Terror threat remains long after 9/11

Extremist ideology has spread all over globe since 9/11, expert says

WASHINGTON — Terrorism is still a threat to the United States, even 17 years after terrorists killed nearly 3,000 civilians in the Sept 11, 2001 attack on New York and Washington, US experts said.

Tuesday marked the 17th anniversary of the day that shocked the world, when members of the al-Qaida terror group hijacked four airplanes, slamming three of them into New York and Washington, in a day that will live in infamy. As memorial services went on throughout the nation to mourn the victims, experts said the terror threat continues.

“Terrorism remains a threat to the US and Americans,” said Wayne White, former deputy director of the State Department’s Middle East Intelligence Office.

That’s because “terrorists already part of American society (are) being radicalized in place by ideologies planted by al-Qaida and the Islamic State group”, White said of the two most dangerous terror groups.

Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West echoed those sentiments, said that “it has been 17 years since the 9/11 attack but the fear generated by that attack continues to affect US policymak- ing. The country has invested billions in counterterrorism but the threat remains”.

Dan Mahaffee, senior vicepresident and director of policy at the Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency, also echoed those thoughts.

“In the anniversary of 9/11, we are reminded that terror remains a threat around the world, not just to the United States,” he said.

“While policies aimed at fighting the IS are showing promise, there continues to be the threat of homegrown terror and plots inspired from abroad,” Mahaffee said.

Robin Simcox, Margaret Thatcher Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said that terrorist ideology has spread across the globe in the years after the attacks in 2001.

“America remains the country that terrorist organizations aspire to attack more than any other. Of the most dangerous terrorist organizations, the IS has lost the majority of its territory in Iraq and Syria, but remains a potent threat, with affiliates dotted across the Middle East and Africa.

“Al-Qaida, meanwhile, has a significant presence in Syria, Yemen and Somalia — among other countries — and still retains a clear desire to attack the US,” Simcox said.

“The US also has to defend itself against those such as Pulse nightclub gunman Omar Mateen, who was radicalized domestically,” he added, referring to the 2016 extremist attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which killed about 50 people.

Simcox said the US government has “correctly” prioritized breaking the IS group’s territorial grip in Iraq and Syria, while drone strikes against dangerous al-Qaida franchises such as that in Yemen have significantly increased.

However, there is always more that needs to be done in the fight against terror groups. For example, the IS group will look to make a comeback and ultimately aspires to govern once again.

“The administration must actively prepare itself for this eventuality,” Simcox said.

Critics said that US President Donald Trump seems to have put the terror threat on the back burner since being elected nearly two years ago.

The president has “taken several anti-Palestinian actions in the Israeli-Palestinian arena that could radicalize not only Palestinians, but other Arabs and Muslims inside and outside the US,” White said.

Indeed, the US president last year recognized the city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a critically important city that both Judaism and Islam claim as a holy site, and in doing so Trump has sent the message that Washington is far from neutral, and is siding with the Israelis.

“Trump also has angered allies needed to cooperate against terrorist plots, and made the US less popular abroad, neither of which contributes to US security,” White said.