The Department of Homeland Security is poised to spend $35 million on a new Center of Excellence in Terrorism Prevention and Counterterrorism Research. Universities will apply for grants to develop “multidisciplinary, customer-driven solutions while training the next generation of homeland security experts,” according to the press release announcing the Center. “Once awarded, this COE will leverage emerging technologies and analytic techniques to provide innovative solutions for preventing and countering terrorism,” the press release went on to say. The Center “will support academic-led innovation that supports DHS in staying a step ahead of emerging terrorist tactics.”
What does all this mean, exactly?
This publication asked DHS whether the new Center will focus on Islamic jihad, and if so, through what specific projects. A DHS press officer indicated he would put the question to a staff member working on the Center, but initially just provided another grant document instead.
This response being totally inadequate and not what was promised, the Sharia TipSheet contacted the press officer again, writing:
- The document you reference only mentions Islamist terrorism once and does not mention white supremacism or eco-terrorism at all.
- How can anything useful be developed concerning “integrat(ing) technologies and concepts into DHS operations to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism” if no specific group is being examined?
- Similarly, how can anything useful be developed concerning “break(ing) the cycle of recruitment, radicalization, and violence” if no specific group is being examined? Wouldn’t recruitment, for example, differ from group to group?
- Perhaps it is envisioned that specific groups will be the subject of the grants even though they’re not mentioned in the grant announcement. If that is the case, please advise as to what percentage of the Center’s activity is expected to be about:
- Abortion extremism
- Islamist extremism
- animal rights extremism
- environmental extremism
- sovereign citizen extremism
- anarchist extremism
- Puerto Rican extremism
- militia extremism
- white supremacist extremism
- black separatist extremism
- bombing matters
- other (please identify)
- Finally, the document is clearly written from a Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) point of view. Early in the Trump administration, it was reported that DHS was moving away from CVE in several ways. What happened to the initiatives listed below and why doesn’t the document you referenced reflect them?
Changes Initially Made at DHS Regarding CVE
a) rebranding Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) as “terrorism prevention”
b) rebranding CVE as “Countering Islamic Extremism” or “Countering Radical Islamic Extremism”
c) undertaking an end-to-end review of all CVE programs
d) developing a new counterterrorism strategy
e) shifting counterterrorism grants from community engagement to law enforcement
f) cutting staff working on CVE
g) downgrading authority of remaining CVE staff
h) reformulating counterterrorism programs to be risk-based
i) reformulating counterterrorism programs to be intelligence-driven
j) reformulating counterterrorism programs to be proven effective
k) reformulating counterterrorism programs to be focused on front-line actors
l) reorganizing an Office of Terrorism Prevention Partnerships to “lead the charge”
There was no response at all concerning the fate of DHS’ moves away from CVE early in the Trump administration. With regard to the Center of Excellence and its areas of focus, the press officer responded:
I will try to get some more clarity on this issue for you, but in general, we did not itemize specific types of groups so as not to limit the thinking of the potential research. We’re not telling them who to study nor how to study it, but to propose what they would do with those mentioned goals in mind. We are looking to establish a new Center to conduct this research, and want to see what the various universities submit in their proposals.
The press officer later provided an additional response from a program manager:
- For the new Center of Excellence for Terrorism Prevention and Counterterrorism Research, DHS S&T [Science and Technology Directorate] seeks to competitively select the best lead and partner organizations that submit packages outlining the most comprehensive approaches to advance the Department’s ability to mitigate the terrorism threat and to develop, in our workforce, the capacities and capabilities to effectively protect the Homeland. The process solicits input from many subject matter experts outside and inside DHS to comment on the benefits and negative aspects of each of the packages we receive to provide the greatest benefit for the resources invested.
- While not specified in the RFP, we would certainly expect the Center to conduct research projects in the areas you mentioned. This is very early in the process and no formal decisions have yet been made on specific research projects at this stage.
So there you have it. The new Center will spend $35 million on fishing for new ‘comprehensive approaches’ to counter and prevent terrorism. Pardon my cynicism, but it is not at all clear the taxpayers will receive anything of value for their money given the homogenized, generic, CVE-flavored gobbledygook in the press release and grant document. This reminds me of an early experience I had as an intern with muckraker Jack Anderson. I learned that the Energy Department had conducted a study of a new technique to make gasoline burn more efficiently and cleaner at a cost of a penny a gallon. When I called up the Energy Department to find out what happened to the study, I was told that it was sitting on a shelf with all the other studies.
