Are
Prisons Actually Fueling Jihad?
by Brig Barker
Special to IPT News
July 1, 2019
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Although prisons have been an on-again off-again political topic for
years, their main purpose has been threefold: to punish the perpetrator;
act as a deterrent towards further crime; and ideally, rehabilitate the wrongdoer.
When it comes to imprisoned terrorists, however, that third prong has
been almost entirely missing, and the damage is something we'll be
experiencing for years. Some recent cases prove this point.
American Ahmad Musa Jibril, now reportedly living in Michigan, was
convicted in 2005 on a 42-count indictment charging fraud, tax evasion, and
money laundering related crimes. He was released from prison in 2012. Since
then, Jibril has become one of America's leading radicalizers, and is
believed to be inspiration for the 2017 London Bridge attack of 2017.
In 2014, British researchers characterized Jibril as one of two U.S. Muslim
leaders most influencing ISIS and other radical Islamic groups.
Is it fair to expect that time in prison would de-radicalize Jibril?
There appears to be no indication that he entered into any rehabilitation
or de-radicalization program. Or, did his prison time give him more
notoriety and clout with the Islamists? It appears clear from the available
research that Jibril did not denounce his extremist beliefs, and one could
surmise that he may have become more extreme while locked up. In the end,
the American public is now saddled with an Islamist committed to jihad,
walking free and spouting his radical beliefs in whatever forums he
pleases.
John Walker Lindh offers another relevant and recent case study. Lindh,
the former "American Taliban," was convicted in 2002 for
terrorism related charges and released last month. He acknowledged that he served time with Jibril at the
prison in Terre Haute, Ind. Lindh reportedly became very close to Jibril.
According to a 2017 National Counterterrorism Center report, Lindh is expected
to "advocate for global jihad and write and translate violent
extremist texts." In 2015, he applauded ISIS' efforts to establish a
Caliphate via letters
to a news outlet. For extremist fence sitters, Lindh will most likely be an
inspiration. To them, he fought against the west, was captured and
imprisoned by western authorities, and is now in a place where he can
preach and proselytize.
By all accounts, the prison system only fueled his radicalization. What
can be done then? As IPT Senior Fellow Patrick Dunleavy rightly explains, Lindh's internet activity must be closely
monitored. He found Islamism through the internet as a teenager, and likely
will migrate back to it. Unfortunately, as a retired FBI agent who worked
counterterrorism for most of my career, I would ask who is monitoring and
whether they know what to look for. Although federal probation officers are
highly competent, they haven't spent their entire careers monitoring the
"language of jihad." Criminals and terrorists like
Lindh learn to skirt scrutiny by authorities, and we can't afford to let
him wander out of view. They do this by using encrypted apps and email
platforms, communicating through cutouts (middlemen), obfuscating financial
transactions through hawalas, and conducting surveillance detection routes
to ensure they're not being watched.
U.K.-based hate preacher Anjem Choudary is another case example worth
considering. Choudary, a former attorney and cheerleader for the 9/11 hijackers, was convicted
in 2016 for publicly inviting support for ISIS. Released in 2018 to a
halfway house, Choudary is now a free man in the U.K. Some news reports say
that his old network from al-Muhajiroun is getting back together. Al-Muhajiroun is a militant
Salafi jihadist network Choudary co-founded. It has been tied to terrorist
attacks in England, including the 2005 transit bombings.
Prior to Choudary's release, U.K. Prisons Minister Rory Stewart stated that Choudary is "a deeply pernicious,
destabilising influence." Stewart further added, "He is somebody
who is a genuinely dangerous person. We will be watching him very
carefully." But in the end, society again is left to deal with another
outspoken extremist who will have freedom to inspire other radicals.
One final case study involves the self-proclaimed leader of ISIS, Abu
Bakr Al Baghdadi. Baghdadi was imprisoned in 2004 during the Battle of
Fallujah. He was incarcerated at Campa Bucca with what turned out to be the
future ISIS leadership. Some reveled in the
opportunity.
"We could never have all got together like this in Baghdad, or
anywhere else," one jihadist told the Guardian in 2014. "It would have
been impossibly dangerous. Here, we were not only safe, but we were only a
few hundred metres away from the entire al-Qaida leadership."
The well-publicized torture taking place at the Abu Ghraib prison may
have been a factor in sparking radicalization inside Camp Bucca. U.S.
military leadership saw the Abu Ghraib abuses as an incubator for insurgent recruiting and
networking. When Baghdadi was released from Camp Bucca, he initiated and
led one of the world's deadliest terrorist efforts in history. The U.S.
military can't be blamed, as it was just trying to round up evil throughout
the country and keep it from carrying out widespread attacks.
But, rather than providing Baghdadi with a path toward a more peaceful
life, his time in custody only fueled his obsession with jihad.
These four short case studies provide some interesting insight into what
prisons can or cannot do. Nevertheless, for terrorists in particular,
prison appears to provide some with an opportunity to bolster their
credentials. It further appears to provide a platform for networking,
radicalizing, and even generating an organizational hierarchy in some
cases.
In the end, society is left with a well-intentioned system that
unfortunately has to release hardened Islamists into a free society. We
have to reevaluate what we're doing with these extremists while they serve
their sentences. They're captive, and their schedule is controllable. It
may be time for some hard discussions.
Brig Barker is a retired FBI counterterrorism agent and former Army
officer. He is now the CEO of Red
Rock Global Security Group.
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