No question about it, the seminal global conflict is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The crisis in Gaza and Chinese aggression in the South China Sea are a close second and third. However, a more immediate threat closer to home is the loosely organized but dangerous global terrorist organizations and non-state actors, such as cartels and transnational criminal groups. A recent threat assessment warned of the peril posed by global terrorism and international criminal enterprises without borders.
Global Terrorism and Transnational Criminals
The previous administration was not known for its hard line against bad actors, but from his first day in office, President Donald Trump let it be known that his administration was going after terrorists and international criminals. His authorization of intensified air attacks on the Houthi rebels in Yemen during March was just a taste of what to expect. The US support of Israel during its 12-day war with Iran, the number one sponsor of terrorism, concluded with the destruction of Tehran’s nuclear development capability, showing this American resolve.
Nonetheless, terrorist organizations have become fragmented, with independent cells spread across the globe. The recent Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community describes current examples of foreign-inspired attacks on US soil:
“ISIS remains the world’s largest Islamic terrorist organization, has sought to gain momentum from high-profile attacks, and continues to rely on its most capable branches and globally dispersed leadership to weather degradation. The New Year’s Day attacker in New Orleans was influenced by ISIS propaganda, and separately, an Afghan national was arrested in October for planning an election day attack in the name of ISIS, highlighting ISIS’s ability to reach into the Homeland to both inspire and enable attacks.”
Further, the threat analysis explains that Al-Qaeda remains a worldwide threat, maintaining “its intent to target the United States and US citizens across global affiliates.” Particularly troublesome have been the Al-Qaeda operatives in Iran who relentlessly stoke and exploit anti-Israel disturbances in major US cities and on university campuses, effectively fomenting student riots “over the war in Gaza to unite Muslims and encourage attacks against Israel and the United States.”
