Mrs Clinton described the cyber effort as part of a larger, multi-pronged
attack on terrorism that goes beyond attacks like the Navy SEAL raid that
killed Osama bin Laden to include the propaganda battle, and the longer,
slower campaign of diplomats.
Mrs Clinton was speaking alongside Admiral Bill McRaven, head of the US
Special Operations Command, at a conference of hundreds of US and
international special operations commanders.
Their joint appearance was seen as a tacit message to their sometimes warring
tribes of troops and diplomats that they must cooperate.
Mrs Clinton said the cyber attack was launched by an interagency group of
specialists, including diplomats, special operators and intelligence
analysts, housed at the State Department. Called the Centre for Strategic
Counterterrorism Communications, its experts patrol the Internet and social
media to counter al-Qaeda’s attempts to recruit new followers.
“Together, they will work to pre-empt, discredit and outmaneuver extremist
propaganda,” Clinton said.
Offensive attacks on extremist sites are generally attributed to the
Pentagon’s Cyber Command, though seldom acknowledged publicly.
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