The " Terror " Dividend !

We are naturally concerned at the prospect of battle hardened terrorists returning to Australia from the IS war in the Middle East but the methods IS uses to control it's troops could deliver a huge intelligence dividend.   It is encouraging to learn that in Germany about two hundred jihadist fighters have returned to that country and about one in five are giving active assistance to the intelligence services.

The IS recruitment appeals to impressionable young men with dreams of adventure.   The reality of their inclusion in IS ranks is completely different.   They are treated with suspicion and absolute submission is demanded.   Passports and mobile phones are confiscated and it is made quite clear that they will obey all orders given, even if those orders go against their moral conscience.   The penalty for refusing an order is instant death.

The IS recruiters and trainers use a "test of courage " to ensure their message gets through.  A prisoner is picked at random and the new jihadist is ordered to commit murder - and often in a grisly manner by using a knife instead of a gun - and that's where human nature works in our favour.

It seems that this brutality fails to connect some of these recruits to the IS cause.  They have no option than to obey, but it is done with revulsion.  It is evident that those returning to their home countries contain a percentage who can be easily "turned " - and as the German experience shows, that can be the turning of the tide when it comes to terror on the home front.

A jihadist sickened by the sheer brutality of IS and the slaughter of other Muslims just because they do not embrace the fanatical concept of the religion that IS favours will quickly lose the iron grip exerted on the battlefield.   Back in normal surroundings that is a person who knows the "who "and the "where "and the "what " of what is being planned in the mosque.   In the eyes of IS, that person is a trusted convert - and that could prove to be the "Achilles heel "of  home grown terrorism.

The IS leadership seems intent in glorifying brutality and is quick to place videos on the Internet for all to see - and terrify their enemies.   The fiery death of a downed Jordanian pilot probably had a counter reaction from many Muslims.  That man was clearly a prisoner of war and IS was signalling that it was conducting total war.   In place of terror it probably produced disgust in the broad Muslim diaspora.   Perhaps those that plan their propaganda are a little lacking in the psychology department.

We need to use psychology in establishing liaison with returnees to take advantage of the revulsion IS is creating in their better cultured recruits.   The olive branch will be more productive than the whip.  We certainly need to maintain vigilance, but we should be careful to nurture a welcome for those who have turned away from the violence to which they have been exposed.  It would be a tragedy if a heavy handed interrogation from the security people undid the softening that being reunited with loved ones and a return to the placid life of the Australian community was having as a comparison with the death and violence of the IS battlefield.

It is evident that the gung-ho which many recruits take with them when they choose to fight for IS quickly evaporates when they experience the reality of mindless terror.   Carefully marshaled this resentment can be turned into a tool to allow us to fight back and destroy from within.   Perhaps IS has more to fear from returnees - than the Australian community at large !