US Curbed 2,977-Death 9/11-Scale Attacks as Online and Cyber Threats Grow Harder to Detect
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 11
US Curbed 2,977-Death 9/11-Scale Attacks as Online and Cyber Threats Grow Harder to Detect
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 11
Summary
Twenty-five years after 9/11, U.S. officials and former counterterrorism officer Javed Ali say the country is far better protected against a large, coordinated attack but increasingly vulnerable to smaller, less visible threats.
The shift reflects post-9/11 successes: intelligence and military operations degraded al-Qaeda and ISIS, while TSA, DHS and broader surveillance and information-sharing systems closed many of the gaps exposed by the 2001 attacks.
The 2026 U.S. threat assessment says Islamist groups now lean more on propaganda and online inspiration; it recorded at least 3 Islamist attacks in the U.S. in 2025 and 15 disrupted plotters, about half with online extremist contact or influence.
That makes detection harder because lone actors and small cells often leave few warning signs—illustrated by the New Orleans truck attack on New Year's Day 2025 that killed 14 people.
The debate has widened beyond terrorism, with critics questioning the cost of roughly $8 trillion in post-9/11 wars and obligations and warning that China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and ransomware groups now pose deeper cyber and infrastructure risks.
Twenty-five years after the deadliest attacks, could the exact same intelligence failures happen again today?
Did the obsession with stopping terrorists blind the West to the silent rise of global superpowers?
The Western Intelligence Deficit: Lessons from Ukraine, the Sahel Collapse, and the Digital Age (2022–2026)
Overview
This report reveals how Western intelligence and defense agencies struggled to adapt to fast-changing threats between 2022 and 2026. Despite having access to valuable intelligence, these institutions failed to act on real-time data, leading to major surprises in Ukraine and Israel. Slow bureaucratic processes and resistance to commercial technology allowed adversaries like China and Russia to innovate quickly, eroding Western advantages. As Western focus shifted away from counter-terrorism, security vacuums in regions like the Sahel were exploited by extremist groups and rival powers. Meanwhile, decentralized digital networks fueled domestic extremism and polarization, exposing deep flaws in information sharing and coordination across agencies.