GOP Leaders Want to EXPAND Obama's Failed 'Countering Violent Extremism' Programs

The House passed the “Countering Terrorist Radicalization Act” last month — which doesn’t actually counter terrorist radicalization — with overwhelming Republican support.

Now, House GOP leadership — including Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Homeland Security chairman Mike McCaul — are pushing H.R. 5611, which would expand Obama’s failed “Countering Violent Extremism” (CVE) agenda. This bill would add more funding and infrastructure to the Department of Homeland Security’s existing CVE apparatus despite it having proved to be a major flop with no discernible results.

As I noted here at PJ Media back in April, the administration’s CVE policies are collapsing into absurdity:

These programs are also a practical failure in preventing violent extremism. Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported on one Somali youth leader in Minneapolis associated with government-funded CVE programs who later attempted to join the Islamic State.

Remarkably, as the Obama CVE programs are in complete meltdown, Republican leaders such as Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and conservative organizations such as the Heritage Foundation are openly embracing Obama’s CVE agenda — and even calling for its expansion.

Using the stated goals established by the White House, the CVE programs are a failure by every measure. Further, the McCarthy/McCaul bill will expand Homeland Security’s community engagement programs at the very time that the existing engagement pilot programs are being openly rejected by the targeted communities in the cities they are intended to serve:

Community leaders reported 1st #CVE programs in Minneapolis, Boston & LA caused American Muslims to live in climate of fear- @arjunsethi81

— Arab American Inst. (@AAIUSA) May 18, 2016

The programs are such a disaster that NPR had to report earlier this year that even if the CVE programs don’t work, they are somehow still mystically beneficial to the community.

The community that has had the worst radicalization problem in America — the Minnesota Twin Cities area — has had considerable CVE cash rained down on it without any success:

You likely missed it but Minneapolis quietly got $650,000 dollars to implement #CVE programs which is a big deal. https://t.co/FvV2ueKTnO

— Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) February 2, 2016

The Associated Press recently reported on the case of Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame, who was involved in the city’s CVE programs and yet still tried to join the Islamic State.

Another questionable CVE effort in the Twin Cities has been the “jihadi rehab” program pushed by the federal judge hearing many of the area’s terrorism cases. Results have been, at best, mixed. One review of the program noted that the organization sponsoring the program doesn’t actually have any experience rehabilitating jihadists.

And that the heart of the program is little more than a Social Justice Warrior reading list.

It’s no surprise that two other men who were recently convicted of attempting to join the Islamic State asked to be included in the “jihadi rehab” program, a request that the federal judge denied just yesterday.

In fairness, it’s not just U.S. CVE programs that are failing.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week about a case where a German teenager who was enrolled in a government-sponsored deradicalization program went on to bomb a Sikh temple shortly thereafter.

There have been similar cases, such as this recent one in Australia:

Another ‘Countering Violent Extremism’ #CVE success story ==> https://t.co/aeT6QQqFpw pic.twitter.com/qkTJRKA6tI

— Patrick Poole (@pspoole) April 26, 2016

The obsession by GOP congressional leaders to support failed Obama administration programs (such as the laughable Pentagon Train & Equip program for Syrian rebels) only after those programs are demonstrable failures would make for an interesting psychological study. But it makes for awful public policy.

These GOP leaders are cheered on by a CVE industry of organizations and academic programs that are looking yet again to cash in on their poor judgment. They have no results with which to support continuing the CVE clown show.

H.R. 5611 was pulled yesterday from the House Rules calendar. It is expected to reappear sometime this week before Congress adjourns for the party conventions.