DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Security officials around the world need more grass-roots strategies to understand the "radicalization process" and win over extremists with brains-over-brawn outreach such as moderate clerics, said a report Monday at an Interpol gathering in Qatar.
The paper -- compiled by former counterterrorism experts from agencies including the CIA and FBI -- urges authorities to expand traditional intelligence and investigation work to include programs that directly challenge the ideology of groups such as al Qaeda and other factions.
Such efforts are not new. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Indonesia use various methods to try to sway the views of Islamic extremists. The U.S. military also tried to win over captured insurgents in Iraq.
But the study by the Qatar International Academy of Security Studies, a Doha-based think tank, concluded that security agencies generally are falling short. It urged officials to dedicate more resources toward undermining the recruitment efforts of extremist groups and persuading jailed radicals to reject violence once they are freed.
"Many countries have barely begun to think about these issues," said the report, presented at Interpol's general assembly in Qatar that include representatives from the U.S. State Department and Pentagon.
The 56-page document urged a more comprehensive approach by security forces, including identifying radical "hot spots" and using moderate clerics and counselors in prisons to try to temper the views of jailed militants.
It also noted that anti-terror "watch lists" can keep former detainees from rejoining society because of restrictions such as blocks on opening bank accounts.
"Often overlooked is the value of understanding the radicalization process at a local level -- not just why people become engaged in violent extremism but also how," said the report. "Capture and detention are just tools; they are not long-term solutions."
The program manager at the Qatar security studies group, Mark Fallon, said the report did not specifically look at the impact of torture or other tactics used by security agencies, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
But he noted that former detainees interviewed for the report suggested that fair treatment behind bars was a factor in keeping them from rejoining extremist groups.
"The fact they were treated with dignity and humanely was a positive influence on them once they are in custody and continued to be a positive influence years later when they talked to us about, 'What got you to disengage from the battle?'" said Fallon, a former special agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and counterintelligence expert.
The report specifically studied five areas: France, Northern Ireland, Indonesia, Singapore and Britain. The researchers and authors include former members of agencies such as the CIA, FBI and U.S. military intelligence.
Steve Kleinman, a former U.S. military senior interrogator, said security officials have to recognize and counter the "narrative" of extremists groups, such as al-Qaida leaders describing their fight against Western "crusaders."
"It's very clear a driving force -- if not the driving force -- that would take someone down the road from benign existence to violent extremism is ... being presented with, and ultimately buying into, a narrative to take up arms for a specific cause," said Kleinman.
Fallon urged a more "holistic view" as countries evaluate their counterterrorism plans.
"A lot of strategies to counterterrorism are very tactical in nature," he said. "So I hope that folks will look at different strategic engagements not as a social work program ... It's a national security strategy."
Interpol -- a Lyon, France-based international police agency -- most recently was involved in global anti-terrorism efforts by acting as a clearinghouse for details about the mail bombs discovered late last month among cargo shipments in London and Dubai. One of the devices transited through Qatar.
A Yemen-based al Qaeda group has claiming responsibility.
