( CNN ) -- The Achilles heel of America 's policy against terrorism is its failure to counter the narratives that inspire individuals to become extremists and terrorists . That 's why -- despite the skill and numerous successes of our military , intelligence and law enforcement agencies -- the type of tragic events seen most recently with the stabbings of soldiers in London and outside Paris , and the April bombing of the Boston Marathon , will continue to occur . We 're failing to use a key weapon that needs to be used . There 's no question that the United States has been extremely effective tactically against al Qaeda and other terrorist groups since 9/11 . Our military , intelligence and law enforcement agencies have done what they were charged with doing , from routing them in Afghanistan to hunting down Osama bin Laden to thwarting plots against New York . But this is n't enough . For as long as extremists are able to attract new recruits , they 'll keep producing replacements for those killed or apprehended and the battle will never end . This is why the strategic tool known as `` countering violent extremism , '' or CVE , has to be used alongside special operations , drones and other weapons . As an FBI Special Agent , I interrogated dozens of senior terrorists . It quickly became clear that part of al Qaeda 's effectiveness in gaining recruits was in their tailoring their rhetoric and their messenger to the personality , location and likely local grievances of their target . Extremists wo n't use a Yemeni railing about U.S. `` crimes '' in Iraq to try to appeal to American-Somali youths in Minnesota . They 'll find someone with as close a background as possible , and who understands grievances that resonate , such as foreign powers intervening in Somalia 's affairs . Once a person is recruited they are indoctrinated with the group 's counterculture . Asymmetrical groups like al Qaeda often develop their own countercultures , with certain religious texts , events and a consciousness that allows them to in many ways create their own religion within Islam . It is n't an ideology . That 's factually inaccurate and gives it undeserved credit . It 's a false narrative . As I travel around the world today , I 've seen how that counterculture , once centered in Afghanistan and Pakistan , has worryingly spread to places like Nigeria and Southeast Asia . Its spread is helped by today 's new technological tools : Recruitment is not just happening in training camps and in secret meeting rooms , but in Internet chat rooms and through social media . That has been a major factor in the increase in homegrown terrorism in the West , seen horrifically on May 22 on the streets of London and April 15 at the Boston Marathon . In his recent speech on terrorism , President Obama told the nation that the values the United States holds will ultimately defeat the terrorists . This will be the case as long as we take the steps to effectively deploy our message . We need to counter extremists in the same manner that they recruit : Targeting extremists with the ideal medium , messenger and message . A mistake the United States has been making to date is in repeatedly making broad gestures toward the Muslim world and the U.S. Muslim community , making the argument that the United States is a friend . These broad messages do n't have an impact on those who need to be targeted . The United States is working on developing a CVE program , but it has mistakenly spread the domestic portfolio across a range of agencies , from the Department of Education to the FBI . This makes it difficult to have a clear and effective strategy , and also hampers efforts : Charging law enforcement with both collecting intelligence on suspected extremists as well as handling community engagement programs creates natural conflicts and means that neither job can be done effectively . The ideal situation is one in which the federal government provides support to local efforts to deal with local extremists and recruitment factors , not by imposing a strategy dictated from Washington . This requires local communities -- whether in New York or in Sana ' a , Yemen -- to step up and take the lead in increasing the resiliency of their communities against these groups by identifying what the extremist narratives are and where they 're spreading -- and then by countering them . When people are being recruited because of alleged local or tribal grievances , it is community leaders who are the best messengers to counter that narrative . When it 's a distortion of Islam , it 's the duty of religious leaders to take the lead . Sometimes it 's former extremists , who have taken the same path and have credibility , who can be the most effective messengers . The best CVE programs , such as Singapore 's , do this . They have a focused aim of reducing the pool of potential recruits and the appeal of violence , and they target accordingly . When done correctly , CVE should not be an excuse for broad social work or for anthropological studies ; it 's a focused counterterrorism weapon . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ali Soufan .
U.S. has been effective tactically vs. the Department of Education , since May 22 , says Soufan . He says tragic events such as the U.S. bombing keep happening . Ali Soufan : We need to craft narratives to counter the ones terrorists are using to recruit .