Jim Kouri
Obama's views on Muslim terrorism fly in the face of reality: Report
By Jim Kouri
Despite President Barack Obama and his minions claiming the strength of the world's radical Islamist network is waning and the threat to the United States minimal, a study released on Wednesday by a well-respected and highly-regarded think-tank contradicts what many call Obama's myopic view of the terrorist threat to the United States, the American people, and U.S. interests throughout the world, according to Joel Kaplan, a former members of a police special operations team.
The RAND Corporation study suggests that the threat of Islamic terrorism isn't waning at all, but appears to be growing by leaps-and-bounds. A rising number of Salifi-jihadist groups (Islamists) is a growing terrorist threat to the United States when one considers the lack of border security and screening of immigrants – legal and illegal – by the U.S. government.
In last four years – 2010-2014 – the world has experienced a 58 percent increase in the number of Islamist terror groups, with the number of Muslim terrorists doubling and the number of al-Qaida affiliates has actually tripled.
The biggest jihadist threat to the U.S. homeland, the report alleges, comes from terrorist organizations currently creating havoc in countries such as Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In fact, a recent Examiner news story suggests that the Syrian rebellion has become a training ground for homegrown terrorists from Western nations such as Great Britain.
According to the Homeland Security News Wire, one of the reasons for the increase in groups, fighters, and attacks is the widely-known weakness of governments across North Africa and the Middle East. Weak governments have difficulty establishing law and order, which allows militant groups and other sub-state actors to fill the vacuum.
The Rand Corporation study cautions U.S. decision-makers, especially the Commander in Chief Barack Obama, that the trends described in the study suggest the U.S. law enforcement and security communities must remain focused on countering the activities of the Islamist groups. The report also strongly suggests that Islamic terrorism is enjoying a resurgence especially in North Africa and the Middle East.
The report specifically cautions the United States (Barack Obama) to resist his temptations to turn his attention and resources away from the Middle East and towards the Asia-Pacific region as part of his "rebalancing strategy."
"Based on these threats, the United States cannot afford to withdraw or remain disengaged from key parts of North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia," said Seth Jones, author of the study and associate director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "After more than a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, it may be tempting for the U.S. to turn its attention elsewhere and scale back on counterterrorism efforts. But this research indicates that the struggle is far from over."
© Jim Kouri
June 8, 2014
Despite President Barack Obama and his minions claiming the strength of the world's radical Islamist network is waning and the threat to the United States minimal, a study released on Wednesday by a well-respected and highly-regarded think-tank contradicts what many call Obama's myopic view of the terrorist threat to the United States, the American people, and U.S. interests throughout the world, according to Joel Kaplan, a former members of a police special operations team.
The RAND Corporation study suggests that the threat of Islamic terrorism isn't waning at all, but appears to be growing by leaps-and-bounds. A rising number of Salifi-jihadist groups (Islamists) is a growing terrorist threat to the United States when one considers the lack of border security and screening of immigrants – legal and illegal – by the U.S. government.
In last four years – 2010-2014 – the world has experienced a 58 percent increase in the number of Islamist terror groups, with the number of Muslim terrorists doubling and the number of al-Qaida affiliates has actually tripled.
The biggest jihadist threat to the U.S. homeland, the report alleges, comes from terrorist organizations currently creating havoc in countries such as Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In fact, a recent Examiner news story suggests that the Syrian rebellion has become a training ground for homegrown terrorists from Western nations such as Great Britain.
According to the Homeland Security News Wire, one of the reasons for the increase in groups, fighters, and attacks is the widely-known weakness of governments across North Africa and the Middle East. Weak governments have difficulty establishing law and order, which allows militant groups and other sub-state actors to fill the vacuum.
The Rand Corporation study cautions U.S. decision-makers, especially the Commander in Chief Barack Obama, that the trends described in the study suggest the U.S. law enforcement and security communities must remain focused on countering the activities of the Islamist groups. The report also strongly suggests that Islamic terrorism is enjoying a resurgence especially in North Africa and the Middle East.
The report specifically cautions the United States (Barack Obama) to resist his temptations to turn his attention and resources away from the Middle East and towards the Asia-Pacific region as part of his "rebalancing strategy."
"Based on these threats, the United States cannot afford to withdraw or remain disengaged from key parts of North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia," said Seth Jones, author of the study and associate director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "After more than a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, it may be tempting for the U.S. to turn its attention elsewhere and scale back on counterterrorism efforts. But this research indicates that the struggle is far from over."
© Jim Kouri
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
