Highlighting Counter Extremism Project Experts


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
CEP Spotlight: Hans-Jakob Schindler

Highlighting Counter Extremism Project Experts



New York, N.Y.) — CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler
<[link removed]> is a
sought-after expert in the structure and financial operations of major
terrorist groups, owing to his five years as a member of the ISIL (Da’esh),
al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Team of the U.N. Security Council,
the last three as its coordinator. Dr. Schindler regularly briefed the members
of the Security Council on the global terrorism threat and was responsible for
the development of global counter terrorism sanctions. Dr. Schindler has been
interviewed byZDF
<[link removed]>,
Deutsche Welle <[link removed]>, SRF
<[link removed]>
,USA Today
<[link removed]>
,CNS News
<[link removed]>
,WTOP
<[link removed]>
,ACAMS
<[link removed]>,
and many other media regarding the ramifications of a Taliban takeover in
Afghanistan. Dr. Schindler holds a master’s degree and a PhD in International
Terrorism from St. Andrews University. Prior to his work with the U.N. Security
Council, Dr. Schindler was First Secretary, Political Affairs and Liaison to
the Security Forces at the German Embassy in Tehran and from 2001 to 2005, he
was part of the federal government of Germany's team investigating al-Qaeda in
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia.

Dr. Schindler can be reached directly via email at
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> to
discuss the situation in Afghanistan and the threat of al-Qaeda, the Taliban,
and ISIS. He is also available to comment on terrorist networks—both Islamist
and far-right—in particular, with regards to their recruitment and financing
capabilities.

 

Policy, Research, and Analysis

  

The Threat Posed by Transnational Violent Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism
in Europe and the United States
<[link removed]>
The violent right-wing extremist and terrorist environment in the U.S. and
Europe has developed a distinctly transnational character in its activities and
therefore presents an increasing security threat on both sides of the Atlantic.
In November 2020, CEP released its report, Violent Right-Wing Extremism –
Transnational Connectivity, Definitions, Incidents, Structures and
Countermeasures
<[link removed]>
, commissioned by the German Federal Foreign Office. Dr. Schindler contributed
heavily to the drafting of the report, which focuses on the rise and metastasis
of the violent extreme right-wing (XRW) threat and analyzes its growing
transnational connectivity between 2015-2020 in six countries: Finland, France,
Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. The report is also
available inGerman
<[link removed]>
. In 2021, CEP hosted a series of webinars moderated by Dr. Schindler and
dedicated to the sections of the report. The firstwebinar
<[link removed]>
focused on the current threat landscape and provided an overview and the main
findings of the report. Awebinar
<[link removed]> on
January 18 was dedicated to the situation in France and Germany. Thewebinar
<[link removed]> on
February 9 was focused on the challenges facing the United Kingdom and the
United States, while the fourthwebinar
<[link removed]>
on March 4 highlighted the risk environment in Finland and Sweden. Media
coverage:The New York Times
<[link removed]>,
Lawfare
<[link removed]>
, andHomeland Security News Wire
<[link removed]>
.

 

The Continuing Challenges Posed by the Situation in Afghanistan
<[link removed]>

CEP conducted webinars in September 2021 and October 2020 dedicated to the
situation in Afghanistan, both moderated by Dr. Schindler.Future Terrorism and
Security Challenges Emanating from Afghanistan
<[link removed]>
on September 23, 2021, examined the complex global terrorism threat in light of
the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan and its symbiotic relationship with
al-Qaeda. Speakers included Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown, coordinator of the
ISIL, al-Qaida and Taliban Monitoring Team, U.N. Security Council; Sofia
Koller, research fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP); and Dr.
Guido Steinberg, senior fellow, German Institute for International and Security
Affairs (SWP). On October 16, 2020, CEP hostedThe Prospect For Peace In
Afghanistan
<[link removed]>
, which examined the current security situation in the country, including the
status of various terror groups still active in the country. Speakers included
Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown and Dr. Ellinor Zeino, the country
representative of the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in Kabul.

