During his first term as president, Donald Trump witnessed the height of the violent civil war in Syria, a resurgence of ISIS activity, and an increase in ISIS-inspired attacks abroad and on U.S. soil.
Eight years later, many of these bogeymen have returned.
In the past eight weeks, Syrian rebels have launched a blitzkrieg, regaining control of the country and then its capital, forcing longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad to flee to Russia in search of safe haven. Like Trump's first term Instability in the Middle East It has raised new questions about whether the United States should be playing in Syria, or what role it should play — amid fears that failure to act will create a further power vacuum in Syria, leaving it ripe for exploitation by Islamic State militants. and other terrorist groups.
On Wednesday, American authorities rushed to investigate and respond to two separate attacks that occurred in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Despite being thousands of miles apart, both are being investigated as possible terrorist acts — a stark indication that the threat of homegrown extremism remains as prevalent as ever.
Before Trump's second term, violence erupted – and the unexpected collapse of the authoritarian regime in Syria Raised new questions Regarding how the United States behaves.
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work the scene on Bourbon Street after at least ten people were killed when someone drove into the crowd in the early morning hours of New Year's Day on January 1, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dozens were injured after the suspect in a rented pickup truck allegedly drove around barricades and into a crowd of New Year's revelers on Bourbon Street. The suspect then got out of the vehicle, opened fire on police officers, and was subsequently killed by law enforcement. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
Options available to Trump
For his part, Trump has long opposed this idea With the participation of American forces In foreign wars. In 2019, he ordered the complete withdrawal of all military personnel in northern Syria.
He reiterated this view in a post last month on the website Truth Social, saying the United States “should have nothing to do” with the situation in Syria.
“Let her play,” he said.
It is unclear whether or to what degree this week's deadly attacks influenced Trump's decision. Fourteen people were killed in New Orleans early Wednesday morning by Shamsuddin Jabbar, a Texas native and U.S. Army veteran who drove from Houston to Bourbon Street in a rented pickup truck, plowing into crowds of people gathered outside the chain of bars. Famous for protesting. Celebrate the new year. Jabbar himself was shot dead by police.
FBI officials said Jabbar, who placed an Islamic State flag on the rental car, was “100% inspired by ISIS” in carrying out the terrorist attack, though it remains unclear whether he had any legitimate ties to the group.
Jabbar has pledged Loyalty to the Islamic State Officials said he is believed to have joined the group last summer. He was also seen on surveillance footage planting two explosive devices in coolers along the corners of Bourbon and Orleans streets, and another nearby intersection, although bomb squads were able to rescue them later.
Separately, the FBI said it was investigating the Las Vegas explosion carried out in a Tesla Cybertruck left outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas as a possible act of terrorism.
The suspect in that case, Matthew Alan Livelsperger, was a member of the Elite US Army Special Forces unit before the explosion, and FBI officials raided a Colorado Springs home on Thursday that they said they believed might be connected to the case.
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Investigators search the rental home used by Shams al-Din Jabbar in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, January 2, 2024. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
If Trump chooses to maintain his long-standing opposition to American intervention in “foreign wars,” there are other options he can take to try to quell violent domestic attacks. This could include cracking down on immigration — a policy that Trump and many Republicans in Congress have long embraced — to prevent potential threat actors from crossing the border.
In fact, the Department of Homeland Security told reporters in June that it had identified more than 400 migrants from Central Asia and other countries who had been smuggled into the United States by ISIS-linked smuggling groups over the past three years, sparking a new wave of smuggling operations. . Arrests and “subjects of concern” designations.
Department of Homeland Security officials said the arrests were just beginning Reported by NBCwere introduced out of an “abundance of caution,” and noted at the time that they had not identified any real threats to the United States from migrants, who may simply be trying to find a way to cross into the United States.
However, the border crackdown may not be enough to solve the problem, which is made particularly complex by the role played by lone wolves and individuals who have been radicalized online.
At least 10 people were reported dead after a motorist struck a group of people on Bourbon Street. (Wufu)
Widespread threat
The FBI has focused heavily on the threat of terrorism posed by domestic and domestic violent extremists, as noted in its recent report, “Global Threats to the Homeland.”
The report noted that these small groups or individuals pose the greatest threat to national security, and often use easily accessible weapons, such as guns and cars, to attack so-called “soft targets,” or groups of civilians gathered en masse in accessible locations.
The “greatest and most pressing international terrorist threat to the homeland” are individuals who have lived primarily in the United States and who carry out actions inspired by, but not explicitly directed by, a foreign terrorist organization, such as ISIS, a law enforcement agency. He said.
In early December, the FBI and other authorities warned of an increased risk of vehicle attacks by lone wolf criminals during the holidays, noting in a joint bulletin that threat actors had “planned and executed attacks against holiday targets” in previous years, with the potential for Targets including public places with “perceived low levels of security” that hold large gatherings.
The threat also will not disappear. Trump's first term as president saw multiple attacks carried out by individuals who declared allegiance to ISIS or other jihadist groups, even if they were not acting under the direction of the group itself. These individuals were responsible for the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, the 2017 New York City truck attack, the 2017 machete attack on a Middle Eastern restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, and numerous other acts of violence.
Vehicle attacks have also been on the rise: Since 2014, there have been at least 16 vehicle ramming attacks in the United States and Europe carried out by individuals practicing jihad, according to a report by Amnesty International. New America Research Center.
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Since 2020, the number of domestic terrorism investigations conducted by the FBI has doubled — a staggering rate that indicates the growing scope and complexity of the problem.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Thursday, FBI officials said the suspect in the New Orleans attack, Shams al-Din Jabbar, was “100% inspired by ISIS.”
“First of all, let me be very clear on this point,” Christopher Raya, FBI Assistant Director for Counterterrorism, told reporters. “This was an act of terrorism. It was deliberate and an evil act,” he added.
