The NSA has been collecting details about the online sexual
activity of prominent Islamist radicals in order to undermine them, according
to a new Snowden document published by the Huffington Post.
The American surveillance agency targeted six unnamed
"radicalisers", none of whom is alleged to have been involved in terror
plots.
One document argues that if the vulnerabilities they are
accused of were to be exposed, this could lead to their devotion to the
jihadist cause being brought into question, with a corresponding loss of
authority.
As an example of vulnerabilities, it lists: "Viewing
sexually explicit material online or using sexually persuasive language when
communicating with inexperienced young girls."
The names of the six targeted individuals have been
redacted. One is listed as having been imprisoned for inciting hatred against
non-Muslims. Under vulnerabilities, the unnamed individual is listed as being
involved in "online promiscuity" as well as possibly misdirecting
donations.
Shawn Turner, press spokesman for the US director of
national intelligence, in an email to the Huffington Post, said it was not
surprising the US government "uses all of the lawful tools at our disposal
to impede the efforts of valid terrorist targets who seek to harm the nation
and radicalise others to violence".
The article was written by the former Guardian journalist
Glenn Greenwald, who met the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong in
May and was given a large cache of leaked documents.
One of the documents says the aim is to look at "six
prominent, globally resonating foreign radicalisers", the audiences they
reach and potential vulnerabilities.
It says: "Communications profiles of these
English-language radicalisers reveal that very few of contacts noted were
associated with terrorism, suggesting that the target audience includes
individuals who do not yet hold extremist views but who are susceptible to the
extremist message."
Vulnerabilities identified include: "publishes articles
without checking facts"; "deceitful use of funds"; "charges
exorbitant speaking fees"; "attracted to fame"; and
"glamorous lifestyle".
One of the six is described as a "US person",
meaning a citizen or permanent resident, but the others are not identified
other than to say they are living outside the US. A document said a significant
proportion of their audience was in Pakistan.
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