The Simon Wiesenthal Center argued in a presentation to Congress members that the West must counter the Internet battle waged by terrorists.
The presentation on Capitol Hill Wednesday was sponsored by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), its ranking member.
“The U.S. and the world have yet to formulate an online campaign to reverse the progress al-Qaida and its allies in the battle for the hearts and minds of young Muslims,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the center’s associate dean, said at the presentation, which included postings from Web sites affiliated with al-Qaida. “On the eve of the sixth anniversary of 9/11, we have to be honest with ourselves. Al-Qaida and others who promote a culture of death are winning the battle of the Internet. From command-and-control to recruitment, they are ahead of the curve.”
