Young Muslims in the Netherlands are being recruited for armed terrorism missions against Western targets, the Dutch secret service warned today. In a note to parliament, the agency â known by its Dutch acronym AIVD - repeated its November 2002 warning that recruits are active in the Netherlands. âItâs known that some stayed in a training camp. Others are involved in supporting Islamic terrorism-related activities like arranging money and passports,â the agency said. âStill others are in turn trying to win over other potential recruits.â Since the terror attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, 17 terrorism suspects have been tried in the Netherlands on the basis of information provided by the secret service, including 12 suspects accused of belonging to a recruitment ring. All were acquitted of major offences.
| Y'don't think that might have something to do with the fact that the problem's continuing? |
âIn the past year and a half, there was a noticeable decrease in the age of the group of young men susceptible to recruitment,â the AIVD said. âIn some groups of young Muslims, the wish to take part in jihad appears to be part of youth culture.â The agency said that some Islamic-interest Web sites frequented by young men appeared to be âfascinated with violence.â
| Partly it's a religious thing. Partly it's due to the fact that teenies who've never seen a corpse are fascinated with death and heroism and all that hormone-related stuff... |
âIt definitely canât be ruled out that some of these youths just want to make an impression on their peers with radical behaviour and statements,â the AIVD said.
| That's what I just said... |
The agency said it had also âestablished that some Muslim women, too, foster sympathetic feelings for the violent Islamic struggle. However, they donât play a prominent role in recruiting, as far as is known.â
| Teeny babes are relegated for the most part to admiring the antic of the boys. It's a left over trait from when we were ground monkeys. Chimps and gorillas act about the same way. They settle down when they mature, usually. Occasionally humans do, too. |
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