Terror Threat In 2016 Worse Than 2001
Fifteen years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the battle against terrorism is far from over. The threat we face today is arguably worse than the one we confronted in 2001.
The US has not suffered another catastrophic attack on the scale of 9/11 thanks to considerable progress in reforming how they protect the homeland. Intelligence sharing among federal agencies as well as with their state and local counterparts, sorely lacking before 9/11, is now the norm. Commercial aviation, ports and other critical infrastructure are better protected.
Globally, terrorism has intensified. According to the Global Terrorism Index, terrorist activity reached its highest recorded level in 2014, the last year with available data, with 32,685 terrorist-caused deaths. In 2001, that figure barely exceeded 5,000. Out of 162 countries studied, 93 have suffered a terrorist attack.
Terrorism might not pose an existential challenge to the United States, but it is a spreading disease eating away at the foundation of the free, open and lawful international system and the alliances that the US depends on for its prosperity and security.
Terrorist-fueled instability cascades across borders and jumps across oceans. It aggravates ethno-sectarian tensions, fuels conflicts, displaces millions, and weakens governments.
Terrorists target public spaces, international air travel and cyberspace, while seeking weapons of mass destruction. Terrorism’s toll on the US, on the vibrant democracies of our European allies, on the stability of our Middle Eastern partners, and on the security of the global commons is alarming.