Meanwhile, the Qur’an still says 164 times in various ways to wage jihad against the infidel. The words are still there and they’re not going away. Your government wants you to believe those words had nothing to with the attacks on 9/11, Mumbai, or any of the hundreds of jihad attacks since — that all those attacks were a perversion of Islam, when in fact, the Qur’an is very clear about what is to done with non-Muslims. The Sharia TipSheet has taken on the mission of forcing the issue and getting the federal government to come to grips with the fact that unvarnished Islamic doctrine in and of itself is a threat to the homeland.
That is what my FOIA case against the FBI is about, what my queries above to DHS are about, and what my letters to my contact in the White House are about. Job One for the federal government is to keep people safe, and that can’t happen unless the government admits Islamic doctrine per se is a national security problem. There’s a lot of mindless romanticism about ‘inclusiveness’ these days, but the obvious question is this: why would we want to include people who want to kill or subjugate us?
I will be monitoring the output of the Center of Excellence and reporting on it in future articles. Will it be overloaded with material about the fad du jour (e.g., the supposed threat of white supremacy)? Will it advance the state of the art for dealing with Islamic jihad? Will it say anything about Islamic doctrine at all? Or will it be abstracted mush taking DHS further down the CVE rabbit hole? Only time will tell.
Originally published at Sharia TipSheet.
Wellington says
Orwellianspeak never leads to good results. The Department of Homeland Stupidity is at it again.
CRUSADER says
Why not donate $35 million U$ to Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller
and Tommy Robinson and Brigitte Gabriel , et cetera….
— see how better to funds can be used to combat jihad!??!
REPLACE
Center of Excellence in Terrorism Prevention and Counterterrorism Research
WITH “Battle Tank” :
FREEDOM CENTER !!!
https://www.davidhorowitzfreedomcenter.org/
Identify the enemy —-
Devise ways to defeat him —-
The David Horowitz Freedom Center is unique among conservative think tanks whose emphasis is on public policy and institutional reform in that it sees its role as that of a battle tank, geared to fight a war that many still don’t recognize.
Since its founding in 1988, the Center has been warning that the political left has declared war on America and its constitutional system, and is willing to collaborate with America’s enemies abroad and criminals at home to bring America down. For most of those years the Center was a voice crying in the wilderness with few willing to recognize the threat from the enemy within, a fifth column force that was steadily expanding its influence within the Democratic Party. With the election of a lifetime radical to the White House in 2008, the perceptions of conservatives began to change.
But the Center remains unique as an organization dedicated to the war and to developing strategies to win it.
juleonly says
Will ANYONE on this research team ever just read the Qur’an/Hadith? Will they ever just listen to a few sermons from Mideast, Asia, Gaza, Jerusalem Mosques, Iranian madmen? Who Sponsored this waste?
Stefan Ryznyk says
Exactly! Death to America is their chant!
Westman says
“Center of Excellence for Terrorism Prevention and Counterterrorism Research”
CETPCR – Interesting acronym. Will the new department be cooperative or peckish? Its lack of a narrow mission starement could lead to something similar to the “PreCrime” department of the movie, Minority Report. Then they might arrest conservative leaders for a crime they didn’t commit? Imagine a world where one can be arrested for Driving While Conservative (DWC) and Kathy Griffin is the Prom Queen.
Keys says
Big Brother is watching, and now he even knows what you are thinking.
Turn yourself and your brothers in to be reprogramed, or else you will be droned in your sea of insanity !
We are algorithmically 86% certain of your intentions – and that’s more than enough for what we do.
Naildriver says
This was an important article.
Traitors at work — too many years have passed for there not to have been an enlightenment to the threat of Islam; so, forces of greed in the military industry complex, or the numerous colleges who benefit from Islamic gifts wish to redefine this fact, so as to proceed in business with the enemy that is Islam. The news media wants to maintain its various international offices in Islamic countries to pretend they have a handle on world events; and, oil companies and shipping companies find the lies that Islam isn’t an enemy useful, even the U.S. government spouts national interests in this area, but none yet has asked if this isn’t the collusion Americans should hate; many blacks want to be inclusive with Islam, to play the racist game a bit longer, and exonerate their felonies or the felonies of their family, etc. TREASON.
Certainly the Obama years created this whack a mole mentality, that with ludicrous stupidity, tries to exonerate Islam with the most bizarre rationalizations a mind is capable.
Obama was a TRAITOR if Islam is our enemy — Islam is certainly my enemy … but who am I, but currently a nameless commenter, whose anonymity allows some courage and freedom from threats of immediate murder — but murder me Islam’s devotee’s would! I know it’s not easy to fight Islam; given its pernicious and formless slime mold like spread.
But nevertheless it’s treason that government officials are enabling Islam. They enable Islam by not identifying it for political reasons or obfuscating the danger Islam poses with the inclusion of these other rather non threatening groups, as PETA or white supremacists who may indeed grow in numbers or daring crimes owing to this treason, and new threats to whites presents a whole new potential for mayhem. These kinds of add-ons are indeed dangerous, and should be considered ‘damage’ when traitors are held accountable — with nooses around their necks.
