Obama announces initiatives to curb recruitment of terrorist groups - Washingtonpost

President Obama argued Wednesday that America must “discredit violent ideologies” if it wants to counter recruiting efforts by the Islamic State andal-Qaeda here at home.

The president, in his keynote speech at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, aimed to strike a balance between addressing the risk of the radicalization of disaffected youths and the need to reassure Muslim Americans that their communities are not being targeted as a source of terrorist plots.

Critics of the president have questioned in recent days why the White House was not using the term “radical Islam” to describe the target of its counterterrorism efforts. Obama emphasized that “there is no one profile of a violent extremist or terrorist. . . . It’s not unique to one group or to one geography or one period of time.”

“But we are here at this summit because of the urgent threat from groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL,” he said, using a term to refer to the Islamic State. “And this week, we are focused on prevention, preventing these groups from radicalizing, recruiting or inspiring others to violence in the first place.”

A group of community leaders, law enforcement officials, philanthropists and representatives from the private sector gathered at the White House on Wednesday to discuss whether three pilot programs in Boston, Los Angeles, and the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul could serve as national models for averting radicalism among Muslim youths.

Obama spoke repeatedly about the “need to be honest” about extremists and the diversity within the Muslim community, noting that many Muslim Americans have grown weary of hearing from federal officials on the issue of terrorism.

“Engagement with communities can’t be a cover for surveillance. It can’t securitize our relationship with Muslim Americans, dealing with them solely through the prism of law enforcement,” he said as the audience applauded in response. 

Even as the country wages this fight, Obama concluded that Americans should not lose sight of the fact that Muslims are an integral part of U.S. society. He recalled how he recently received a Valentine’s Day card from an 11-year-old named Sabrina who wrote to him,“I am worried about people hating Muslims. If some Muslims do bad things, that doesn’t mean all of them do.”

“And she asked, ‘Please tell everyone that we are good people and we’re just like everyone else,’ ” Obama said. “That is how we discredit violent ideologies, by making sure her voice is lifted up, by making sure she is nurtured, making sure that she is supported.”   Read More at Obama announces initiatives 

Obama announces initiatives to curb recruitment of terrorist groups