Photo courtesy of the National Achieves
In December 2022, I sounded an alarm over the threat the open border policies of the Biden Administration posed to our national security. In the piece Border (In)security – one big gamble I wrote:
There are many reasons why a secure border is critically important for the U.S. The lack of a secure border amplifies the devastating impacts of illegal drug smuggling and the associated fentanyl overdose crisis, human trafficking, the spread of infectious disease, census inaccuracies, voter fraud, identity theft, and the unsustainable drain on our social service, medical, educational, and criminal justice resources.
All these reasons pale in comparison to the national security threat that an open border creates in the form of a terrorist attack from within or, even more nefariously, through a slow subversion of our systems, our infrastructure, our resources, our independence, our culture — all of which are susceptible to the actions of an adversary, be it a terror cell or nation-state.
Oddly, it is becoming fashionable to write off such a concern as xenophobic and hyperbolic.
In 2025 this concern is being amplified by the actions of Islamists around the world and by warnings from national security experts that are being made but getting far too little attention.
Actions in just the last month:
- Two West Virginia National Guard members were ambushed in Washington DC by an Afghan national who was allowed into our country by the Biden Administration as part of “Operation Allied Welcome.”
- Two terrorists targeted a Hanukkah event in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, killing 15 Jews aged 10 to 87 years old and injuring dozens more.
- In Syria, an Islamic State member infiltrated the Syrian security services and carried out an attack, killing three Americans including two Iowa National Guard members.
- Germany arrested five ISIS inspired men who planned to conduct a vehicle ramming attack against a Christmas market.
Warnings
Last week the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Joe Kent testified before Congress.
“The number one threat that we have right now, in my view, is the fact that we don’t know who came into our country in the last four years of Biden’s open borders.”
According to NCTC analysis, approximately 18,000 individuals with ties to jihadist groups—primarily ISIS and Al-Qaeda—were allowed to enter the United States during the Biden administration. Under normal vetting standards, these individuals would have been denied entry. Thankfully, the Trump administration has stopped this insane policy of catch and release at out border.
Just yesterday, the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, issued the following statement on social media:
Perhaps most troubling are the attempts to warn that have been coming from Sarah Adams, a national security expert and former CIA targetter. Adams has been warning us for over a year that Al-Qaeda inspired terrorist are intent on carrying out a devastating attack on the US homeland, meant to be several times more horrific than the October 7th attacks in Israel.
According to Adams, the plan is several years in the making and that as many as 1,000 Al-Qaeda terrorists have been trained, have infiltrated the United States and are in the final stages of site surveillance and weapon precrural. The plan is believed to involve an overwhelming attack in the style of Mumbai India, or Beslan Russia. However, the pending US attack is intended to occur in multiple cities and sites across the nation carried out simultaneously, targeting large gatherings, and the first responder and hospital assets that we consider our saviors. Maximum horror and terror are the goals.
Do we have the necessary resolve?
It’s too early to tell.
On the downside, we are a nation with a terribly short memory and attention span, while our adversaries have shown remarkable patience and determination to carry out their plan over decades. The threat of Islamist terror didn’t disappear after 9/11; it just shifted to a “long game” strategy.
Following 9/11 the US poured a ton of resources and effort into combatting the threat of terror in our homeland. As a local law enforcement officer, I was sent to multiple federally funded Department of Homeland Security (DHS) training courses focusing on everything from suicide bombings to biological and nuclear threats. We learned about the cycle of a terrorist attack and how we as a nation had opportunities at various stages to interrupt and prevent attacks. We learned that it was far easier to prevent an attack by interrupting it during the early stages, and that as a plan neared the attack or “execution” phase it became increasingly difficult to prevent.
Source: Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team, NCTC
When I think back to that training, I remember feeling like it was a part of our great national resolve to never again fall victim to the likes of another 9/11 attack. I’m not confident our nation has maintained that level of resolve, though I am confident our adversaries have maintained their resolve to carry out an attack.
It’s never too late
As we approach the holiday season and the large gatherings and events that will occur, our nation must shake off its apathy and wake up to the threat that is among us.
Perhaps the slogan “See something, say something” has never held more meaning than it does in 2025. Individuals can be a difference maker in detecting and helping authorities intercept an attack.
If you see something that seems suspicious – surveillance of a location, procuring dangerous materials, testing security, etc., report the activity to your local police immediately and demand that a suspicious activity report is filed.
The following chart was created by the DHS to help the public identify many activities that are suspicious and that should be reported. We all play a part in our collective survival.
