According to senior administration officials, the summit beginning this week on countering violent extremism will not focus exclusively on violence from the Islamic State. Although the Islamic terrorist group has killed several Americans, other hostages and innocent people, “one of three officials previewing the summit for reporters on Monday said violent extremists ‘come in all shapes and sizes.'”
The three-day conference will highlight domestic and international efforts to prevent extremists and their supporters from radicalizing, recruiting and inspiring others, particularly disaffected young people. The conference is designed to share best practices and emerging strategies to prevent extremists from carrying out violent acts.
Vice President Joe Biden will open the summit by meeting with representatives from three cities: Boston, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. Each of the cities has programs in place to counter this non-specific, unidentified extremism. The White House wants to “push them forward” and hold them out as an example for the rest of the country.
President Obama will also address a group at the White House on Wednesday that will discuss how other cities are dealing with this non-specified extremism.
Obama will also deliver remarks Thursday at the State Department, where representatives of some 60 countries are scheduled to meet. The White House did not release the complete list of participating countries, though representatives from the United Kingdom, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are expected to attend, one of the officials said.
Numerous representatives will attend the summit from the private sector, social media and non governmental organizations.
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