Detainee Rehabilitation: Adapting the Singapore Experience to Iraq

Detainee Rehabilitation:
Adapting the Singapore Experience to Iraq

Major General Douglas Stone, the Commanding General of Detainee Task force 134 in iraq from april 2007 to May 2008, adapted Singapore’s model to rehabilitate detainees in iraq. The visit to iraq by ustaz Mohammed bin ali and Dr. Rohan Gunaratna as advisors to the iraqi and u.S. authorities in november 2006 enabled the transfer of knowledge of Singapore’s strategic approach to rehabilitating detainees to iraq. ustaz Mohammed, associate Research fellow, RSiS, as well as Secretary of Singapore’s Religious Rehabilitation Group, the body responsible for detainee rehabilitation, and Professor Gunaratna, head of the international Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at RSiS, interviewed the detainees and examined the viability of implementing religious rehabilitation to the detainee population under u.S. control. at the invitation of Task force 134, ustaz Mohammed bin ali wrote a religious course module specific to address the iraqi detainee population. in June 2007, the pilot run of the “Religious Enlightenment Program” was tested.

General Stone realized the importance of the rehabilitation programmes in reducing violence and increasing security. as a visionary, General Stone ultimately pushed at all levels for support and cooperation in the implementation of the rehabilitation programmes, until finally nobody was in a position to question the effectiveness of the programme. after his redeployment to the u.S., General Stone still actively promotes extremist and terrorist rehabilitation as the only viable solution in combating terrorism. General Stone remarked:
“unquestionably i favour detention as long as detention is being used for a constructive rehabilitation programme. if they have a rule of law, respect of human rights, and rehabilitation, then detention works. it works Custodial and community rehabilitation of terrorists and extremists is a new frontier in the fight against terrorism. Rehabilitating terrorists and immunizing the community through engagement are two intertwined strategies of meeting a serious and a sustained threat. By engaging the community, mainstream leaders can raise awareness and immunize the community against extremist ideas and beliefs. Otherwise, those radicalized by terrorist and extremist propaganda will advocate, support and participate in violence. By investing in community engagement upstream terrorist recruitment can be disrupted. Similarly, by investing in terrorist rehabilitation downstream terrorist regeneration can be disrupted. neither of these strategies is perfect but they offer the best hope for community ownership and participation in the fight against extremism and its vicious by-product, terrorism. There are three principal reasons why we must invest in rehabilitating terrorist detainees and inmates.

First, unless terrorists in custody change their views, when released they will continue to pose an enduring threat to public safety and security. Second, the terrorists will contribute to regeneration by contaminating the rest of society with their vicious ideas thus increasing the pool of supporters and sympathizers. Third, the terrorists will form a part of the terrorist iconography earning the status of hero worthy of respect and emulation by the next generation of terrorist recruits.