Filed under: Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Iran, Islam, National Security, Terrorism, The United States | Tags: Heightened Terror Threat, ISIS Recruitment, The Anniversary of 9/11
A new report from the House Homeland Security Committee finds that there have already been more U.S.–based jihadist terror cases this year than in any year since 2011. “The terror threat level in the U.S. homeland is high, and the situation is getting steadily worse” the report warns.
Over just the past five years, the number of U.S. terrorist cases involving homegrown violent jihadists has tripled to 122 from 38 in 2010.
• The Islamic State has inspired or directed 55 terrorist plots or attacks against Western targets — including 14 in the U.S. alone — and there are already more cases this year than in all of 2014.
• U.S. authorities have arrested or charged at least 48 individuals in the U.S. in 2015 — and 63 since 2014 — in Islamic State-related cases.
• Most of the IS terrorist plots and attacks have involved targets in the New York and Boston areas.
• The majority of recent Islamic terrorist plots have targeted law enforcement or troops based inside the U.S., such as July’s Chattanooga, Tenn., attack, killing five soldiers.
• The FBI has “hundreds of open investigations” of potential IS-inspired terrorists that cover all 56 of the bureau’s field offices in 50 states.
• Potentially “thousands of Americans” are taking in IS recruitment propaganda over social media sites, and may act on jihadist commands to “kill, kill, kill.”
• IS has produced more than 1,700 “jihadeos” and other propaganda material in just the first five months of this year.
• IS and its agents are posting an estimated 200,000 jihadist messages on Twitter every day, and despite the FBI’s crackdown, American recruitment is exploding.
• IS is drawing fighters from more than 100 countries, including “dozens” from America, and can now muster between 20,000 and 30,000 foot soldiers.
ISIS recruits online in English language social media posts. They now have affiliates in at least 18 countries. 3.000 fighters in Libya have joined forces with ISIS, and as many as 1.000 Tunisians are training in Libyan training camps. Americans believe that Obama is not effectively fighting ISIS. The pinprick airstrikes in Iraq and Syria aren’t accomplishing much of anything. As usual, there’s a rules of engagement problem. Obama doesn’t want to annoy Iran.
You might want to avoid crowds on Friday’s 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. They do like to celebrate anniversaries.
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