Of course one can’t judge whether the following account by Atlanta terrorism defendant Syed Haris Ahmed is true or not. But his recent testimony to counterterrorist agents could shed light on the mentality of youth who turn to radicalism and, in the process, abet terrorism. Ahmed said he felt

it would be “thrilling” to be a spy for “people over there” … Ahmed later admitted that the “people over there” were “brothers” overseas whose goal was to fight Muslim oppressors everywhere. Ahmed, then a 21-year-old Georgia Tech student, initially minimized his actions to the agents. “I was being childish,” he said. “I was dumb” … [he] stands indicted … of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)