Terrorism
Forgotten: Why America Lacks Interest in the Ongoing Jihad Threat
by Brig Barker
Special to IPT News
June 11, 2019
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 If, one year after
9/11, an individual originally from India drove a van full of propane tanks into the front gate
of a California Air Force base, burning himself to death in the process, it
would have been deemed an act of terrorism. In fact, it would have received
extensive media coverage and quickly reverted society back to being
concerned about another attack. Additional consequences would have included
an enraged society, a collective call by citizens to find a motive, and an
easing of political correctness.
If, one year after 9/11, a Muslim male was stopped in Los Angeles with
two homemade bombs in his car while heading to a crowded mall with the intent of carrying
out an attack, the plot would have gained national attention. And if deeper
searches revealed that the suspect had a previous conviction for making
terroristic threats, inquiries would have begun for the missing links. If,
finally, it was determined that this same man had another, more recent
conviction overseas for attacking someone with acid and disfiguring him for
life, Congress may have stood up and taken notice.
Finally, if one year after 9/11, a Bangladeshi man meticulously plotted to carry out a jihadist attack in Times Square,
more than just New Yorkers would be alarmed. If he lauded Osama bin Laden
and characterized the attacks of 9/11 as a success, American citizens
across the country would take notice.
Although the dates have been changed, these stories are true. In fact,
each happened within the last two years inside America's borders with
little to no national media coverage. Motives have still not been "determined," which begs the question whether
authorities are keeping information close to the chest or whether there's a
lack relevant training to help them understand the ideology and motivations
of this enemy.
What happened? Why is there such a lack of interest in, or denial of,
jihadist attacks and plots in America today? Does it have to do with the
drowning out of information by the daily news cycle? Or maybe these are
just lower priority stories given the tectonic events happening around the
country each day. Law enforcement has been tremendously effective in
thwarting attacks over the years. Perhaps those successes generated a sense
of perpetual protection.
In reality, there are three other options that might explain this
lackluster interest in such attacks and plots.
First, people have little awareness about, or have become numb to
jihadist terrorism. Despite thousands of attacks globally each year, Americans
receive little exposure to the daily attacks in India, Somalia, and other
countries. Events taking place in far-off and austere locations around the
world rarely make their way into American media. Beyond this fact, jihadism
has all but become a way of life given its frequency, especially in
countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Outside the shock and awe of ISIS
beheadings and Boko Haram school kidnappings, Americans have become numb to
the weekly IED and car bomb attacks.
Second, American citizens are afraid to acknowledge and publicly connect
anything evil that may have a potential link to religion as its root.
Scratching the surface in the above attacks or plots would most likely
connect these incidents to Islamism. In fact, one just needs to read the
criminal complaint from the last week's Times Square plot to learn that the
suspect listened to sermons by American-born al-Qaida cleric
Anwar al-Awlaki in his run up to planning the attack. He said he would be "happy" "seeing the
flag of Islam on the Twin Towers or the Empire State Building."
While those are his exact words, calling attention to them is likely to
trigger immediate accusations of Islamophobia. This is an all-too-common
reaction from certain Muslim advocacy groups subsequent to jihadist attacks
or uncovered plots within America. Others will claim the suspect is
mentally ill, lacks knowledge of Islam, and the other go-to excuse – he was
manipulated and radicalized by the Internet.
Finally, a third possible reason for the lack of interest in or denial
that jihad is present in the United States may have to do with our lack of
understanding about the ideology that fuels many plots. Cyber-attacks are a
simple concept – someone hacked a company's computer and stole data. A
slick businessman swindled a slew of elderly citizens out of their
retirement savings: evil, but straightforward. Even school shootings are
pieced together after the event, the suspect was bullied and committed to
bringing vengeance to those that wronged him.
But the jihadist ideology continues to be a mystery. A young man, often
college educated and raised in a stable family, decides to martyr himself
in the cause of a religion. In fact, he's so dedicated to his effort he is
ready to kill scores of other people he has never met as part of his
martyrdom. Why? He begins spending every waking moment of his day watching
videos of jihadists killing coalition troops in Iraq, reading manuscripts
like the "Management of Savagery," written by an al-Qaida
scholar, and communicating with like-minded believers in Yemen through
encrypted communications. Maybe he's an engineer by trade and has a
well-paying job and a hopeful future. We can't make heads or tails of it.
In the end, we're left with two things. Jihad continues to be a threat
in the United States, and there is a lack of interest and focus on the
consequences of its presence. Jihadists revel in the lack of scrutiny. They
will continue to plan, conduct surveillance, and build their network unless
a citizen calls the authorities with a hunch about something seeming
suspicious. Yet, will that call happen? It did not in San Bernardino, and 14 people were gunned
down.
America is being lured into a false sense of security by the media,
given the lack of coverage and what some could characterize as a
minimization campaign. Jihad is real, and radicalization is happening every
day in America, we just need to read our history.
Brig Barker is a retired FBI counterterrorism agent and former Army
officer. He is now the CEO of Red
Rock Global Security Group.
Related Topics: Homegrown
Terror, Prosecutions,
terrorist
threats, plots,
radicalization,
al-Qaida,
Anwar
al-Awlaki, Hafiz
Kazi, Saleh
Ali, Ashiqul
Alam, San
Bernardino attack, Management
of Savagery
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