On May 29, 2018 the United States Institute of Peace convened the first meeting of a congressionally-mandated, bipartisan task force of leading defense, diplomacy and development experts to prevent terrorist threats from emerging in fragile states following the defeat of the Islamic State.

The Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States, officially launched in April of 2018, will develop recommendations to more effectively prevent the underlying causes of extremism in fragile states, including burden-sharing approaches with international partners.

The Task Force is co-chaired by Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton, the former chair and vice chair, respectively, of the 9/11 Commission.

“We have succeeded in preventing another terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11 in the United States, but it is impossible to conclude that we are winning the fight against terrorism globally,” said Governor Tom Kean.

“This Task Force seeks a unified, sustained, and comprehensive strategy to stop a new generation of extremists, and to galvanize the political will to implement it,” said Congressman Lee Hamilton. This effort builds on a 2017 Bipartisan Policy Center study, led by Kean and Hamilton, which evaluated U.S. counterterrorism policy, found it insufficient, and urged a new strategy targeting the root causes of extremism.

Congress, led by Senator Lindsey Graham, requested that USIP, as an independent, federal, nonpartisan leader in preventing conflict, help prepare this new approach.

After consulting with government, civil society, the private sector, and international experts, the Task Force will release, by late 2018, recommendations for addressing the conditions in fragile states that give rise to extremism.

Task Force members include:

For questions and inquiries contact interviews@usip.org.

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