Hi Everyone,

Please read this article in the Wall Street Journal.  It’s by Maajid Nawaz, a young man who was once an extremist.  He de-radicalized himself through an unusual series of events which included being jailed in Egypt, and freed by Amnesty International.

He offers in the article valuable insights into the Islamic extremist mindset, how they gain their successes, and options of how best to overcome them.

My concern continues to be our (United States and the most of the world’s nations) myopic response to terrorism.  There is an unspoken premise that we can simply identify and stop (read: kill) enough terrorists, and then the problem will evaporate.  Force is certainly part of the necessary response to global terrorism.  But it falls very short of solving the problem.

The reality is that Islamic terrorism is like the ancient water monster Hydra.  Strive to stop the Hydra by cutting off one of its heads, and it then grows back two more. Nawaz offers exceptionally valuable insights into how to effectively respond to Islamic terrorism which go much deeper than just cutting off its head.  His perspectives go well beyond the necessary, but nonetheless limited, actions of dealing with terrorism with a military/law enforcement-centric response.

Nawaz founded the organization, Quilliam, a counter-terrorism think tank.

What do you think?

Referenced article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-beat-islamic-state-1449850833