In 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that poverty “in many cases is the root cause of terrorism.” But a new World Bank study on ISIS recruits shows that Kerry’s claim isn’t true. “This result is consistent with a number of other studies that come to a similar conclusion: poverty is not a driver of radicalization into violent extremism,” according to the World Bank.
Natalie Johnson reports at the Washington Free Beacon:
Despite evidence to the contrary, the United States’ top diplomat has continued to claim that poverty is a major cause of terrorism. In 2015, Democratic congresswoman and Iraq war veteran Tulsi Gabbard lashed out at Kerry in response to the secretary of state’s false claims.
“The first thing we have to understand, it’s not just about words, it’s not about semantics, it’s about having a real true understanding of who our enemy is,” Gabbard said on Fox News. “A couple of days ago Secretary Kerry said in a speech that ISIS and al Qaeda are engaging in, quote, criminal conduct rooted in alienation, poverty, thrill seeking and other factors. Now if we really look at what he’s saying and if that’s really the cause, then the solution would be to give them a trophy, give them a hug, give them a good paying job, $10,000, and a skateboard so they can go and get their thrills.”
“Unfortunately,” Gabbard continued, “we have people who are living in poverty all around the world, people who have this same feeling of alienation from their government but they’re not terrorists. So we’ve got to look at what their ideology is and how that’s fueling these tragic attacks that keep occurring.”
