More terrorist attacks and plots unfolded last year in the United States than in any single year since hijacked jetliners flew into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001.
And there were more attacks and plots uncovered last year (13) than in the prior three years combined, say Heritage Foundation scholar Riley Walters. That brings to 76 the total since 9/11.
Sadly, 2016 portends more of the same.
On New Year’s Eve, police in Rochester, N.Y., arrested a man accused of planning a machete attack on diners on behalf of ISIS. A week later in West Philadelphia, a man who swore allegiance to ISIS fired 13 shots into a police cruiser. Officer Jesse Harnett survived. Three others who might have been involved remain at large.
And that same day, the Justice Department announced terror-related indictments against two Iraqi refugees, one of whom came to the U.S. as a minor. Both were admitted under a program deemed secure by the Obama administration, according to The Washington Times. It reports more refugees could be implicated in radical Islamic terrorist plots.
Assurances of the public’s safety only go so far — and from the Obama administration, not far enough. More than ever, the public’s vigilance will be crucial in 2016.
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