 

Terrorism Financing and Social Media Platforms
<[link removed]>

The misuse of social media and other Internet services by terrorist
organizations, including for financing activities, continues to be a vexing and
dangerous modern phenomenon. CEP conducted a study to evaluate the current
defense mechanisms of large social media platforms against the misuse of their
services by financiers of international terrorism or for the financing of
terrorism. The study revealed that major financiers of al-Qaeda and ISIS,
identified by the U.N. Security Council, are able to maintain profiles on large
platforms. Authored by Dr. Schindler,  Terrorism Financing and Social Media
Platforms
<[link removed]>
, recommended that the tech industry proactively search for and remove profiles
and accounts of terror financiers on their platforms, update their community
standards, and increase awareness of terrorism financing risks among their
internal content monitoring and moderation teams. Dr. Schindler presented the
report’s findings and recommendations during awebinar
<[link removed]> in April 2020.

 

The Misuse of Online Platforms by Violent Right-Wing Extremists and Terrorists
<[link removed]>

Transnational right-wing extremist and terrorist groups and networks have
developed specific online ecosystems which are an integral part of their
operations. In a CEP briefing paper released in November,The Misuse of Online
Platforms by Violent Right-Wing Extremists and Terrorists
<[link removed]>
,  Dr. Schindler, Alexander Ritzmann, and Marco Macori provide a detailed
analysis of how the online sphere plays a crucial role in the transnational
functionality of the movement. The paper is a follow-up to a 2020study
<[link removed]>
 in which CEP, commissioned by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, analyzed
the transnational connectivity of violent XRW and terrorist movements in five
European countries and the United States. In November, Dr. Schindler moderated
a CEPwebinar
<[link removed]>
on this issue. The webinar was the second in a CEPvirtual event series
<[link removed]>
 supported by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.



Financing of Transnational Violent Right-Wing Extremist and Terrorist
Structures – Misuse of Online Services
<[link removed]>
 

The financing of violent right-wing extremist and terrorist networks and
milieus—highlighted in the 2020 study by CEP
<[link removed]>
—has become the focus of national andmultilateral expert discussions
<[link removed]>
, and the first ever report on the issue by the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) in June 2021.



In addition to self-financing and donation drives, including crowdfunding
drives using cryptocurrencies, the milieus finance themselves via commercially
organized music events, festivals, mixed martial art tournaments and the sale
of merchandize. In November, CEP published a briefing paper,Financing of
Transnational Violent Right-Wing Extremist and Terrorist Structures – Misuse of
Online Services
<[link removed]>
,authored by Dr. Schindler, Alexander Ritzmann and Marco Macori, and conducted
a webinar moderated by Dr. Schindler that discussed the challenges facing
governments and industry in countering the threat. The webinar was the third in
a CEPvirtual event series
<[link removed]>
 supported by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany that examined problems
emanating from the transnational right-wing extremist and terrorist movement.

 

Paramilitary Training Activities of Violent Right-Wing Extremists – Threat,
Mitigation Opportunities, And Challenges
<[link removed]>
 

One of the most concerning offline threats emanating from members of the
transnational violent right-wing extremist and terrorist movement are
paramilitary training activities taking place in the United States, Central and
Eastern Europe, and in the Balkans. In December, CEP published a briefing paper,
Paramilitary Training Activities of Violent Right-Wing Extremists: Threat,
Mitigation Opportunities, and Challenges
<[link removed]>
, authored by Dr. Schindler, Dr. Kacper Rekawek, and Alexander Ritzmann. On
December 13, Dr. Schindler moderated a CEP webinar that explored the
paramilitary training activities of violent right-wing extremists in Central
and Eastern Europe and the challenges it posed. The webinar was the fourth
event in a CEP virtual event series
<[link removed]>
 supported by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

 

On the Threat of Deep Fakes to Democracy and Society
<[link removed]>
The influence of fake news and the manipulation of public and political
perception has been a threat to political systems for years. Today, fake news
is often supported by so-called deep fakes—seemingly real but synthesized
videos of various kinds. Due to advances in software design, significant
technical skills to produce deep fakes are no longer necessary, vastly
increasing the risk of their misuse. CEP, in cooperation with the Konrad
Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), released a study,On the Threat of Deep Fakes to
Democracy and Society
<[link removed]>
. The authors, Dr. Schindler and CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid, discussed
the study and ways to confront the problem during a CEPwebinar
<[link removed]>. Media coverage: Knowable
Magazine
<[link removed]>
andThe Washington Post
<[link removed]>
.

