(New York, New York) — The ISIS threat is getting closer and closer to home.
“Two men born in Iraq who came to the United States as refugees were set to appear in court Friday on terror-related charges in California and Texas,” reports Fox News. “A criminal complaint unsealed Thursday accused 23-year-old Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, of Sacramento, Calif., of traveling to Syria to fight alongside terrorist organizations and lying to government investigators about it. Almost simultaneously in Houston, federal authorities announced the arrest of Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, on charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully and making false statements to investigators.”
“Based on the facts, as we know them, today’s action may have prevented a catastrophic terror related event in the making and saved countless lives,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement, Fox News reported.
“This is precisely why I called for a halt to refugees entering the U.S. from countries substantially controlled by terrorists,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott added. “I once again urge the President to halt the resettlement of these refugees in the United States until there is an effective vetting process that will ensure refugees do not compromise the safety of Americans and Texans.”
I agree — since the U.S. has no capacity to vet the refugees coming out of Syria and Iraq to see if they are jihadists or not, we absolutely must not allow them to enter the country. The U.S. should provide humanitarian assistance to Jordan and other countries and organizations who are caring for refugees fleeing war and terror in the Mideast. But the President’s job is to protect the American people from attack, and allowing thousands of refugees into the States without vetting them properly is suicide.
The evidence of the last several years makes clear that ISIS is planning attacks inside the United States. In my last novel, The Third Target, ISIS-linked terrorists launch a mass murder attack in Washington, D.C., even assassinating a high-ranking government official. In the latest novel, The First Hostage, ISIS plots to capture and kill the President of the United States and other world leaders.
I’m afraid attacks in against U.S. leaders and citizens around the world are a realistic scenario. But we need to be prepared for the activation of ISIS sleeper cells inside the homeland, leading to Paris-style attacks. We also need to anticipate more San Bernardino-style attacks by lone-wolves who have been inspired by – and see themselves loyal to – the Islamic State. And while the use of automatic weapons and explosive devices are likely, I would not be surprised if we also see beheadings, the hijacking of private planes, cyber-warfare and other forms of attack.
The good news is that federal authorities are hard at work to keep Americans safe. The bad news is that the threats posed by ISIS and other jihadist groups are rapidly metastasizing.
- FBI officials say they are currently running more than 900 investigations into suspected ISIS terrorists operating inside the U.S.
- In fact, there are active cases in all fifty states at present.
- Over the past two years the FBI has arrested at least 66 people in the U.S. on suspicion of ISIS terror activities.
- If this weren’t troubling enough, at least 250 Americans are believed to have gone to fight with ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
What will happen when those who aren’t killed on the battlefield return to the U.S. with their American passports? What if they aren’t detected and stopped by federal authorities in time? How many more will they recruit into violent jihad? What kind of terror operations will they be instructed to carry out on American soil?
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