Experts Warn US Counterterrorism Erodes 25 Years After 9/11 as $81 Billion Effort Thins
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 10
Experts Warn US Counterterrorism Erodes 25 Years After 9/11 as $81 Billion Effort Thins
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 10
Summary
Twenty-five years after 9/11, security experts say the US is accepting more terrorist risk as post-attack defenses weaken through budget pressure, staff losses and complacency.
An $81 billion civilian intelligence request has not prevented resources from being stretched, they say, because attention has shifted toward China and Russia and toward Trump’s campaign against cartels, gangs and leftwing violence.
Critics also say politicized leadership choices and the dismantling of deradicalization programs have hurt morale and drained experience across the intelligence community.
The warning comes despite no mass-casualty attack on the scale of 9/11 since 2001; analysts say al-Qaida’s external intent is unclear, but more than 100 US attacks have still been tied to violent Islamist extremism.