Fairy tales begin with “Once upon a time……..”
The best way to beat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s success at recruiting Westerners is for moderate Muslims to step up and counter the message, the commander of NATO forces in Europe said Monday.
U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove said the extremist group’s ability to recruit foreign fighters to come to Syria and Iraq is a “real problem” for the alliance. And it is compounded by concerns about “lone wolf” terror attacks by fighters returning from the Middle East and others inspired by the group’s ideology.
“It’s hard to address recruiting until we address those hearts and minds,” Breedlove told reporters at the Pentagon. “We need to hear the voices of moderate Muslims in the mosques.”
The extremist group has been able to attract what authorities call an unprecedented number of foreign fighters — a study in June put the number at 12,000. Breedlove said he has seen no indication that the U.S.-led campaign of airstrikes against the Islamic State has affected the flow.