During the 2012 campaign against Republican Mitt Romney, President Obama repeatedly claimed “Al Queda is on the run,” reassuring Americans that his counter-terrorism policies are working and implying Americans are safe, or at least safer, from the threat of radical jihadism.
This week’s closure of nearly two dozen American diplomatic facilities throughout the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region has raised new questions of whether it is Al Queda that is on the run – or America.
In a report released last month, our friends at the Heritage Foundation documented 60 publicly known terrorist plots directed against the United States since 9/11. Of these, 56 were foiled while four were successful: (1) an attack with a motor vehicle on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006; (2) a shooting at a military recruiting center in Little Rock, Ark. In 2009; (3) the Ft. Hood shootings by Maj. Nidal Hasan in 2009; and (4) the Boston Marathon bombings earlier this year.
A total of 33 of the 60 known terrorist plots against Americans took place during the five years of the Obama Administration, compared to 27 plots during the eight years of President Bush’s Administration. In short, the number of known terrorist plots its rising, not falling.
Another disturbing trend is the increasing number of terror plots involving American citizens. The United States significantly enhanced the screening of foreign visitors following 9/11, placing a premium on terror groups’ ability to enlist the support of American citizens or foreigners already in the country legally. Of the 154 people arrested or killed for their involvement in terror plots since 9/11, 77 were American citizens. Only three were citizens of Saudi Arabia. The Boston Marathon bombers – Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev – were naturalized as U.S. citizens. By contrast, 15 of the 19 hijackers involved with the 9/11 attacks twelve years ago were Saudis.
We are a long way from declaring victory in the war on terrorism, as this week’s embassy closures make clear. Numerous MENA countries are either in various stages of instability (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya), or in an outright state of civil war, such as in Syria, with Yemen somewhere in between. These conflict zones attract zealots from throughout the region who receive training in armed conflict while being exposed to others who share extremist views. In short, the region is an incubator for extremism to an even greater extent than during the period leading to the 9/11 attacks.
Unfortunately, the abuse of the IRS for political purposes and serious questions about the protection of privacy in light of the NSA’s surveillance programs undermine public confidence in government at precisely the time we must respond to mounting terror plots targeting Americans.
Republicans can and should support continued improvement and refinement of America’s counterterrorism capabilities while ensuring proper protection of Americans’ privacy. To protect lives and maintain a free society, government must do both.