Katherine Neal_Case Study 2

Katherine Neal
Case Study 2
For this case study, main references include the articles assigned in class fromThe
Atlantic and Taylor & Francis Online, as well as evidence gathered from open sources. Such
evidence includes the Huffington Post and Citizens for Global Solutions. Links to these sources
can be found at the end of this analysis in the bibliography.
The threat of ISIS is largely based in the fact that it is an ideology. This ideology is a very
fundamental, literal interpretation of the Koran and Islamin general. Members of ISIS are seen
as radicals across the globe, including the majority population of Muslims. The issues facing
U.S. policymakers is how to figure out ISIS’ objective(s) and how to stop them. This is more
difficult because ISIS has no formal structure or organization. In addition, ISIS has begun using
tradecraft such as burner phones and encrypted laptops.1 This makes tracking potential
members of ISIS much harder.
For the purposes of this case study, the puzzle will be specifically how ISIS uses social
media to recruit new members and spread propaganda in the U.S.; and to that end, how can
they be stopped?
Social media has been a very effective tool for ISIS recruiters due to the open nature of
the Internet. Without putting severe censorship in place, surpassing even the level imposed by
the Chinese Communist Party, there is no way to stop someone from visiting whatever site he
or she wants. Putting such censorship in place is against American civil liberties, and is
therefore impossible.
U.S. policymakers have been attempting to stop ISIS as if ISIS were a state-level threat.
This has been ineffective overall due to the loose affiliation between ISIS members. The key to
stopping an idea is to discredit it and remove any authority those who represent it may hold.
This means not doing what ISIS wants the U.S. to do: invade Syria with the intent to ‘stop ISIS’2
the same way the U.S. invaded Iraq to stop al-Qaeda. To do so would be to play into the
jihadists’ plans and lend credence to their idea “…the United States wants to embark on a
modern day Crusade and kill Muslims”3. Therefore, other options must be considered.
The evidence suggests that ISIS has dedicated recruiters who troll the Internet looking
for likely candidates for recruitment.4 These potential recruits all share a number of attributes:
young, possibly teenaged, who post about Islam and watch videos on YouTube of Islamic clerics
giving furious speeches meant to incite reaction.5 These candidates are also somewhat isolated,
or ISIS isolates them during the recruitment process.6
One possible way to find out what ISIS wants and how it works, and thus dismantle it,
could be a CIA covert action. The covert action (CA) would be intended to infiltrate the ISIS
network through social media: their main area for recruitment. A fake online I.D. would be
created through sites which ISIS already uses heavily: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.7 At
first, the online profiles should look harmless enough: the usual posts of pictures, status
updates, and so on. Over time, posts about Islamshould begin to show up on the Facebook
timeline or as a Twitter hashtag. After some months, links to YouTube videos of radical Islamic
clerics should be posted with descriptions to indicate the user’s agreement with the argument
on the video. As time passes, the “user” should post more and more pro-radical Islamic

