More Islamist terror is coming. We are woefully unprepared
2025-01-03
Category: opinion

Al Qaeda first attacked the World Trade Center in 1993 with a car bomb in the underground garage. Americans heard about the attack on the evening news and then went out to McDonald's for a burger and fries.&nbsp; It was like the 911 operator called us and we put them on hold. Less than ten years later, the 9/11 attacks left 3,000 Americans dead. We can’t make the same mistake. Even with the limited evidence we have so far, we know we have experienced a deadly, major synchronized Islamist terror attack on U.S. soil designed to send a message and inflict as many bloody casualties as possible. There is no reason why they can't try that or worse again.&nbsp; For a lot of reasons, there is cause to believe we have set ourselves up for the next Islamist campaign against America. Here are four. NEW ORLEANS TERROR SUSPECT'S BROTHER SAYS ATTACK IS SIGN OF 'RADICALIZATION': REPORT First, ISIS and others are back. Biden's humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan reignited the hope that America really was the paper tiger that Usama Bin Laden claimed we were. He followed that with feckless policies in the Middle East and North Africa that gave both opportunities to rebuild and recruit and fed a global narrative that it was time to rise up and strike again.&nbsp;  Next, open borders are a death sentence. It doesn't matter if the Vegas or New Orleans threats crossed over from Mexico or not. Biden has created an unprecedented vulnerability with porous borders and unlimited illegal migration that leaves us more vulnerable today than we were on 9/11. An unprecedented number of individuals on the terrorist watch list have entered the U.S. under the Biden presidency. This administration’s policies have handed the terrorists too many options. &nbsp; U.S. THREAT LANDSCAPE, DOMESTIC EXTREMISM POSE A DAUNTING—BUT FAMILIAR— TEST FOR TRUMP'S SECOND TERM Third, we have demobilized our counterterrorism efforts. Pretty much every instrument we established since 9/11 has been diverted, distracted, disabled or dismissed under Biden. We all know Biden’s top priorities for intelligence and law enforcement. They include persecuting his political enemies; protecting his family; investigating misdemeanors committed on January 6; surveilling school board meetings; meeting diversity, equity and climate goals; suppressing free speech; and demonizing conservatives at every opportunity.&nbsp; We didn't just take our eyes off the ball. We walked off the court.&nbsp;  Finally, Russia, China, and Iran are not our friends. Every round of global terrorism has had some measure of state sponsorship or support. Today, we can expect no different.&nbsp; CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow know that Trump is going to take his heavy hand off the Bible in a few weeks and lay a meaty fist on them. They will be scrambling for underhanded ways to push back. Terrorism will be one of them. In fact, they are already doing this. Russia contracted for terrorist attacks in Germany. China dumped Israel on October 7. Iran has put out hit contracts on Americans.&nbsp; We didn't just take our eyes off the ball. We walked off the court.  Because of this administration’s weakness, today’s terrorists don’t try to think "outside the box." They already have more deadly toys than could fit in Santa’s sleigh. The attack in New Orleans demonstrated the use of common and proven terrorist tactics that we have seen plenty of in recent years from Europe to the Middle East to North Africa. The handbook of terrorist tools is tried and proven. We can expect more of the same.&nbsp; CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Today’s terrorists, however, can and are already starting to draw on proven modern battlefield tactics, often using dual-use technology with civilian and military applications that are being innovated in places like Ukraine, the Middle East and North Africa. We have already seen, for example, attempted attacks on energy infrastructure and the use of drones. Just like the way car bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) made their way from combat situations to terror attacks, other means to create murder and mayhem could soon be coming to a community near you. How do we stop them? By using our counterterrorism capabilities the way they were intended—not the knee-jerk response of the Bush years or the measured indifference under Obama, but the sensible, practical, and responsible actions taken during Trump’s first term that took us from lights blinking red to giving ISIS lights out. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM JAMES CARAFANO