Homeland Security releases frightening report - Is the U.S. REALLY safe?

'This threat environment has required a whole new type of response.'

A new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report claims the United States has moved from "a world of terrorist-directed attacks to, a world that also includes the threat of terrorist-inspired attacks."

What other threats, looming unseen, can be found in America?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - In the written testimony of DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson for a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing titled "Worldwide Threats to the Homeland: ISIS and the New Wave of Terror," Chairman McCaul, Representative Thompson and members of the committee provided their annual report of threats to the homeland before Congress.

The meeting began simply, with a reminder of the San Bernardino and Orlando attacks. These attacks were used as "terrible reminders of the new threats we face to the homeland," the report states.

Not only is the United States subjected to terrorist attacks but it has also been dealing with several terrorist-inspired attacks from "self-radicalized" terrorists.

These threats are "often difficult to detect by our intelligence and law enforcement communities, could occur with little or no notice, and in general, make for a more complex homeland security challenge.

"This threat environment has required a whole new type of response."

Reports of using the "DHS Data Framework initiative" helps improve Homeland Security's ability to look deeper into classified information for incoming immigrants and security has been increased in several government buildings across the nation.

Grant assistance to local and state governments was also offered to hold "active shooter training exercises, overtime for police officers and firefighters, salaries for emergency managers, emergency vehicles, and communications and surveillance equipment."

The DHS is also tightening the Visa Waiver program, which allows travelers from 38 countries to enter the United States for a short amount of time without a visa.

All improved defenses, including social media, airport, and the development of biometric systems, are the result of the very serious threat of an ISIS attack as great as Al-Qaeda's on September 11, 2001.

According to the DHS Terror Threat Snapshot, there are seven main points of concern:

• ISIS is fueling an unprecedented tempo for law enforcement authorities combating the homegrown Islamist extremist threat. The vast majority of the 900 active homegrown extremist investigations involve links to ISIS. Authorities have already arrested nearly60 individuals this year in ISIS-related cases.
• ISIS's global expansion has unleashed a wave of violence around the world - including against Western targets. From July through September this year, ISIS-affiliated groups launched around 12 attacks every day killing more than 30 people worldwide. ISIS's calls for attacks are resonating with its supporters in the West. ISIS has directed or inspired 62 plots to attack Western targets, including 18 inside the United States.
• Al Qaeda and its affiliates are regenerating their terror networks and capitalizing on power vacuums. Al Qaeda is exploiting the diminished American troop presence and weak local security forces in Afghanistan in order to rebuild its sanctuary. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has captured additional territory in Yemen amidst the ongoing war there.
• Foreign fighters converging on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq pose a continuing threat to the United States and our allies. A French fighter returnee reportedly described Syria as a "factory of jihadists" trained to launch external attacks in the near future. A recent House Homeland Security Committee bipartisan task force found that security weakness overseas are enabling fighters to travel more freely.
• The massive refugee flows out of Syria remain vulnerable to terrorists seeking to exploit the crisis to infiltrate the West. American national security officials cautioned during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on October 21 that our limited intelligence picture of the conflict zone in Syria has the potential to undermine the integrity of the U.S. refugee resettlement screening process.
• Guantanamo Bay detainees transferred overseas continue to pose a threat to U.S. national security interests. Nearly one in three detainees released from the facility have rejoined or are suspected of having rejoined Islamist terror groups. The Obama Administration transferred two more detainees out of Guantanamo in October.
• The world's leading state sponsor of Islamist terror, Iran, continues to slow instability and is poised to gain additional resources in the coming months as a result of sanctions relief. Iran has ramped up its military involvement in Syria in conjunction with its proxies, the Assad regime, and Russia. The Obama Administration is preparing to provide Iran with additional sanctions relief under the terms of the nuclear agreement, meanwhile, the Iranian parliament vowed that the "martyr-nurturing nation of Iran" will continue chanting "Death to America."

So what does this all mean?

Put simply, the United States has been hard at work to ensure the threat of an ISIS attack of a 9/11 scale never occurs on U.S. soil again despite ongoing and advancing threats.

The danger is always present but thanks to the hard work from brave men and women in the DHS, very few attacks ever come to fruition.

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