 

Thought Leadership and Selected Media

 

Wall Street Journal: “Don’t Recognize the Same Old Taliban”
<[link removed]>
In September, Dr. Schindler argued against the United Nations recognizing the
Taliban formally as the government of Afghanistan, saying that doing so would
open the window for an “unchecked flow of funds and investments” that could be
diverted to terrorist organizations including al-Qaeda: “In the months to come,
the issue of how to deal with the new regime in Kabul will be a central
challenge for the U.N. The U.S. and its European allies should work to build
coalitions in the Security Council and with other U.N. member nations to ensure
the Taliban are not accepted into the international community as long as they
harbor terrorists, disregard human rights and run one of the world’s largest
drug cartels.”

 

EuroNews: “Europe should take action against Hezbollah's growing strength”
<[link removed]>

Dr. Schindler, in detailing a litany of Hezbollah’s violent actions both in
the Middle East and in Europe, argues in October that as the 10th Anniversary
of Hezbollah’s bombing of an Israeli tourist bus in Burgas, Bulgaria
<[link removed]>
 approaches, it is time for action by Europe’s leaders: “The bloc must follow
through on its recent resolution and properly hold the organisation to account.
It is time to bring forward targeted sanctions against members of Hezbollah
responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law in Lebanon, and to
recognise Hezbollah as a whole, not in part, as a terrorist organisation.”

 

Emerging challenges for combating the financing of terrorism in the European
Union: financing of violent right-wing extremism and misuse of new technologies
<[link removed]>
In September 2021, Dr. Schindler published an article in the European in
Global Affairs, a journal of the European International Studies Association
(ISA), exploring emerging challenges to combating the financing of terrorism.
The article discusses the challenges of countering the financing of violent
right-wing extremism/terrorism and the increasing misuse of new technologies,
such as Internet tools and cryptocurrencies. Dr. Schindler notes that an
understanding of the threat landscape is only now emerging and current EU CFT
instruments, developed to counter the threat from Islamist terrorism, have not
yet been adjusted sufficiently to address the threat from right-wing
extremism/terrorism.

 

United Nations and counterterrorism: Strategy, structure, and prevention of
violent extremism conducive to terrorism – a practitioner’s view
<[link removed]>

Dr. Schindler’s analysis of ways the U.N. counterterrorism structures could
more effectively and efficiently support the international community was
included as a chapter in theRoutledge Handbook of Deradicalisation and
Disengagement
<[link removed]>
, published in March 2020. Since 1999, the counterterrorism efforts of the
United Nations developed in response to the rise of al-Qaeda and since 2014, in
response to the emergence of ISIS.

 

National Post: “The continued threat of terrorism”
<[link removed]>

In a November op-ed, Dr. Schindler detailed the threats to Europe and the
United States from Islamist and right-wing terrorist groups around the world:
“In the short term, rather than a next 9/11, attacks from radicalized
individuals and small cells, fueled and enabled by online tools, are a core
concern. However, this could change in the medium term. The developing
situation in Afghanistan may enable al-Qaida and ISIL to again plan more
elaborate plots. At the same time, the arrests, and subsequent revelations
about, members of the right-wing ‘accelerationist’ Hannibal network in Germany
demonstrate that these groups are also capable of preparing large-scale
attacks.”

 

EuroNews: “Taliban takeover could lead to renewed terror attacks in Europe”
<[link removed]>

Dr. Schindler warns in August that Europe must be prepared for the aftermath
of a Taliban victory, from increased terrorist incidents to a wave of refugees:
“In the short term, it is pivotal to get Afghan national staff and those under
threat, such as journalists, women’s rights activists and any former female
officials, out of the country. Europe must then prepare for the inevitable flow
of Afghan refugees fleeing the country. We must work quickly to avoid the
mistakes and devastation of the 2015 crisis. In the long term, there needs to
be a concrete strategy towards the new regime in Kabul, and sanctions are one
of the few remaining tools. Humanitarian deliveries will have to continue.
However, any potential development aid would need to be tied to conditions.”