In any case, threats should be dealt with, when in fact they pose a national threat — the DHS has no business involving itself with anything less — and, Islam is the major threat now — because Islam is an enemy to: the people of the USA, the USA Constitution, and humanity itself.
All adults in the USA have had ample opportunity to clearly see this fact; that Islam is our enemy — choose a side, and accept the consequences if you be a traitor, in a very real war.
BTW, There is a place in hell for traitors — you’ll not be exonerated for enabling this enemy that is Islam.
SemiDave says
+3
Patrick says
Why don’t most Americans understand Islam is an unholy, totalitarian, civilization that worships Allah, Muhammad, and jihad. You either submit, die violently, pay taxes and then die. Why doesn’t President Trump declare the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR worldwide terrorist organizations? We (conservative/liberty Americans) need more Anti-Islamic resistance organizations to fight against Islam in America!???✝️❤️?
CRUSADER says
Way to drive a nail home!
Angemon says
blockquote>How can anything useful be developed concerning “integrat(ing) technologies and concepts into DHS operations to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism” if no specific group is being examined?
Indeed.
SemiDave says
Thisis what they could do! Include as required reading , most if not all of the very well researched and accurate books by Mr. Robert Spencer. From there they could develop policies…and wait forvRobert Spencers next book…
Lydia Church says
In plain English:
They will be singling out ‘far right’ extremists… otherwise known as Conservatives, who sometimes go by the label ‘Trump supporters,’ and usually fit the following criteria:
1. Oppose abortion
2. Oppose gay marriage and lgbt indoctrination, etc.
3. Are nationalists, support the Constitution, Bill of Rights, are patriotic
4. Support freedom of speech, the 1st amendment
5. Oppose islam
6. Boycott companies that oppose their beliefs and support those that support their beliefs
7. Pray and protest outside of abortion clinics
8. Homeschool their kids
9. Oppose forced vaccinations
10. Protest transgender curriculum in public schools
11. Protest drag queen story hours in public libraries
12. Vote conservative
13. Oppose mass immigration and open borders
14. Support the 2nd amendment
15. Are white
(Active and patriotic, vigilant Christians…in other words)
By the Left’s reasoning, according to all of the above, we are to be labeled as ‘racists,’ and thus ‘white supremacists’ and ‘white nationalists’ and thus pose a ‘danger’ to society and will soon be ‘eradicated’ by all the leftist loons calling for our ‘excision’ from society at large…
I read about another threat from a heavy metal ‘celebrity’ (Tommy Lee) over on Breitbart against Trump supporters… these are piling up lately, no?
Lydia Church says
16. Supports Israel
and more!
CRUSADER says
Ezekiel 25:17
The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
“Pulp Fiction” Hit Speech :
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vWbN43U19bE
pennant8 says
Here’s a bit of military history that turns out kinda sad. The facility in NW Washington, DC currently occupied by DHS is a former US Navy facility. During WWII it had the innocuous name Naval Communications Annex. But in reality this is where much of the work was done in breaking the German Enigma codes and the Japanese naval codes. This facility worked hand in hand with a US Army facility in Virginia called Arlington Hall. These two facilities also worked hand in hand with the British codebreakers at their top secret facility near London called Bletchley Park. This was real homeland security, with real understanding of who the enemy was. There was no time spent on cranking out all this politically correct gibberish and hokum that takes place there today. What a come-down that facility has suffered since DHS moved in shortly after 9/11.
pennant8 says
One more thing. During WWII it took busloads of mathematicians, and other high IQ people working 24/7 trying to decipher enemy codes. They even invented rudimentary computers to help them along. Our current main enemy today, Islamic jihad, does not use any nearly unbreakable codes, they use plain language in describing their intents. In some ways you might say that the Koran is their codebook. But it has no security classification, they actually hand it out to our military and political leaders free of charge.
Ren says
Islam is the main source of terrorism all over the world for over 1000 years now.
gravenimage says
Department of Homeland Security Goes Further Down the Countering Violent Extremism Rabbit Hole
……………
More denial of reality.
CRUSADER says
Transatlantic Legislative Group on Counter Terrorism
TLGCT
Anyone looked this alphabet up.
UNCLE VLADDI says
Er ….er … it’s really just evidence of more “4D Chess” right, Trumpsters? RIGHT?
Steve Souchet says
Giving this task to our Universities is rather like have the fox guard the hen-house
How about “The Center for Security Policy ” https://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/ They already have all of the experts
Linda Rivera says
I immediately thought this was ISLAM ADORING-SHARIA LOVING Britain!!!!! No. It’s America !!!
God help America.