material and statements of feeling like an outsider within his or her community. This should
draw the attention of an ISIS recruiter, who should then reach out to make contact.
Ideally, the exchange between the alleged recruit and the ISIS recruiter will continue
long enough to extract information about techniques used in the recruitment process. This
exchange cannot be maintained indefinitely, because the evidence suggests that there will
come a point when the recruiter will want to make visual or in-person contact with the
potential recruit.7 In the case that this happens, an operative trained in undercover operations
must be prepared to play the part of the recruit. If the recruiter wishes to Skype the “recruit”, a
room must be prepared that bears no government markings, and the signal sent through
multiple IP addresses to disguise its government origin.
If the recruiter wishes to meet the potential recruit in person, a tactical team should be
in place to apprehend the ISIS recruiter. The arrest should be made as covertly as possible to
avoid alerting other ISIS members via U.S. media coverage. The recruiter’s phone, tablet,
computer, and all other electronic devices should be confiscated so he or she cannot alert other
recruiters of the capture. Capturing the recruiter should only be used in this situation, and as a
last resort.
The recruiter should then be interrogated using standard techniques. The person
conducting the interrogation should be trained in interrogation techniques and speak fluent
Arabic, because the ISIS recruiter might attempt to speak Arabic to avoid answering questions.
This method of covert action would be best employed by creating multiple fake recruits. This
will allow for the maximum possible collection of information.
Evidence also suggests that ISIS is recruiting Muslims who feel as if they are outsiders.8
ISIS manipulates these people into thinking that being a member of ISIS will give them what
they want: acceptance in a community. Therefore, in order to remove the appeal of this
thinking, programs should be put in place that allow Muslims and non-Muslims to interact
peacefully. This should be done initially on a neutral site. These programs would allow both
sides to see the other as human beings rather than as a stereotype. Learning to view each
other as human beings will reduce “Islamophobia” and the feeling of being on the outside. If
Muslims in America feel that they have a community that welcomes them, it will be much
harder for ISIS to isolate them or to prey on pre-existing feelings of isolation.
One excellent example of this idea in practice is what happened when an Islamic center
was to be opened across from Heartsong Church in Memphis, Tennessee. The church members
were upset at first, but after a great deal of prayer decided to give the Muslims a chance. The
center was supposed to be ready by the start of Ramadan. When it wasn’t, the members of the
Islamic Center asked the church members if they could borrow their building for a couple days.
They stayed the whole month of Ramadan, and the members of both sides became friends.9
This acceptance by the local community might possibly have prevented ISIS from recruiting the
members of the Memphis Islamic Center based on feelings of exclusion and isolation.
Stopping ISIS will be accomplished by more than military might. ISIS is based on an
extremist ideology bent on reviving Medieval style Islamin the world.10 Due to the
unconventional nature of this group, unconventional methods must be used to combat its
influence. Currently, the U.S. is using air strikes and proxy warfare to “slowly bleed” ISIS of
resources.11 This has been somewhat effective, but to truly stop ISIS the idea behind the
organization must be extinguished. To do this, the U.S. should continue using the current

military tactics in conjunction with covert actions and social programs. Employing these
methods will serve a dual purpose: 1) protect the lives of U.S. citizens, and 2) stop the threat of
ISIS. These methods, though effective, will not be easy to implement: they require time,
dedication, and determination. However, if the necessary effort is put forth, the U.S. will see an
overall increase in its national security and in the security of international community as a
whole.

Endnotes
1. Online Publication. Mehta, Ivan. Huffington Post. “How ISIS Uses Social Media As a
Hunting Ground For Recruits in India”. 22 March 2016.
www.huffintgtonpost.in/2016/03/22/how-isis-uses-social-media-as-a-hunting-ground-
for-recruits-in-i/. Accessed 27 September 2016. Background.
2. Online Publication. Wood, Graeme. The Atlantic. “What ISIS Really Wants”. March 2015.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/.
Accessed 27 September 2016. Background.
www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/03/22/how-isis-uses-social-media-as-a-hunting-ground-
www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/03/22/how-isis-uses-social-media-as-a-hunting-ground-
6. Online Publication. Barrow, Victoria. Citizens for Global Solutions. “ISIS Recruitment:
Social Media, Isolation, and Manipulation”. 4 December 2015.
www.globalsolutions.org/blog/2015/12/ISIS-Recruitment-Social-Media-Isolation-and-
Manipulation#.V-spT6OZPVo. Accessed 27 September 2016. Background.
7. Online Publication. Farwell, James P. Taylor and Francis Online. “The Media Strategy of
ISIS”. 25 November 2014.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00396338.2014.985436?scroll=top&needAcces
s=true. Accessed 27 September 2016. Background.
8. Online Publication. Barrow, Victoria. Citizens for Global Solutions. “ISIS Recruitment:
Social Media, Isolation, and Manipulation”. 4 December 2015.
www.globalsolutions.org/blog/2015/12/ISIS-Recruitment-Social-Media-Isolaton-and-
Manipulaton#.V-spT6OZPVo. Accessed 27 September 2016. Background.
9. Online Publication. Upworthy.com, Starbucks. “What happens when a Muslim center
opens up across from a Christian church? Community”. 9 September 2016.
www.upworthy.com/what-happens-when-a-muslim-center-opens-up-across-from-a-
christian-church-community. Accessed 28 September 2016. Background.

11. Online Publication. Wood, Graeme. The Atlantic. “What ISIS Really Wants.” March 2015.

Katherine Neal_Case Study 2

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