President Obama targets “truant youth” as new breed of domestic “violent extermists” is dramatic expansion of war on terror

White House Unveils Counter-Extremism Plan
by Dina Temple-Raston – August 3, 2011
see White House Plan HERE

The White House unveiled its strategy to counter radicalization today, ending months of speculation about how President Obama intends to tackle the problem of violent extremism in this country.

The eight-page unclassified paper, titled Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States, has been more than a year in the making and marks the first time the U.S. has laid out a comprehensive strategy to counter violent extremism. Officials say it is a three-pronged approach that includes community engagement, better training, and counternarratives that make a case for why violent extremism is a dead end.

“This strategy is not so much about how we’re changing than having us lay down what we’ve been doing on a key issue,” said National Security Council Chief of Staff Denis McDonough in a briefing to a handful of reporters Wednesday morning.

The strategy acknowledges just how much the threat against the U.S. has changed since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. When al-Qaida was sending operatives into the U.S., it made sense to rely on federal agencies to catch them at the border or arrest them as plots were discovered. But as terrorists groups have turned to American operatives who are already here, it makes sense to take the fight to the grass-roots level.

Truancy, for example, is a common indicator of kids getting mixed up with gangs. As it turns out, it is also a common indicator of kids who are falling prey to violent extremist rhetoric. The federal government can’t track missed school days very efficiently. A local high school clearly can. That’s why local communities are at the heart of the plan.

“Communities are best placed to recognize and confront the threat because violent extremists are targeting their children, families and neighbors,” the report reads. “Rather than blame particular communities, it is essential that we find ways to help them protect themselves.”

The White House envisions bringing together a roster of agencies and departments — from the Department of Education to the Labor Department and Energy Department — to provide local officials the tools they need to counter radicalization.

Traditionally, the Department of Justice or the FBI has taken the lead on outreach, and officials say they will continue to be involved. What has changed is the emphasis. Local agencies that have day-to-day interaction with at-risk communities are perfectly positioned: By addressing individual problems within the community they not only help residents, they also whittle down the list of grievances that might eventually lead to violent extremism. …more