RETURNEE FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS (FTFs): EVOLVING THREATS AND RESPONSE STRATEGY

This article examines the evolving security threat posed by returnee Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), particularly those who traveled to fight with ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and it analyzes the necessary response strategies. The study assesses the diverse nature of the threat posed by returnees, which ranges from the potential for them to carry out attacks in their home countries to their role in radicalizing and recruiting others. The research explores the significant challenges that this phenomenon poses for states, including the difficulty of tracking and monitoring returnees, the legal challenges of prosecuting them, and the complex issue of their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. The paper argues that a comprehensive response strategy is required, one that moves beyond a purely punitive approach. This strategy must include a combination of security measures, criminal justice responses, and tailored programs for deradicalization and social reintegration. The analysis concludes that the FTF phenomenon represents a long-term and complex security challenge that requires a sustained and multi-dimensional response.

The collapse of the ISIS "caliphate" in Syria and Iraq created a new and dangerous security threat: the potential return of thousands of experienced and radicalized Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) to their home countries. This paper provides a detailed analysis of this evolving threat and the strategies needed to respond. The first part of the study is a threat assessment. It moves beyond a monolithic view of the FTF to create a typology of the different types of returnees and the different levels of threat they might pose, from the "hardened" operative to the disillusioned and traumatized individual. The core of the article is an in-depth examination of the comprehensive response strategy that is required. This is broken down into several key components. The first is security and intelligence. The paper discusses the immense challenge of identifying and tracking returnees and the need for enhanced international intelligence sharing. The second is the criminal justice response. It explores the legal challenges of gathering battlefield evidence and successfully prosecuting FTFs for their crimes. The third, and perhaps most complex, component is rehabilitation and reintegration. The paper analyzes the different models of "deradicalization" programs and discusses the crucial role of families and communities in the long-term process of social reintegration. The findings suggest that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The paper concludes that effectively managing the FTF threat requires a sophisticated, case-by-case approach that combines robust security measures with a long-term commitment to rehabilitation and reintegration.