Hearing Of The Senate Committee On Homeland Security And Governmental Affairs - Eight Years After 9/11: Confronting The Terrorist Threat To The Homeland

Statement

Deter, detect, disrupt, defend . . . these four simple words form the core of our nation's mission to prevent terrorist attacks.

Their simplicity belies the complexity of the challenge. They fail to capture the dedication and perseverance the men and women of our military, intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security agencies must demonstrate constantly to stay ahead of the evolving terrorist threat.

Eight years removed from the attacks of September 11, 2001, our nation must remain vigilant against the Islamist terrorist threat we face. Recent cases drive home the reality of this threat. Four separate terrorist plots were uncovered in the past month alone.

The allegations against Najibullah Zazi raise particular concerns because his level of planning reportedly was quite sophisticated. According to the FBI, Zazi had received training in an al-Qaeda camp in Pakistan and had purchased bomb-making components. Also, a computer the FBI recovered from Zazi's car contained images of handwritten notes that contained instructions for manufacturing explosives.

Investigations in Springfield, Illinois, and Dallas, Texas, have not only resulted in arrests, but may have prevented horrific casualties.

Details of a new plot in an ongoing case also came to light last week. Prosecutors filed a new indictment in the case against Daniel Boyd and Hysen Sherifi, alleging that they conspired to murder Marines at Quantico.

While these and other cases are cause for alarm, recent successes demonstrate that our vigilance to date has paid off. Authorities identified suspects who intended to commit terrorist acts, initiated sting operations, and prevented the attacks.

Our antiterrorism work must be relentless and requires effective coordination across the federal government and with our state and local partners. As the Chairman has noted, these recent cases demonstrate the considerable progress since 2001. By creating the Department of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, and the National Counterterrorism Center, we have encouraged information sharing and collaboration across the federal government and with our partners in state and local governments. These successes represent significant strides in what will be a long war against terrorism.

Despite these successes, some of these recent domestic plots demonstrate that coordination among federal agencies and state and local law enforcement may have been uneven.
For example, the perpetrator of the shootings at a military recruiting center in Little Rock earlier this year was under investigation by the FBI. Less clear is whether state and local law enforcement, who responded to the shooting, knew of this investigation.

We need to examine how we can build on improved information sharing with state and local officials, including whether technology gaps hinder current efforts.

We also must ask what further resources are necessary for departments and agencies at all levels of government to be better prepared to respond to these threats. And, we must always remember, while our nation has been hard at work realigning our defenses and response systems, the terrorists have been busy, too.

Disturbingly, the perpetrators in these recent cases are mostly homegrown terrorists. We must work to better understand the path that leads to violent radicalization and increase our efforts to interrupt this deadly cycle. Our intelligence and law enforcement officials must carefully analyze how the next generation of terrorists are funded, trained, and supplied.
Outreach to communities affected by violent radicalization continues to be a priority. These outreach efforts were evident when the Committee examined how more than 20 young Somali-American men from Minneapolis were recruited to travel to Somalia to join the militant Islamist group, al-Shabaab.

The FBI and state and local law enforcement have engaged in outreach to the Somali community in Minneapolis and other Somali immigrant communities around the nation. Recent events underscore the importance of these efforts. As we meet, the FBI is investigating reports that a Somali-American from the Seattle area carried out a suicide bombing in Mogadishu just a few weeks ago. Last October, a Somali-American from Minneapolis allegedly participated in a similar attack.

Law enforcement must work hand-in-hand with community leaders to understand the factors that caused these young men to travel half-way around the world to participate in terrorist attacks. Without this understanding, we cannot hope to break the cycle of violent radicalization.

Mr. Chairman, I share your concern that complacency could undermine our nation's fight against terrorism. The absence of large-scale attacks in the United States and our success in thwarting terrorist plots should not lull us into a false sense of security.
It is critical that we remain focused on the evolving and persistent threat of terrorism. We must not return to a pre-9/11 mentality.

I look forward to discussing these critical issues with our witnesses today.

Source