Radical movements bent on violence are nothing new. The Internet, however, has dramatically expanded the ability of radical groups to recruit, train, motivate and coordinate terrorists over vast distances without direct contact. Recent events suggest that the Internet is playing a significant role in radicalizing people in our country.

On the night of May 7, FBI agents arrested six men in New Jersey for plotting to attack Fort Dix in order to kill American soldiers. These violent extremists were living within our borders, three of them illegally. They appear to have had no direct communication with foreign terrorists, but were inspired and motivated in some measure by violent messages and videos available over the Internet.

The Fort Dix story is not unique. In late April, for example, three British Muslims went on trial in London on charges that included using websites and e-mails to urge terrorist acts both inside and outside the United Kingdom. The prosecutor said, “Each of them was adept at the use of computers and the Internet, and primarily by that means they each demonstrated ... an avid adherence to the need for violent holy war.” At the same time, a federal court in Toledo, Ohio, heard charges against five men that included distributing information on bomb-making that they had downloaded from the Internet. They await trial.

The Internet has become an electronic superhighway for delivering radical materials — texts, images, speeches, music and videos — to target audiences of the curious or the committed in distant or hostile locations.

The recruiting and reference materials on the Web for violent extremists are truly disturbing. Our enemies can consult
websites to learn techniques for shooting down helicopters, to watch videos of hostage beheadings, to read letters left by suicide bombers or to listen to messages from militant leaders.

Most of the groups on the U.S. State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations have websites. Those sites can serve as forums to plan and coordinate operations, as well as to finance their murderous activities. Even if there were no websites, the Internet would still allow radicalizing messages as well as operational instructions to be passed along by e-mail.

We do not yet know if the use of the Internet rivals or even exceeds the importance of community-based and personal recruitment. It does, however, represent a troubling extension of their reach — easy, inexpensive, immediate and powerful. As journalist Tina Brown has observed, “The conjunction of 21st-century Internet speed and 12th-century fanaticism has turned our world into a tinderbox.”

We must find answers to some urgent questions: What is the role of the Internet in radicalizing, recruiting and financing terrorists? What techniques and appeals are used? Are Internet sites targeting potential recruits in our country? How can we shape effective countermeasures?

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and I recently presided at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on this issue. This was our third hearing on the domestic threat of violent Islamist extremism. The testimony we heard from experts was alarming. George Washington University’s Frank Cilluffo explained that Internet chat rooms and password-protected forums are being used as tools for recruiting and coordinating terrorists. Our witnesses noted that the documents, videos and other material on extremists’ Internet sites can be downloaded, copied repeatedly to CDs or DVDs and passed on for viewing by anyone with a computer, even if they have no Internet connection themselves.

Our witnesses’ testimony offered some encouragement, however, because it demonstrated that federal agencies are working hard to counter this threat. In addition, considerable research is under way to help us better to understand the triggers for radicalization.

The appeal of violent Islamic extremism rests in part on distorted readings of religious texts and on falsehoods about America and other democracies. One weapon against terrorism is, therefore, to increase the flow of accurate information about America and its tradition of religious freedom — and to work harder at engaging moderate Muslims in the fight against extremist violence. That will help to undercut the credibility and appeal of the extremists’ propaganda as they seek new recruits.

While that vital work proceeds, of course, we must continue to monitor and defend ourselves against violent extremists’ use of websites and online forums. I will continue working with other members of Congress and the federal agencies we oversee to resist the perversion of the World Wide Web into a weapon of worldwide war.


Collins is the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.