It appears that one of the biggest threats to U.S. security in the coming years may be homegrown terrorism.

President Barack Obama recently added homegrown terrorism to the nation's security priorities.

In the last several months, we've had the attempted Times Square bombing, the Fort Hood shootings and the attempted Detroit plane bombing. Two New Jersey men, one a naturalized U.S. Citizen from the Dominican Republic, were arrested after boarding a plane to Somalia to join a terrorist group.

African-American Muslims have also been targeted by al-Qaida. Three men from Newburgh, N.Y., were arrested in 2009 and charged with allegedly plotting to blow up a synagogue, although police say there was no link to a foreign terrorist group.

Now comes the news out of Texas about a man who was communicating with Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S.-born al-Queda cleric who helped plan or inspire three of the above terrorist actions.

Police say Barry Walter Bujol (pictured right) referred to members of al-Queda as his "brothers" and was eager to travel to Yemen and provide support to the group. The 29-year-old has pleaded not guilty to charges of seeking to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Bujol's attorney said the federal government has to prove its case, which involved the use of an undercover informant against his client.

"This is a very complex case," Joseph Varela told the AP. "What I want people to remember is the Constitution [protects] everyone accused of a crime, no matter what that crime is."

The government says Bujol used 14 e-mail addresses to conceal his activities, which included contacting Al-Awaki and receiving a document from him titled, "42 Ways of Supporting Jihad." Bujol also allegedly advocated for attacking U.S. facilities, where military equipment was being produced.

Bujol also made three unsuccessful attempts to travel to Yemen in February and March 2009, saying he wanted to "die with the brothers for the cause of Allah, and to be in Heaven."




An undercover informant eventually befriended Bujol and had him retrieve items, such as a military issued compass and fake identifications. Bujol allegedly used the identification to gain access to a secure area in the Houston port, with the intent to board a ship headed for the Middle East.

The informant also supplied Bujol with "currency, prepaid telephone calling cards, mobile telephone SIM cards, global positioning system receivers and public access-restricted U.S. military publications," according to the AP. He was allegedly going to give these items to al-Qaeda operatives he met in the Middle East.

The U.S. government cannot stop all of the people who are legally in this country or born here from becoming disgruntled enough to join these groups and plot attacks. Many of these people seem to exhibit signs of mental illness, before they begin down the path toward jihad. There were concerns about the mental state of the Fort Hood shooter, before he went on a rampage.

It's up to family, co-workers and friends to keep a close eye on wayward relatives and associates in an effort to get them help before they kill themselves and others.

Writing about preventing homegrown terrorism in Germany, Thomas de Maizière, Germany's interior minister, writes:

The signs of radicalisation can be spotted much earlier than at local level than by the security authorities. Parents, friends or even the imam are acting responsibly if they decide to contact the relevant state agencies in such cases. Doing so is not about denunciation but rather it is about helping these usually young people find their way back into society.

The second question – why are some people attracted to radical ideas? – has been thoroughly explored both by researchers and security practitioners, who generally agree that these people are more inclined to accept radical ideologies if they do not feel part of society. This is especially true of young people who feel excluded, and who have experienced real or even just imagined discrimination. When they lack attractive social or professional prospects, they often think they could find a new and more welcoming home within a radical group. Society's task is therefore to give them a feeling of belonging, and to offer them a more enticing perspective on life. And that means a new sense of commitment by civil society as a whole.

We must monitor and prevent the alienation that pushes people toward these groups. It's similar to the approach that is needed to prevent young people from joining street gangs. Unfortunately, we are not very successful at preventing young people from joining gangs, so preventing homegrown terrorism seems like an even taller order.

Of course, the United States needs to reexamine its goals and policies toward the Middle East, but intervention can start closer to home.