ISIS is “fueling an unprecedented tempo for law enforcement authorities combatting the homegrown Islamist extremist threat,” according to the “November Terror Threat Snapshot” released by House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
The “snapshot” is a monthly assessment of the committee’s continuing efforts to highlight the growing threat America, the West and the world from ISIS and other Islamist terrorists that the committee began making available this past summer.
[June "Snapshot;" August "Snapshot;" September "Snapshot;" October "Snapshot"]
The latest “snapshot” stated that, “The vast majority of the 900 active homegrown extremist investigations involve links to ISIS,” and that, “Authorities have already arrested nearly 60 individuals this year in ISIS-related cases.”
The latest “snapshot” also stated that, “ISIS’s global expansion has unleashed a wave of violence around the world — including against Western targets,” noting that, “From July through September this year, ISIS-affiliated groups launched around 12 attacks every day killing more than 30 people worldwide. ISIS’s calls for attacks are resonating with its supporters in the West. ISIS has directed or inspired 62 plots to attack Western targets, including 18 inside the United States.
“The Islamist terrorist threat continues to menace the United States at an unprecedented pace,” McCaul said in releasing the latest data from the committee. “The vast majority of the FBI’s 900 active homegrown extremist investigations are ISIS related. As this month’s Terror Threat Snapshot illustrates, our counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts continue to be strained by these threats. With Europe accepting possibly up to one million refugees by year’s end and ISIS vowing to exploit the refugee process, our nation’s law enforcement and intelligence communities may soon be stretched as we deal with that crisis and our own Syrian refugee vetting for resettlement in the United States."
Continuing, McCaul said, “The Obama administration’s incremental measures and lack of leadership have emboldened jihadist groups overseas to expand to new territory and consolidate their gains. President Obama’s latest half-measure to deploy a small number of American service members to Syria, two years after promising the country he would not do so, is not a substitute for a coherent plan of action. Despite this minimal deployment of some of the world’s best troops, it is unlikely our war against Islamist fighters in Syria will be significantly impacted, nor will it hasten the fall of Assad. Without a viable political-military strategy to defeat Islamist extremists of all stripes and address the sources of instability in the Middle East, we will continue to witness greater violence and greater threats to Americans at home and abroad.”
Other key takeaways in this month’s “Terror Threat Snapshot” include:
- Al Qaeda and its affiliates are regenerating their terror networks and capitalizing on power vacuums. Al Qaeda is exploiting the diminished American troop presence and weak local security forces in Afghanistan in order to rebuild its sanctuary. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has captured additional territory in Yemen amidst the ongoing war there.
- Foreign fighters converging on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq pose a continuing threat to the United States and our allies. A French fighter returnee reportedly described Syria as a “factory of jihadists” trained to launch external attacks in the near future. A recent HouseHomeland Security Committee bipartisan task force found that security weaknesses overseas are enabling fighters to travel more freely.
- The massive refugee flows out of Syria remain vulnerable to terrorists seeking to exploit the crisis to infiltrate the West. American national security officials cautioned during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on October 21 that our limited intelligence picture of the conflict zone in Syria has the potential to undermine the integrity of the US refugee resettlement screening process.
- Guantanamo Bay detainees transferred overseas continue to pose a threat to USnational security interests, as Homeland Security Today has repeatedly reported. Nearly one in three detainees released from the facility have rejoined or are suspected of having rejoined Islamist terror groups. The Obama administration transferred two more detainees out of Guantanamo in October.
- The world’s leading state sponsor of Islamist terror, Iran, continues to sow instability and is poised to gain additional resources in the coming months as a result of sanctions relief. Iran has ramped up its military involvement in Syria in conjunction with its proxies, the Assad regime, and Rusia. The Obama administration is preparing to provide Iran with additional sanctions relief under the terms of the nuclear agreement, meanwhile, the Iranian parliament vowed that the “martyr-nurturing nation of Iran” will continue chanting “Death to America.”
For more on the state of Al Qaeda, read Contributing Editor Dave Sloggett’s new report, Al Qaeda: Death Knell, or New Beginning?
