How to recruit lonely young women to jihad

[MillCreek]

http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/islamic-state-group-and-a-lonely-young-american-woman/

As I read the article, I was struck by the resemblance to the same methods I have read about to recruit someone to a cult.  But updated to social media times.

[Hawkmoon]

He gave his word he would not contact Alex again.

Alex agreed to hand over the passwords to her Twitter and email accounts.

Waiting until her grandparents were out, Alex logged into Skype, the one account her family had forgotten to shut down.

Faisal wrote her right away, and months later they are still exchanging messages. “I told her I would not communicate with you,” he wrote. “But I lied.”

Of course he lied. Fundamental to Islam is that it's acceptable to lie to infidels in the cause of Islam. Which (unfortunately) means that no westerner can ever believe anything a Muslim says. It's the grown-up equivalent of little kids making promises with their fingers crossed behind their backs.

[vaskidmark]

It's called "grooming".  It's what you use after someone triggers on the propoganda.

This explains why you need to keep a checklist of Things To Do, and perhaps a tech geek -

In late March, Alex’s grandmother decided to confront the man she believed was trying to recruit Alex to the Islamic State.

The family gathered in the living room, Alex’s computer propped on the glass coffee table, with a New York Times reporter and videographer watching. Her grandmother logged in using Alex’s Skype ID.

“You need to know she is very important to us,” she wrote. “Why would you EVER think that we would let her leave us under the circumstances you were asking?”

He gave his word he would not contact Alex again.

Alex agreed to hand over the passwords to her Twitter and email accounts.

Waiting until her grandparents were out, Alex logged into Skype, the one account her family had forgotten to shut down.

Forgetting to shut down the Skype account.  Not taking over administrative control of her computer, and not installing any "net nanny" program.  Difficult things to think of while in the moment.

Perhaps the only good thing, so far as we are being told, is that she was not recruited by the intelligence community to be a double agent.

stay safe.

[BlueStarLizzard]

It's called "grooming".  It's what you use after someone triggers on the propoganda.

This explains why you need to keep a checklist of Things To Do, and perhaps a tech geek -

Forgetting to shut down the Skype account.  Not taking over administrative control of her computer, and not installing any "net nanny" program.  Difficult things to think of while in the moment.

Perhaps the only good thing, so far as we are being told, is that she was not recruited by the intelligence community to be a double agent.

stay safe.

Unfortunately, I doubt grandma is all that tech savvy.
I'm betting one of the things they look for in victims is their families and friends are not likely to be able to stop communications.

The article does make me wonder if I could net some of these bastards. I've got the right kind of background for one of their victims.

[vaskidmark]

Unfortunately, I doubt grandma is all that tech savvy.
I'm betting one of the things they look for in victims is their families and friends are not likely to be able to stop communications.

The article does make me wonder if I could net some of these bastards. I've got the right kind of background for one of their victims.

But could you keep a straight keyboard?

And as for family/friends being able to stop communications - She is 23 years old so it's going to be hard to monitor her net use like you would a pre-teen.  Which is why regular conversation about how your day went/what's new/who did you talk to can be of great help even if there is no grooming going on.  Evasiveness has always been a warning sign.  You may not always be able to do something about it, but being aware improves the odds as long as you do not act like a complete jerk.

stay safe.

[BlueStarLizzard]

But could you keep a straight keyboard?

And as for family/friends being able to stop communications - She is 23 years old so it's going to be hard to monitor her net use like you would a pre-teen.  Which is why regular conversation about how your day went/what's new/who did you talk to can be of great help even if there is no grooming going on.  Evasiveness has always been a warning sign.  You may not always be able to do something about it, but being aware improves the odds as long as you do not act like a complete jerk.

stay safe.

For money? Yeah, I could fake it. Well, I could do it on the keyboard. I'd probably have issues on Skype, even with the cameras turned off. Sarcasm is always my downfall. I wonder what the resale on some of that crap is?

Again, the better target will be someone who has family that is oblivious. In fact, oblivious, out of touch family would probably be part of why the victim is so lonely and eager for friends. *shrug* I'm betting Grandma always had trouble keeping up with the girl. In family's like that, with limited income and lot's going on, the quiet one tends to get left alone.

[Jocassee]

Key passage:

Her therapist says that fetal alcohol syndrome, which has left Alex with tremors in her hands, has also contributed to a persistent lack of maturity and poor judgment.

I genuinely pity this girl: her generation and situation opened her up for all types of abuse. Not just the *expletive deleted*er in question. Speaking of:

He was arrested a second time in 2000, along with another Bangladeshi immigrant. In a trash bag left outside a building where the two had met, investigators found plastic gloves, a kitchen scale and traces of the explosive HMTD, according to news reports. On Mostafa’s computer, they found a document, “Mujahedin Explosives Handbook.”

While his co-defendant received a 20-year sentence for plotting a large-scale explosion, Faisal Mostafa was acquitted.

On March 25, 2009, he was arrested during a trip back to Bangladesh after police raided the orphanage run by his charity. According to the court record, investigators determined he had been running a bomb-making factory.

He was repatriated to Britain in 2010 after a nearly one-year detention in Bangladesh.

Is anyone getting shades of the Australia shooting here? This guy is obviously "known to the authorities." Why in the hell is he still on the streets in the West instead of rotting back in The Land of Frogs? (that's if you pronounce it Bang La Desh instead of Bong La Desh)

[Fitz]

Key passage:

I genuinely pity this girl: her generation and situation opened her up for all types of abuse. Not just the *expletive deleted*er in question. Speaking of:

Is anyone getting shades of the Australia shooting here? This guy is obviously "known to the authorities." Why in the hell is he still on the streets in the West instead of rotting back in The Land of Frogs? (that's if you pronounce it Bang La Desh instead of Bong La Desh)

Because the US gov has no interest in actually doing it's goddamn job

[dogmush]

Because the US gov has no interest in actually doing it's goddamn job

Why is it the US Govt's job to jail a Bangladeshi living in the UK?

[Fitz]

Why is it the US Govt's job to jail a Bangladeshi living in the UK?

Sorry, i thought this was a foreigner in the US... which, if he's a jihadi, would be a valid reason to deport him.

Apologies

[dogmush]

No need for apologies, I wondered if you had seen something I missed.

Your comment is accurate enough anyway. It's not like, were he here, we'd be jumping to try him for espionage (Recruiting for a foreign power counts, I believe)  [cough]CAIR[/cough]