Homeland Security Committee says ‘national security blunders’ of past 4 years have emboldened terrorists
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said Wednesday the “national security blunders of the past four years” have “emboldened” foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) and homegrown violent extremism.
The committee on Wednesday morning released an updated version of its Terror Threat Snapshot assessment, highlighting threats posed by homegrown extremists inspired by foreign jihadist networks like ISIS in America and around the world.
“Emboldened by the national security blunders of the past four years, foreign terrorist organizations and jihadist networks abroad remain committed to recruiting and radicalizing individuals on U.S. soil.”
The updated report comes less than a month after Texas native and U.S. military veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar killed 14 civilians Jan. 1, when he drove a truck through crowds of New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street around 3 a.m. in what federal authorities described as an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack.
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READ THE UPDATED SNAPSHOT:
“The New Orleans terrorist attack was a stark reminder that the terror threat to America is alive and persistent,” Green said. “The House Homeland Security Committee highlighted this fact back in October, and, sadly, Americans have witnessed major escalations in these threats just in the past three months.”
The report details more than 50 jihadist cases across 30 states between April 2021 and January 2025, including “dozens of attempts to provide material support to ISIS,” “providing material support to Hizballah and al Qaeda,” “receiving military-type training from ISIS and Hizballah” and “vehicle ramming attacks.”
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From the botched Afghanistan withdrawal in August 2021 to the New Orleans attack, the report includes a detailed list of all alarming terrorist-inspired attacks and arrests since former President Biden took office four years ago.
“There is no question that our national security is in a state of disrepair after the past four years of failed leadership.”
Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger said Wednesday that “Americans have been the target of terror at public celebrations, and ISIS and al Qaeda are emboldened in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia.
“There is immense work to do to correct course and bolster our homeland security. That work begins now.”
The committee also noted that vehicular-ramming attacks like the one in New Orleans are emerging as a significant and growing threat.
Multiple victims of the New Orleans attack have sued the city for negligence, citing multiple instances when the threat of a terrorist attack on Bourbon Street was mentioned in official city planning documents.
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One lawsuit filed on behalf of seven victims by Morris Bart, LLC, says the defendants “had years of opportunities to fix this known problem,” and “[c]ity contractors failed to live up to contractual obligations and perform work in the order and manner specified.
“One scenario presented by [contractor] Mott MacDonald eight months before this tragedy even involved a Ford F-150 truck specifically turning right on to Bourbon Street from Canal Street, a shockingly similar threat that was seemingly predictable before December 31.”
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Official recommendations for New Orleans security measures in the French Quarter as part of a $2.3 billion infrastructure project that began in 2017 included the installment of new bollards on Bourbon Street to prevent mass casualty events the FBI identified as a potential threat in the popular tourist area.
The city began planning updated security measures, including bollards meant to stop vehicles from entering busy streets in the French Quarter, around that time.
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“The French Quarter is often densely packed with pedestrians and represents an area where a mass casualty incident could occur,” a 2017 report states. “This area also presents a risk and target area for terrorism that the FBI has identified as a concern that the City must address.
“Following the attacks in Nice, France; in London, England; and the recent NYC Times Square incident that cited bollards saved lives, it has become clear how popular tourist areas can be threatened by attackers with vehicles and weapons.”
A separate, confidential 2019 report obtained by Fox News from security consulting firm Interfor International, warned Bourbon Street was the “most high-profile target” in New Orleans for a terror attack. The 60-page security assessment commissioned by the French Quarter Management District states bluntly, “The current bollard system on Bourbon Street does not appear to work.”
The FBI continues to investigate the attack and said Jabbar was motivated by ISIS extremism.
Federal authorities announced last week that Jabbar had previously visited New Orleans on two occasions — once on Oct. 30, 2024, and again on Nov. 10, 2024. The attacker also visited Cairo, Egypt, and Toronto, Canada, prior to the attack, the FBI said.
While Jabbar apparently acted alone, authorities are still investigating whether he had any accomplices.
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