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More than 20 years into the War on Terror and a year after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, terrorism still remains a threat to American security and interests around the globe.
“I think security has certainly improved,” Long War Journal Managing Editor Bill Roggio told Fox News Digital. “You haven’t had a major 9/11-style attack. There have been other attacks, but certainly nowhere near the magnitude of 9/11.”
Much has changed since al Qaeda terrorists hijacked planes and sent them crashing into New York City’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon, resulting in an over two-decade war on terrorism and overhauls of federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies aimed at preventing another attack.
Some changes, such as the addition of the Department of Homeland Security, have made the U.S. less vulnerable to attacks, experts say.
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Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front fighters carry their weapons on the back of a pick-up truck.
(REUTERS)
“We have learned since 9/11 how to protect Americans from terrorism,” President Biden’s counterterrorism adviser, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, said last year during an appearance at the Atlantic Council. “It isn’t fail-safe, and terrible things still happen. But through a combination of actions abroad and at home, we have thus far been able to disrupt and prevent another 9/11-style attack.”
Yet, the threat that shocked Americans 21 years ago remains strong throughout the world.
“The threat that emanates from terrorist groups across the world remains and has metastasized in regions where there wasn’t a jihadist presence,” Roggio said.
According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted last year, 49% of Americans believe the country is safer today than it was before 9/11, while 41% believe the U.S. is less safe than it was 21 years ago.
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