Pentagon says Internet helps in terrorist recruiting, radicalisation

Washington, Mar.11 : Militant and terrorist groups are using the Internet to streamline their terrorist recruiting, radicalization, and training, the Pentagon has claimed.

American defense ministry officials said that the Nigerian man -- Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab -- who allegedly attempted to blow up an American airliner on Christmas Day was contacted, recruited, and trained in just six weeks.

According to the Christian Science Monitor (CSM), that was much faster than the two and a half years it took for Osama bin Laden to hatch the plan to attack the US nine years ago.

While the two plans vary widely in scope, the faster time frame indicates how adaptive radicalized groups and individuals have become, say experts.

"They have really improved their ability to radicalize people and bring them into the fight, which of course severely hampers our ability to disrupt and get ourselves involved in the process," CSM quoted Garry Reid, deputy assistant secretary of Defense, as saying in testimony before a Senate panel Wednesday.

The Senate subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities held a hearing Wednesday as US officials were sorting out the case of Ms. LaRose.

American counter-terrorism officials have learned how to go after terrorist networks and "sub-networks," but the individuals and smaller groups are much harder to pinpoint.

The US must engage in many ways and at all levels to get at the root causes of radicalization.