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Terrorism experts have warned that the threat of a major terrorist attack within the United States is dangerously high, with major cities such as New York City and Washington, DC, most vulnerable to attack.
It’s been more than 23 years since 9/11 killed nearly 3,000 people, and despite increased surveillance and airport security, the world has changed significantly since then.
Technology is getting cheaper and more advanced, the internet is superfast, and America’s open borders are allowing millions of unscreened people from around the world to live among the general population and continue to flow in at record rates.
FBI Director warns of ‘elevated terrorist threat’ as jihadist attacks similar to those at Russian concert hall occur in the US
Smoke billows from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after two hijacked planes crashed into them during the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York City. Experts warn that the threat of a major terrorist attack is very high. (Robert Giroux/Getty Images)
“We are at a time when a confluence of factors makes a terrorist attack on American soil much more likely than it has been in the past,” said Paul Mauro, a former New York Police Department captain who worked in counterterrorism for nearly 15 years.
Mauro said the risk of new attacks must be assessed in a criminal context: who has the means, motive and opportunity to succeed in a deadly plot.
“The world has become a lot smaller since 9/11. We have drones, internet interconnectivity has spread to areas that perhaps didn’t have connectivity before. You can get an uplink using something like Elon Musk’s satellites. You can get online even from the Hindu Kush mountains. You have AI capabilities, and if you’re still in the world after 9/11, you’ve had a lot of time to develop your capabilities. [terror] work.”
Mauro said the threats are likely to come from current conflict zones around the world, including the Middle East, where Iran is a threat and still seeks revenge for the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a 2020 U.S. drone strike.
Mauro said people outraged by Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attack on Gaza also pose a real threat, as does Russia, which has “nuclear capabilities” and is fighting the U.S.-funded Ukrainian regime.
“We are in a period where a number of factors have come together to make a terrorist attack on our homeland much more likely than it has been in the past.”
— Paul Mauro, former NYPD inspector
“It’s clear that there are motives all over the place. The motives were there before 9/11 and they continue to exist today and are only getting worse,” he said.
Mauro said the opportunity for terrorists lies on the southern border.
“We’ve let in 10 to 20 million illegal immigrants with little to no vetting, and to think they all came from small towns in Mexico or Bolivia or Ecuador is a lie,” Mauro said.
“We’re currently seeing a spike in immigration-related crime, but if you’re in a place with Iran, China or Russia, you’d be foolish not to take advantage of the ability to bring assets seamlessly and frictionlessly onto U.S. soil through our southern border.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray cites growing foreign threats and “rogues gallery” in FISA reauthorization petition
FBI Director Christopher Wray warned at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on June 4, 2024, that the threat of terrorism on U.S. soil is increasing. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Mauro said the recent arrests of eight Tajik nationals with ties to ISIS for illegally crossing the southern border were a “huge red flag” and that in a post-9/11 world it’s “just incomprehensible” that millions of people are streaming across borders unscreened.
Former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell also criticized the terrorism threat posed by the vulnerability of the U.S.-Mexico border as a “red flag” in a recent editorial in Foreign Affairs magazine.
FBI Director Christopher Wray and General Michael Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said terrorist groups such as al-Qaida, the Islamic State of Afghanistan (ISIS) and its affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, also known as Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K), pose a serious threat.
Forces under Kurilla’s command have been battling ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria, killing or capturing about 1,000 terrorist fighters in nearly 500 ground operations and 45 airstrikes last year, according to Foreign Affairs.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee in March 2023, Kurilla drew particular attention to ISIS-K, warning that the group could carry out operations against U.S. or Western interests abroad within six months with little or no warning. In January, two ISIS-K suicide bombers killed about 100 people and injured many more at a ceremony marking the death of Soleimani in Iran. Also in March, the group carried out a terrorist attack at a Moscow concert hall, killing 145 people and wounding 550.
US to hold public visit to Israel, military review amid threat of Iran attack
The Crocus City Hall in the western outskirts of Moscow, Russia, during the March 22 terrorist attack. FBI Director Christopher Wray said there were growing concerns that a similar attack could occur on U.S. soil. (Sergey Vedyashkin/Moscow Press Agency via The Associated Press)
Meanwhile, Wray told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee earlier this month that growing concerns about an attack similar to the one at the Moscow concert hall had elevated the threat from foreign terrorists to a new level.
“During my tenure as FBI director alone, we have endured multiple domestic terrorist attacks and disruptions to cities and communities,” Wray said, arguing for his proposed $11.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2025, $661 million more than last year.
Wray also said the FBI has seen a “rogue gallery” of foreign terrorist organizations calling for attacks on the United States and its allies.
“Given the calls for action, our most immediate concern is that individuals or small groups will take distorted inspiration from events in the Middle East and launch attacks at home,” Wray said. “But now, in addition, we are increasingly concerned about the possibility of coordinated domestic attacks, much like the ISIS-K attack we saw at a Russian concert hall in March.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland also sounded the alarm about the potential terrorist threat earlier this month, telling the House Judiciary Committee that “the threat level has increased significantly” since October 7.
Former CIA deputy director warns of terrorism threat from open borders
On March 21, 2024, a group of more than 100 migrants breached the fence, and experts say the vulnerability of the U.S.-Mexico border poses an alarming terrorism threat. (James Breeden for the New York Post/Mega)
Mauro said New York City and Washington, D.C., remain the two most likely cities for a terrorist attack to take place, followed by other more densely populated cities.
No one knows what type of terror attack will occur, Mauro said.
“The Holy Grail would be a biochemical event in the deployment of this weapon. I’m not going to give up anything because of this. It would have the highest probability of loss of life. Contamination would occur in a sealed environment. This is achievable, but in the dirty bomb scenarios you often hear about, there are scientific and technological hurdles to overcome that make it difficult,” Mauro said.
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“Whether or not they could get a real atomic bomb, if Hezbollah were to buy one on the black market from an ex-KGB officer or something, bring it to a port and detonate it… that was always a nightmare scenario.”
“But what’s more significant is the use of biochemicals and [it] It’s a real nightmare scenario. Think of the damage that COVID-19 has caused.”
“So if you could detonate something like that in a closed area, in a train station, on a train, etc., that would be a very serious incident. And that’s one of the things that terrorist groups, where I was in the past, are always worried about and trying to prevent.”
Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
