The horrible act of violence in New Orleans early on New Year’s Day highlights the Biden administration’s utter inability to keep America safe and dissuade radical Islamic terror. Team Biden left America defenseless by failing to focus on this recurring threat to national security, instead squandering time and resources targeting political opponents, parents attending school board meetings, and Catholics. It will be up to the incoming Trump administration to clean up the mess and protect Americans.
When the Trump administration took office in January 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) controlled a large portion of Syria and was globalizing its vision of radical Islamism. It beheaded two Americans under the Obama-Biden presidency.
It takes a serious president to deconstruct the caliphate alongside partners and friends, as well as reduce the threat of radical Islamic terror at home and abroad. By the end of our tenure, we had accomplished just that: the ISIS caliphate had vanished, and the threat of radical Islamic terror within our country had been significantly reduced.
Over the last four years, we’ve seen a full abdication of this role at the White House, resulting in a worrisome return of the threat. Instead of battling radical Islamic terror at home and abroad, Biden downplayed the threat in favor of manufactured political threats, allowing actual threats to spread, culminating in the New Orleans attack.
His administration let the Taliban take over Afghanistan, allowed Iran and its proxies to thrive and carry out the October 7th slaughter, and failed to address the growing menace of radical Islamic terror at home. This strengthened our enemies and undermined America.
Worse, this administration permitted political ideology to undermine America’s fundamental national security imperatives. For four years, we’ve seen this administration label ‘far right’ groups and even supporters of President-elect Donald Trump as the greatest threat to American democracy, while barely raising a finger when protesters waved Hamas and ISIS flags in city streets and university campuses following the horrific Oct. 7 attacks.
For four years, our open borders have allowed extremists with ties to groups like as ISIS to freely enter our nation, strengthening their ability to plot and carry out attacks while also enhancing their radicalization efforts. Team Biden created a vulnerability in our national security infrastructure by seeing counterterrorism as just another political weapon or instrument for pushing woke ideology, which groups like ISIS have gleefully embraced.
Unfortunately, the aftermath of the New Orleans incident has seen an increase in irresponsible behavior. The FBI initially claimed that the suspect did not act alone, but has since reversed course and stated that he did act alone. Let’s be clear: the notion that this person acted alone is ludicrous on its face. Perhaps he carried out this particular crime alone, but such heinous deeds never happen in a vacuum.
The concept of a “lone wolf” is fiction. Whether or not accomplices were there the night of the attack, or even in the planning, this terrorist was part of a conspiracy of Islamists who had been radicalized to attack America, and he was not apprehended.
The FBI’s claim that he acted alone indicates either the persistent influence of a distorted political agenda or a fundamental comprehension of the breadth and complexity of ISIS’ operations in the United States. Every precaution must be taken to determine how and where this individual became radicalized, so that the next incident can be foreseen or avoided.
Correcting these holes in our national security is critical and should be a top priority for the next Trump administration. In reaction to the increased threat of terrorism, the American people do not need to radically modify their way of life. This would be a victory for Islamists.
Instead, it is up to competent institutions – the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and state and local law enforcement – to recognize the threat posed by radical Islamic terror and take the necessary actions to mitigate and destroy it.
The FBI tweeted in May that diversity was a high objective for the organization, but every American’s safety and security should be its top priority. Fortunately, there could not be a greater leader entering the White House to repair the wreckage left by President Joe Biden. As President Trump’s CIA Director and Secretary of State, I am certain that he will take every possible step to eliminate this threat to the American people both within and outside of our borders, as we did during his first term.
Most significantly, he would redirect the attention of our law enforcement and national security apparatus away from domestic political opponents, DEI, and wokeness and back toward apprehending the disgusting individuals who desire to hurt innocent Americans.