 

International Sanctions: Improving Implementation through Better Interface
<[link removed]>

Management
<[link removed]>

Dr. Schindler was one of 10 international experts who participated in
workshops at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)
in 2019 and 2020, examining ways to improve implementation of international
sanctions. In this SWP working paper, published in August 2021, Dr. Schindler
described challenges in monitoring and enforcing U.N. counterterrorism
sanctions experienced by the ISIL, al-Qaida and Taliban Monitoring Team, which
advised two U.N. sanctions committees. These not only included the management
of the relationship between member states and the U.N. sanctions committee, but
those relating to information flows to and from the Team to intermediaries,
such as the FATF or private sector stakeholders. Dr. Schindler argues that the
process of sanctions design and development should be understood as a complex
network of information flows and negotiations, rather than a hierarchical
process.

 

The National: “Afghan terror training camps ‘could cause wave of attacks in
Europe in five years’
<[link removed]>
”

“The director of the Counter Extremism Project, Hans-Jakob Schindler, has
worked in the UN Security Council unit that monitors ISIS and Al Qaeda. He
believes extremists from Europe may now travel to Afghanistan to train, and
that terrorist attacks could increase when they return to the continent.
‘Tragically, it feels like we have come full circle. We are very much in a
situation where we run the risk that we are chasing our tail,’ he toldThe
National. ‘Half of the Taliban’s new government are on the UN sanctions list
for a very good reason. The Taliban and Al Qaeda are not separate and have
never been separate… In 2001, 10,000 foreigners went to Afghanistan to train
with Al Qaeda. It might be five or even 10 years, if we do not pay attention,
but it will happen again.’”

 

Newsweek: “Why the Taliban, Armed to the Teeth, May Struggle to Defeat ISIS-K”
<[link removed]>

“The Taliban have been fighting ISIS-K since 2018. But it was back in 2014
that ISIS in Syria and Iraq sent emissaries to Afghanistan to set up an
affiliate. After Libya, this marked the second time that ISIS's core operations
had purposely established an affiliate. ‘These [ISIS] emissaries networked
primarily in southern and eastern Afghanistan and gathered disgruntled Taliban
fighters as well as some local power brokers, declaring their existence openly
only in 2015, gathering also a range of foreign fighters, primarily from
Pakistani terrorist groups,’ CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler—a
former coordinator of the U.N. Security Council’s ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and
Taliban Monitoring Team—tellsNewsweek.”

 

Haaretz: “The Secret Weapon That Helps Hamas Raise Millions of Dollars”
<[link removed]>
“The QR code is just one example of how Hamas has become something of a
technology leader among terrorist groups, which experts say are making more and
more use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to raise money. After being
driven off the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange two years ago by U.S.
authorities, for instance, Hamas developed software that creates a new
digital-wallet address each time a donor scans the QR code. ‘Now, instead of
one Hamas wallet, you have many wallets and many donors. That makes it hard to
follow the money,’ explains Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the
Counter Extremism Project, a New York-based nonprofit that builds programs to
sever the financial, recruitment and material support networks of extremist
groups and their leaders.”

 

CEP Podcast: Fighting Terror
<[link removed]>
The CEP Podcast, Fighting Terror, explores different ways that society can
combat the impacts of terrorism. Each episode of the podcast is hosted by CEP
Senior Advisor and former European Affairs Minister Lucinda Creighton and
features an expert guest from an area of counterterrorism. In episode 7, on
April 15, Dr. Schindler offered insights, trends, and new phenomena in
terrorist financing, ranging from the use of cryptocurrencies and the role of
social media, to the financing methods used by right-wing organizations. All of
the podcasts can be accessed on theCEP website
<[link removed]>, and on Spotify
<[link removed]>, Buzzsprout
<[link removed]>, and Podcast Addict
<[link removed]>.

 

What does the ISIS attack on a Kabul military hospital mean?
<[link removed]>
In a November interview with WTOP radio, Dr. Schindler explained that the
complex ISIS attack on a Kabul military hospital was meant to demonstrate that
pressure from the Taliban “is not diminishing their capabilities.” It also
showed that despite its takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban “is not a good
counter-terrorism force, it’s not good at preventing attacks.”

 

###

Unsubscribe
<[link removed]>