The main port of entry for terrorists remains unguarded. It is not the Southern Border with Mexico. In fact, of all of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. none of the perpetrators have arrived from there and they all have legally entered in the country. While a few terrorists have come from foreign countries, since 9/11 the vast majority were born here. Therefore, we must accept the fact that the most dangerous and virtually unprotected port of entry for terrorism is the human mind and no wall is going to prevent ideas from entering.
It is important to understand that despite the hysteria regarding Islamic fundamentalists in general, and ISIS in particular, the far greater danger to American lives from terrorist activities comes from right-wing groups that are usually comprised of white males. According to GAO reporting, 73 percent of the incidents reported as terrorist events since 12 September, 2001, have been committed by them. The worst attack on American soil took place on 1 October, 2017 in Las Vegas. With 58 dead and 857 injured (over 400 by gunshots) it is not even listed as terrorism as no motive was ever determined. The perpetrator was Steven Paddock, a 64-year-old white male. From an elevated position in Mandalay Bay Hotel, he just opened fire on concert-goers killing and wounding them indiscriminately. Prior to that incident, the highest number of fatalities was a mass shooting by Seung Hui Cho. On 16 April, 2007, Cho, then a student at Virginia Polytechnical Institute, shot and killed 32 students and faculty members leaving 23 others injured, 23 from gunshot wounds. He left a manifesto and while the motive remains unclear, there was no indication that he was influenced by any foreign entity.
However, there have been several terrorist attacks in the U.S. that have been perpetrated by citizens and inspired by Islamic fundamentalism. Though not the most lethal, the Boston Marathon bombing on the 15th of April, 2013 is perhaps the most notable. The Boston culprits, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and 19-year-old Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev had come to the U.S from the Caucasus region of former USSR, when in 2002 their family sought asylum here. Records show that they were self-radicalized over the Internet. The impetus for their journey to radicalization was belief that Islam was under attack by Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to their political indoctrination, on-line they also learned crude, but effective, bomb-making skills.
The distinction for most fatalities goes to the shootout at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The shooter, Omar Mateen, also was self-radicalized. Born in New York City, Mateen apparently spent hours watching jihadist video on the Internet. At one point, due to contacts he was making, Mateen did cause the FBI to investigate him. Mistakenly, they concluded that he was not a serious threat. In his terrorist attack on 12 June, 2016, he shot and killed 49 people while 53 more were wounded.
As a former military officer, I find the actions of American-born, U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan, at Ft Hood, Texas to be one of the most reprehensible. On 5 November, 2009, MAJ Hasan opened fire in the Soldier Readiness Processing Center killing 13 and wounding 32 soldiers and civilians who were there. Himself a psychiatrist, it appears that he too was self-radicalized. Just prior to the incident he had frequent email contact with Imam Anwal al-Awlaki. Born in New Mexico and self-radicalized, in Northern Virginia before fleeing to Yemen, he was an Imam for some of the 9/11 hijackers. Al-Awlaki was believed to be a senior recruiter and regional commander for al-Qaeda, who was then hiding in Yemen from American efforts to eliminate him. Unsuccessful in evasion, Al-Awlaki was killed later in a remotely piloted vehicle strike.
Then there was the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on 2 December, 2015. Chicago-born Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, shot up a Christmas party attended by co-workers at the Inland Regional Center. Malik was born in Pakistan, but legally entered the country as the wife of Farook. It is known that Farook and his neighbor, Enrique Marquez, Jr, a recent convert to Islam, spent considerable time watching videos produced by al-Shabaab. Farook and Malik died in a confrontation with police, but not before they had killed 14 people and wounded another 22.
There are other examples of self-radicalized fundamentalist Muslim terrorist attacks in the U.S. The D.C. area sniper, John Allen Mohammed, who, with indiscriminate targeting of victims, reined fear throughout the metropolitan area for three weeks during October 2002. Viewing the event as blasphemy, in May 2015 two gunmen from Arizona drove to Garland, Texas expressly to assault a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest that was being held at the Curtiss Culwell Center.
The reason for emphasizing these horrific events is to point out the speciousness of the claim that a wall on the border with Mexico would somehow have a significant impact in preventing terrorist attacks. A major theme by President Trump and his staff supporting the effort to build a big beautiful concert wall was to stop terrorist from “streaming across the border.” Even the reports of his own administration do not confirm his assertion. What their rhetoric does successfully accomplish, however, is to sow the seeds of fear in his constituents, and apparently even some members of Congress.
Intentional or not, all such terrorist’s attacks are right out of the ISIS playbook. Those potential adherents to their message are strongly encouraged to stay in place and have minimal interactive contact. On a variety of websites, ISIS, and other fundamentalist organizations, provide both the philosophical and technical information necessary to spawn what are called lone wolf attacks. As private individuals these techniques make detection and prevention very difficult as the port of entry is the human mind.
As was elucidated over two decades ago, the mind has no firewall. Actually, there is a prescient article by that name that appeared in Parameters, the journal of the U.S. Army War College. Written by retired Lt. Col. Timothy L. Thomas, his main premise was that the concept of “‘information warfare’ falls short when the individual soldier, not his equipment, becomes the target of attack.” What is depicted here is that the targets for ideological persuasion are far wider than members of the military but the effects just as devastating.
Volumes have been written on the psychology of terrorists and terrorism. It is known that the influence projected is extremely powerful and ISIS operatives have become master craftsmen in the arts of psychological warfare. Witness the number of Americans who have left the country to fight with ISIS, al Qaeda, al-Shabaab, or similar organizations. Several have died for their beliefs and just last week two ex-patriots were captured in Syria by the Kurdish YPG forces. One, who was obviously impressionable, Soulay Noah Su. He was only 16 years of age. Remember, as far back as January 2002 when young American mujahedeen, John Walker Lindh, was captured in Afghanistan fighting with the Taliban. At the age of 16 he had converted to Islam in California, then travelled to Yemen and later joined bin Laden’s forces.
Of grave concern should be those Americans who are currently working with ISIS. It is important to know that ISIS is a concept and the requirements to hold territory less significant than the ability to act. In fact, while still rare, several Americans have risen through the ranks of ISIS. Included are John Georgelas and Abdullah Ramo Pazara. Even worse are the recent beheading videos featuring Zulfi Hoxha killing Kurdish captives. He is the son of a New Jersey pizza-shop owner and was raised in the U.S. While Jihadi John was British and shown in multiple executions, Hoxha is the first American seen carrying our such gruesome tasks. While these members have travelled and physically joined ISIS, they retain the ability to influence other like-minded people here in America.
What influences normally stable individuals to relinquish their American lifestyle (and sometimes the very lives) to engage in terrorist activities is open to conjecture. We do know that the reasons given for conversions, and especially impetus to act, are very complex. The important fact is that these transformations do occur, and more frequently than many people would like to allow. As has been conclusively demonstrated this threat is domestic, not one that is slipping through the southern border. The philosophy is openly transmitted via various media through the unguarded port of entry – the human mind. No physical wall is going to be effective in stopping this terrorist incursion. To enhance national security, we would be far better off exploring the psychological processes by which individuals are influenced to commit these heinous acts and then developing programs designed to counter the adversarial influence. Because of privacy concerns, the methods necessary to spot potential lone wolf terrorists is even more complicated.
As the great philosopher Pogo once stated, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” No wall, or other physical barrier, will make a significant difference in stopping ideology from the most vulnerable port of entry – the human mind.