ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Associated Press
07March2011 10:00amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: STERLING, Va. — Muslim Americans are not part of the terrorism problem facing the U.S. – they are part of the solution, a top White House official said Sunday at a Washington-area mosque.
Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough set the Obama administration's tone for discussions as tensions escalate before the first in a series of congressional hearings on Islamic radicalization. The hearings, chaired by New York Republican Peter King, will focus on the level of cooperation from the Muslim community to help law enforcement combat radicalization.
The majority of the recent terror plots and attempts against the U.S. have involved people espousing a radical and violent view of Islam. Just a few weeks ago a college student from Saudi Arabia who studied chemical engineering in Texas was arrested after he bought explosive chemicals online. It was part of a plan to hide bomb materials inside dolls and baby carriages and blow up dams, nuclear plants or the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.
King said the Muslim community could and should do more to work with law enforcement to stop its members from radicalizing and recruiting others to commit violence.
"I don't believe there is sufficient cooperation" by American Muslims with law enforcement, King said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "Certainly my dealings with the police in New York and FBI and others say they do not believe they get the same – they do not give the level of cooperation that they need." (read full report)
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