The U.S. is concerned about citizens leaving for training and then re-entering the country as a terrorist.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with members of the National Security Council in the Situation Room of the White House on Sept. 10. Flickr/The White House
As United States and allied forces strike the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants, and another organization called the Khorasan Group (al-Qaida operatives) in Syria, questions swirl about ISIS’ ability to conduct attacks here on U.S. soil.
There was a warning by Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., that about 100 U.S. citizens have traveled to the Middle East to join and train with ISIS and that about 40 have returned and are under FBI surveillance.
On the southern border, warnings are being sounded about the ability of ISIS fighters to enter the country there. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said recently he had reason to believe that four individuals with ties to terrorist organizations in the Middle East had been apprehended recently trying to cross the southern border.
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged that, although it has no evidence of a direct threat to the U.S. by ISIS, it is aware of discussions between ISIS affiliates about crossing the southern border.
Rick “Ozzie” Nelson, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it’s unlikely that ISIS is operating in the U.S. at this juncture but that there are probably ongoing efforts to get inside Western countries, including the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.
The ongoing threat will come from citizens who leave these countries to train with ISIS and return as terrorist threats.
“What ISIS has that every terrorist group wants is a safe haven — a place where they can operate freely,” Nelson said. “And from that freedom of operations they can conduct a pretty effective social media campaign as we’ve seen with ISIS, and bring in recruits, train them, equip them, plan attacks and then send these recruits back to their home nations to conduct these attacks.”
There are initiatives, Nelson said, where Canada and the U.S. are considering revoking the passports of individuals who have indicated a desire to go to Iraq and Syria and align with ISIS and get training. That’s one of the ways to mitigate the flow of potential terrorists who seek training in those countries with the idea of going back to their home country to carry out an attack.
The biggest concern, however, may be the homegrown terrorist or lone wolf who hasn’t indicated a desire to train in another country but is disenfranchised and may be a sympathizer of a terror group like ISIS. Those people may be influenced by toxic language on social media or through emails and decide to commit an act without warning.
“The trained ones are a little easier to follow because they’re leaving a footprint by traveling,” Nelson said. “When you’re staying inside the U.S., there’s no footprint and law enforcement has no authority to investigate unless they’ve been designated as intent on committing violence.”
Nelson said there is concern about a number of westerners, from the U.S., Australia and Canada, that are being recruited by ISIS and going to Iraq or Syria for training. Australia recently thwarted an effort by ISIS to publicly execute a citizen. Fifteen individuals were arrested in that plot and there have been more threats and instruction by ISIS followers to kill Australians. In the U.S., there was an arrest made in New York of a man who owned a food store who was allegedly funding ISIS and had tried to send fighters to Syria.
Nelson said one of the difficulties in finding people in the U.S. who have been influenced by terrorist language is that they may not necessarily look the part of a terrorist. He mentioned the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who were on the FBI’s radar but not considered enough of a threat to be watched more closely, and Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, a Florida resident who committed a suicide bombing in Syria.
“One of the things we have to fight against when we’re trying to be vigilant about this threat is our stereotypes of a terrorist — someone who comes from the Middle East and is motivated by certain things,” Nelson said. “We have to be very mindful of the person who has assimilated to the U.S. like that individual down in Florida who went overseas and blew himself up in Syria. He wasn’t really on anyone’s radar.”
There was a warning by Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., that about 100 U.S. citizens have traveled to the Middle East to join and train with ISIS and that about 40 have returned and are under FBI surveillance.
On the southern border, warnings are being sounded about the ability of ISIS fighters to enter the country there. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said recently he had reason to believe that four individuals with ties to terrorist organizations in the Middle East had been apprehended recently trying to cross the southern border.
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged that, although it has no evidence of a direct threat to the U.S. by ISIS, it is aware of discussions between ISIS affiliates about crossing the southern border.
Rick “Ozzie” Nelson, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it’s unlikely that ISIS is operating in the U.S. at this juncture but that there are probably ongoing efforts to get inside Western countries, including the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.
The ongoing threat will come from citizens who leave these countries to train with ISIS and return as terrorist threats.
“What ISIS has that every terrorist group wants is a safe haven — a place where they can operate freely,” Nelson said. “And from that freedom of operations they can conduct a pretty effective social media campaign as we’ve seen with ISIS, and bring in recruits, train them, equip them, plan attacks and then send these recruits back to their home nations to conduct these attacks.”
There are initiatives, Nelson said, where Canada and the U.S. are considering revoking the passports of individuals who have indicated a desire to go to Iraq and Syria and align with ISIS and get training. That’s one of the ways to mitigate the flow of potential terrorists who seek training in those countries with the idea of going back to their home country to carry out an attack.
The biggest concern, however, may be the homegrown terrorist or lone wolf who hasn’t indicated a desire to train in another country but is disenfranchised and may be a sympathizer of a terror group like ISIS. Those people may be influenced by toxic language on social media or through emails and decide to commit an act without warning.
“The trained ones are a little easier to follow because they’re leaving a footprint by traveling,” Nelson said. “When you’re staying inside the U.S., there’s no footprint and law enforcement has no authority to investigate unless they’ve been designated as intent on committing violence.”
Nelson said there is concern about a number of westerners, from the U.S., Australia and Canada, that are being recruited by ISIS and going to Iraq or Syria for training. Australia recently thwarted an effort by ISIS to publicly execute a citizen. Fifteen individuals were arrested in that plot and there have been more threats and instruction by ISIS followers to kill Australians. In the U.S., there was an arrest made in New York of a man who owned a food store who was allegedly funding ISIS and had tried to send fighters to Syria.
Nelson said one of the difficulties in finding people in the U.S. who have been influenced by terrorist language is that they may not necessarily look the part of a terrorist. He mentioned the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who were on the FBI’s radar but not considered enough of a threat to be watched more closely, and Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, a Florida resident who committed a suicide bombing in Syria.
“One of the things we have to fight against when we’re trying to be vigilant about this threat is our stereotypes of a terrorist — someone who comes from the Middle East and is motivated by certain things,” Nelson said. “We have to be very mindful of the person who has assimilated to the U.S. like that individual down in Florida who went overseas and blew himself up in Syria. He wasn’t really on anyone’s radar.”
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