Representative McCaul (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, recently described overseas terrorism as “spreading like a spider web.” He went on to say that the situation was “getting worse, not better.”
McCaul explained that threat of overseas terrorism increases the threat of terrorism to the United States. Keeping that threat out of the United States, he said, was his “basic concern.”
Are Terrorists Gaining Ground?
To be more specific, it appears that terrorists have gained ground since 2011, making the United States no safer than it was two years ago. A number of State Representatives and Senators, both Republican and Democrat, agree that the Obama administration has not done enough to combat global terrorism, thereby losing the ongoing battle.
Although there are a number of policies in place since September 11th that have undoubtedly prevented another large-scale attack on U.S. soil, a number of officials think that the Obama administration is giving people a false sense of America’s safety, both domestically and around the world.
McCaul said, since bin Laden has been killed, many think that al Qaeda is on the run, when this is, in fact, a “false narrative and premise” because global threats are continuing across the world in places like northern Africa, Libya, Egypt, and Syria.
Small-Scale Attacks Remain a Concern
Representative Adam Schiff (D-California) agrees that low-level attacks are still “very threatening,” but that the United States is more effective than ever before about keeping terrorism off its soil. He said that the United States is undoubtedly safer from large-scale terrorist attacks, but smaller attacks by lone actors, such as in the case of the Boston Marathon bombing, continue to pose a threat to national security.
Both Schiff and McCaul agree, however, that Syria remains a major problem, as it has become a training ground for terrorists around the world, calling rebel forces more of a threat than anything.
