Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 55 them by finding virtual networks online, or in youth clubs and places of worship. The local community, by remaining disinterested in its youth, misses the cues that indicate the process of radicalization, as was the case with the Millennial Plot bombers in Montreal. Having been seen as “a bunch of guys” involved in petty crimes, living in an apartment on welfare, they were not taken seriously by the authorities, although their circle revolved around Kamel, who undergone military training and fought jihad in Bosnia (Sageman, 2004). Perhaps, this lapse in judgment was due to the same British multicultural approach that Canada has adopted to its immigration policies. However, the process of radicalization apart from social isolation also involves the desire to affect political change. Krueger (2007) posits that terrorism is akin to voting. High opportunity cost of time, such as high paying job, should discourage people from voting, but on the contrary, it is precisely them who vote, because they care about influencing the outcome and consider themselves sufficiently informed to express their opinions (Krueger, 2007). Terrorists also care about influencing political outcomes: they care about a cause so deeply that they are willing to die for it. Terrorists are responding to geopolitical issues, and understanding the causes of terrorism can help prevent countries from pursuing counterproductive courses of action (Krueger, 2007). IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNTER-TERRORISM The major implication for counter-terrorism in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe is the citizenship of radicalized youths. Since many of these potential recruits are secondgeneration Muslims born in Western Europe or North America, or are recent converts to Islam, they have the freedom to travel internationally without being subjected to rigorous visa requirements. An alarming number of them do not have any prior ties to Muslim identity or religion, and thus they are remaining under the radar of intelligence agencies. At the same time, counter-terrorism policy in both North America and Europe has to take into consideration the impact of foreign policy perceptions on these young potential radicals. If the behavior of U.S. troops overseas will continue to resemble the behavior of colonizing metropolis, the domestic audience will risk increased radicalization, akin to the protests against the war in Vietnam. Thus, there will always be an internal political duel – to rally support for intervention in terrorist infested country, while at the same time to prevent backlash domestically. Countries that occupy other countries are more likely to be the target of terrorist attack (Krueger, 2007). IMPLICATIONS FOR INTELLIGENCE The liberties that legal provisions give to law enforcement in France would be met with the backlash from civil liberties’ protectors in the United States and Canada. The massive data collection by NSA in America that has been raking the news channels for the past months indicates a clear problem for intelligence agencies if they are to combat terrorism effectively. And to add the fuel to the flame, the problem persists with a large volume of data collected by intelligence agents that they are physically unable to sort and compile into comprehensive reports, which would enable law enforcement to apprehend home-grown terrorists. The problem remains with having to decipher whether Internet traffic indicates a potential terrorist, radicalized youth, or a young researcher. While the Internet and mass media are able to disseminate extremist propaganda, perhaps, there is a need to create a cyber-crime unit dedicated to counter-terrorism. Radicalization of Youth as a Growing Concern for Counter-Terrorism Policy ...continued continued...
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