Could 9/11 Happen Again?
National security experts say the warning lights are flashing red.
More than two decades after the devastating 9/11 attacks, concerns are growing that the forces of terror, thought to be on the decline, might be rising once more.
As global attention has shifted to new threats like cyber warfare and pandemics, the resurgence of terrorism, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, is suddenly forcing policymakers to reconsider their approach to counterterrorism.
“Looking back over my career in law enforcement, I’d be hard-pressed to think of a time where so many threats to our public safety and national security were so elevated all at once,” FBI Director Christopher Wray warned the House Appropriations Committee on April 11, 2024. “But that is the case as I sit here today.”
“When I sat here last year, I walked through how we were already in a heightened threat environment,” Wray told the committee. “Since then, we’ve seen the threat from foreign terrorists rise to a whole ‘nother level after October 7.”
“Since then, we’ve seen a rogue’s gallery of foreign terrorist organizations call for attacks against Americans and our allies,” FBI Director Wray added gravely. “Given those calls for action, our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from the…