Synopsis "World-Wide Threats: Keeping America Secure in the New Age of Terror (in English)"
This past year has been a particularly devastating one. In just the last month, we witnessed another terror attack in downtown New York, and over the summer, parts of America, including my home State of Texas, were greatly impacted by hurricanes and other natural disasters. We also saw several heinous acts of violence that included the mass shootings in Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, and the hate-fueled homicides in Portland and Charlottesville. Tens of millions of Americans also felt the effects of cyber attacks from hackers and other cyber criminals. These are just a few of the horrors that hit our homeland. On Islamist terrorism, over the Thanksgiving break, an ISIS-affiliated group attacked a mosque in northern Sinai that left 300 people, including 27 children, dead. While this attack was thousands of miles away, it was a reminder of the savage nature of an enemy that always has our homeland in its sights. In the aftermath to 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security was created to prevent further attacks, and I believe we are better prepared than we were 16 years ago. However, in that time, al-Qaeda has expanded its global presence, and ISIS has conquered parts of countries, slaughtered innocent civilians, and inspired new followers. By using encrypted technology and by spreading incessant propaganda across the internet, jihadists are recruiting new members and planning new attacks. This has been obvious by a series of vehicle homicides across Europe. Cities known for their history and culture, like Paris, Berlin, London, Nice, Barcelona, and Brussels, are becoming more familiar as terror targets. The attack on Halloween in New York was proof that our homeland is also susceptible to this line of attack.
