Big Sis, "Terror Threat Highest Since 9/11; Homegrown Threat a Game Changer

[Dusty]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/janet...ry?id=12874207

The threat of terrorism is at "its most heightened state" since the 9/11 attacks nearly a decade ago, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said today.

"The terrorist threat facing our country has evolved significantly in the last ten years -- and continues to evolve -- so that, in some ways, the threat facing us is at its most heightened state since those attacks, she said before the House Homeland Security Committee. Her comments were a sobering reminder that the potential of another attack is real and growing, most notably from individuals radicalized inside the United States, despite elaborate security measures implemented by the government since 2001.

"One of the most striking elements of today's threat picture is that plots to attack America increasingly involve American residents and citizens," Napolitano said, referring to so-called homegrown terrorists fueled by the Internet and connections with operatives overseas.

More than two dozen Americans have been arrested on terrorism charges in the past two years, according to government statistics.

Fifty individuals involved in 32 high-profile terrorism plots involving al Qaeda-like ideology in the past decade were U.S. citizens at the time of their arrests, according to a study by the New York State Intelligence Center. Most were natural-born.

"[We] are now operating under the assumption, based on the latest intelligence and recent arrests, that individuals prepared to carry out terrorist attacks and acts of violence might be in the United States, and they could carry out acts of violence with little or no warning," Napolitano said.

Napolitano made the remarks before the House Homeland Security Committee, where she testified with National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter.

"This shift is a game changer," Republican committee chairman Rep. Peter King of New York said. "We must confront this threat."

FBI and Justice Department officials have reported a spike in the number of terrorism-related investigations and prosecutions involving U.S. residents since 2009.

Many of the suspects -- including Najibullah Zazi, who plotted New York City subway bombings in September 2009, and Faisal Shahzad, the convicted would-be Time Square bomber -- lived and worked for years inside the United States before preparing their attacks.

David Headley of Chicago was convicted of a role in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed more than 170 people, and Colleen LaRose, more commonly known as "Jihad Jane," was implicated in a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist for drawing the head of the Prophet Muhammad on the body of a dog in 2007.

Leiter said the evolution of domestic radicalism has been aided by propaganda developed by extremists and pushed on the Internet.

"This narrative -- a blend of al Qaeda inspiration, perceived victimization and glorification of past homegrown plotting -- addresses the unique concerns of like-minded, U.S.-based individuals," he said.

[dr. mabuse]

*

[Richard]

Battle for the budget?

> fear = > $$$

Richard

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by dr. mabuse

I don't understand. Big Sis keeps telling us how secure things are, that the system works and now this.

Simple. "Americans are your worst enemy."

[greenberetTFS]

Originally Posted by Dusty

Simple. "Americans are your worst enemy."

Dusty,

What a shame we have come down to this........

Big Teddy

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by greenberetTFS

Dusty,

What a shame we have come down to this........

Big Teddy

We ain't dead, yet.

[Team Sergeant]

I think we've heard this before..... let's go back to the Rainbow threat alert system, I enjoyed the color schemes.


The sky is falling the sky is falling!!!!!!!!! so WARNS "intelligence officials"

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano = IDIOT

[Dusty]

Janet Nostradamus

[Richard]

Janet Nostradamus

That her maiden name? I thought it was Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen of New Orleans who inspired the song "The Gambler" sung by Mel Gibson in Yiddish on NPR.

Richard

[jbour13]

Originally Posted by Dusty

Janet Nostradamus

I think you spelled her name wrong, I swore it was "Nostrodumbass".

Common mistake I'm sure.

[Peregrino]

Originally Posted by jbour13

I think you spelled her name wrong, I swore it was "Nostrodumbass".

Common mistake I'm sure.

Nuestradumbass to be precise. Since we seem to be stuck with her incompetence, ineptitud, etc. for the duration of the current administration.

[Pete]

Round up the Amish

[ZonieDiver]

Originally Posted by Peregrino

Nuestradumbass to be precise. Since we seem to be stuck with her incompetence, ineptitud, etc. for the duration of the current administration.

Say that again...

[Richard]

I think we've heard this before..... let's go back to the Rainbow threat alert system, I enjoyed the color schemes.

Following a week of terrorism alerts in San Francisco, threat levels there have been downgraded from a hearty burgundy to a tart zinfandel with overtures of baked cherry currants.

And so it goes...

Richard

Just out of curiosity, hasn't this always been the case? And now our means for discovering such have improved? To me this does not seem like anything new that has not been taken into consideration before, but then again my assessment might be lacking.

EDIT: Umm, the terrorist part, not the Janet Napolitano part.