for one's actions.