Thursday, July 21, 2016

We are likely to See More Lone Wolf Terrorist Attacks in the U.S. And we're likely to See Them Soon

(EPA/Newscom)
CIA Director John Brennan recently said, referring to the three terrorists involved in the Istanbul airport attack, "I'd be surprised if Daesh (ISIS) is not trying to carry out that kind of attack in the United States."
He's probably right. ISIS-inspired terrorists are increasingly targeting civilians. Here's why.
ISIS is struggling in Iraq and so must make progress elsewhere. Nothing succeeds like success. What made ISIS so attractive to radicalized Muslims, both in the Middle East and abroad, was its seemingly unstoppable advance. That perception has been tarnished lately as ISIS has lost ground in some key areas, most recently in Fallujah.
Such setbacks almost guarantee that ISIS will turn its sights to other countries in an effort to change the narrative from defeat to progress. No one knows better than ISIS that if it loses its momentum, another Islamic terrorist group will vie for leadership -- because that's what ISIS did, displacing its predecessor al-Qaida in commanding the attention of the world and most media outlets.
Governments are looking out for those trying to get to the Middle East. In the fall of last year, reports suggested that the U.S. government was watching between 250 and 300 ISIS sympathizers located here. Other countries are also monitoring potential recruits.
That surveillance makes it difficult for sympathizers to slip out of the country undetected to help ISIS fight abroad. So, they believe their next-best option is to engage in domestic terrorism.
A lone wolf terrorist attack can be quick, cheap and easy. Fighting wars is very expensive; carrying out a lone wolf terrorist attack is quick, cheap and easy -- especially if the terrorist doesn't plan to survive.
Read the rest of this IBD op-ed HERE.

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