Combatting Domestic Extremism May Require Compromises

The increasingly urgent task of identifying, locating, and rooting out Islamic extremists and prospective jihadists who live, work, study, etc. in the United States may require that law enforcement cooperate with some distasteful people, much to the chagrin of groups that would prefer otherwise.

A handful of counterterrorism and national security groups in Washington have attempted for years to delegitimize the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. The effort stems from documents made public in 2008 linking CAIR's founding to an effort by the Muslim Brotherhood to spread Islamic radicalism to the United States and to raise money for Hamas.

Earlier this year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation cut ties to CAIR due to pressure from such advocacy groups.

Now, however, following news that CAIR helped connect to the FBI American parents worried their sons traveled abroad for jihad, CAIR's usefulness is more apparent. The parents provided information to help authorities investigate their sons' whereabouts, activities, and plans.

To the extent that CAIR and Muslim-American groups like it can help law enforcement root out nascent jihadist networks inside the U.S., then the fact of the matter is -- regardless of how disturbing it may be to hear -- that such groups should have a role in U.S. counterterrorism efforts.

Still, U.S. authorities should trek carefully. Relations with such groups should be contingent upon the extent of their cooperation and the nature of their other activites. But today's domestic counterterrorism challenges may require some flexibility. So long as CAIR is not supporting active terrorist planning, it may prove a useful -- and necessary -- counterterrorism tool. CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, who stood before the media cameras to announce CAIR's assistance to the parents, probably couldn't be more happy with the renewed attention his group is receiving.