Because terrorists are made, not born, it is critically important to world peace that detainees and inmates influenced by violent ideology are deradicalized and rehabilitated back into society. Exploring the challenges in this formidable endeavor, Terrorist Rehabilitation: The U.S. Experience in Iraq demonstrates through the actual experiences of military personnel, defense contractors, and Iraqi nationals that deradicalization and rehabilitation programs can succeed and have the capability to positively impact thousands of would-be terrorists globally if utilized to their full capacity.
Custodial and community rehabilitation of terrorists and extremists is a new frontier in the fight against terrorism. This forward-thinking volume:
Highlights the success of a rehabilitation program curriculum in IraqEncourages individuals and governments to embrace rehabilitation as the next most logical step in fighting terrorismExamines the recent history of threat groups in IraqDemonstrates where the U.S. went awry in its war effort, and the steps it took to correct the situationDescribes religious, vocational training, education, creative expression, and Tanweer programs introduced to the detainee populationProvides insight into future steps based on lessons learned from current rehabilitation programsIt is essential that we shift the focus from solely detainment and imprisonment to addressing the ideological mindset during prolonged incarceration. It is possible to effect an ideological transformation in detainees that qualifies them to be reclassified as no longer posing a security threat. This volume demonstrates that with the proper program and encouragement, a detainee's misunderstanding or extremist ideology can be replaced with the principles of moderation, toleration, and coexistence.
Ami Angell, PhD, LLM, is a research fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She has spent a substantial amount of time working in the Middle East, including 44 months in Iraq (2005-2008) and 24 months in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. She also has worked and lived in Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, Italy, Switzerland, England and, most recently, Singapore.
Rohan Gunaratna, PhD,
is a specialist of the global threat environment, with expertise in threat groups in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He is head of Singapore's International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), one of the largest specialist counter terrorism research and training centers in the world. He is also a professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
