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White House unveils new strategy to counter radicalization

03 August 2011 22:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The White House on Wednesday unveiled a new strategy to prevent extremism in the United States, as a number of incidents like the Fort Hood shooting spree have underscored a rising threat of home-grown terrorism, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The strategy, entitled "Empowering local partners to prevent violent extremism in the United States," features a community- based approach to achieve that objective.

"The United States relies on a broad range of tools and capabilities that are essential to prevent violent extremism in the United States, emphasizing, in particular, the strength of communities as central to our approach," according to the document posted on the White House website.

Communities should play a central role because they are best placed to recognize and confront the threat as violent extremists are targeting their children, families, and neighbors, the document said.

On the part of the federal government, its most effective role in strengthening community partnerships and preventing violent extremism is as a "facilitator, convener, and source of information," it said.

In recent years, home-grown terrorism has drawn increasing attention from the U.S. intelligence community and law enforcement agencies, as terrorist groups have redoubled their efforts to recruit native Americans to carry out attacks.

In a broader counter-terrorism blueprint released in June, entitled "National Strategy for Counterterrorism", the White House said the plan is focused on home-grown terrorism, the ability of al-Qaida and its network to "inspire people in the United States to attack us from within."

Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, is a multi-ethnic city where security situation is among the worst in Iraq. Iraqi security forces, government officials and employees are frequently targeted by insurgents there.