US: Terror concerns connected to South Asia are identified by government as domestic dangers
US: Terrorist organizations with South Asian origins, especially those with ties to Pakistan and Afghanistan, continue to directly and dynamically threaten the United States, senior US national security officials have informed legislators.
During a Congressional hearing on global threats, Joseph Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, informed members of the House Homeland Security Committee that ISIS and al-Qaida are still active in South and Central Asia, and that Afghanistan is once again becoming a safe haven for extremist activity.
Citing the “transitional nature of those governments,” Kent said that “ISIS and al-Qaida have found sanctuary in places like Afghanistan” and cautioned that the region continues to produce challenges that extend far beyond its boundaries.
According to Kent, US intelligence assessments indicate that terrorist organizations with ties to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the past are increasingly using internet propaganda, encrypted communications, and ideological message to incite violence both domestically and internationally, including inside the US.
According to Kent, “the new terrorist tactic that we’re seeing more and more is moving away from very deliberate cellular attacks… into an inspirational methodology,” which describes how people who have been radicalized by foreign organizations act freely without direct operational direction.
Even when attacks are carried out by lone people, international terrorist organizations associated with ISIS and al-Qaida continue to pose one of the biggest risks to the US homeland, according to FBI National Security Branch Operations Director Michael Glasheen, who reaffirmed that warning.
Glasheen said that these individuals are “inspired to commit violence by foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaida.” She added that some international terrorists are individuals who are based and radicalized to violence largely within the United States.
Additionally, Kent attributed post-Afghanistan evacuation screening failures to dangers from South Asia, claiming that US agencies had discovered people allowed under emergency programs who subsequently revealed connections to terrorist groups.
“These are people whose connections to jihadi organizations like ISIS and al-Qaida would normally prevent them from entering our country,” he said.
Early in a session that subsequently descended into acrimonious political exchanges, including a heated argument between Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Indian American Congressman Shri Thanedar, there were warnings about South Asia.
Thanedar accused Noem of deceiving Congress on immigration enforcement and judicial compliance. “Secretary Noem, you lied to me under oath that day,” he said, questioning her on allegations that US citizens had not been held by immigration authorities.
Noem refuted the accusation, adding, “The Department of Homeland Security and this administration complies with all federal court orders. We have always done so and always will. DHS has “never once detained — or deported — an American citizen,” she said, adding that people may be temporarily detained while their identification is confirmed.
“I am sick of your lies,” Thanedar said as the argument became more heated. “The American people demand truth,” and if Noem wasn’t sacked, would he resign? “I will consider your asking me to resign as an endorsement of my work,” Noem shot back.
The committee was founded following the September 11, 2001, attacks, which killed approximately 3,000 people. Even while the definition of terrorism is constantly changing, US authorities continue to caution that instability in South Asia, especially terror networks connected to Afghanistan and Pakistan, is still directly related to threats to both domestic and international security.