(TLP:CLEAR) CTC Sentinel – August 2026: A Senior Counterterrorism Practitioner’s View on the Past 25 Years on the Global Fight Against Terrorism
Created: Thursday, September 3, 2026 - 14:05
Categories: Physical Security, Research
Summary: The Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point published its “Sentinel” magazine for August 2026. This latest issue includes an interview with a senior counterterrorism practitioner and an analysis on helping violent extremists de-radicalize and re-enter society.
Analyst Note: The issue’s interview is with Gary Greco, who served for over 40 years in the U.S. intelligence community with the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, he reflects on the events of that day and considers future threats. “Terrorists are always going to be opportunists, but they are also technology driven, and we’re always a step behind,” he warns. Regarding the future terrorist threat he’s most concerned about, he states, “ready access to harmful information, and how rapidly a curious person through a couple of keystrokes on the internet can become co-opted to action by a malign actor. A 13-year-old can now be convinced to action in mere days, where 40 years ago it would have taken years of spotting, assessing, recruitment, training.”
Another article examines the effectiveness of “Exit Comms,” communication campaigns aimed at individual or group-level disengagement from violent extremist (VE) organizations during active conflicts. The authors provide an analytical framework based on five dimensions—audience, messenger, channel, format, and content—to inform Exit Comms’ design and evaluation. “Despite [a] lack of attention to date,” they write, “emerging evidence from cases such as Colombia, Nigeria, and Somalia suggests that Exit Comms can provide an effective tool for increasing exit rates from VE organizations.” The last article in the issue assesses how Syria is managing the foreign fighters who remain in the country since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
Original Source: https://ctc.westpoint.edu/ctc-sentinel/
Additional Reading:
Related WaterISAC PIRs: 2