(U//FOUO) Effective countering violent extremism (CVE) efforts involve an integrated set of programs that help prevent terrorism and disengage those already involved in terrorism. The analytic framework for understanding CVE presented in this paper is the result of a collective effort of analysts across the Intelligence Community (IC) drawing upon academic studies, best practices domestically and abroad, multilateral guidelines such as those from the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s “Rome Memorandum on Good Practices for Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Violent Extremist Offenders” (see Supporting Materials, item C), all-source intelligence, and open-source reporting. It builds on the judgments about radicalization and mobilization toward violence detailed in the 2010 NCTC Radicalization Dynamics Primer, as well as many other IC products. It was prepared as a reference for officials at the federal, state, and local governmental levels; law enforcement officers; US Embassy officials; and IC analysts with three specific aims:
• To help practitioners understand the full spectrum of CVE so they can successfully integrate disparate program components into an effective and comprehensive strategy;
• To help analysts provide focused and useful opportunity analysis to policymakers on CVE, both domestically and abroad; and
• To enable both practitioners and analysts to better assess whether third-country CVE programs are conceptually well grounded and effectively executed.