20 years after 9/11 attacks, New York remains the main target of terrorists in the United States

Having seized power, the Taliban opened the door for all terrorists who wanted to come to Afghanistan for training. The alliance with the Taliban provided safe haven for al-Qaeda, provided an opportunity to train and educate militants and terrorists, import weapons, and establish links with other groups and jihad leaders. In addition, groups have gained more freedom and ability to plan and staff terrorist schemes. New York Daily News... And the authorities of New York should care about this more than the leaders of any other cities in the United States and the world.

Nearly 20 years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the form of the terrorist threat to the West and New York has changed, but unfortunately for the worse, said Mitchell Silber, who was the head of intelligence and analytics at the NYPD from 2005-2012.

The key moment in the game, in his opinion, was the defeat of the United States in Afghanistan, and this is how the jihadists present the withdrawal of troops. And they have a reason for this, because immediately after the US Army left Afghanistan, the country came under the rule of “Taaliban”.

Just a few days ago, al-Qaeda's "general command" issued a statement congratulating the Taliban on a "great victory." Al-Qaeda described the victory as a "prelude" to the success of Islam elsewhere and the end of "US-European arrogance" and hegemony. More importantly, al-Qaeda has called on Muslims around the world to support the Taliban by "emigrating to Afghanistan to gain the skills and resources needed to help the Taliban build a state."

A few days ago, former British intelligence chief Sir John Sawers, who served as chief of MI-6 for five years, warned that the terrorist threat is greater today than it was before the West left Afghanistan. He added that there is an increased risk of attack both from abroad and by local residents after Afghanistan came under Taliban control.

Afghanistan will become a training base for terrorists

Some argue that over the past 20 years, the Taliban realized that they had previously lost power in Afghanistan precisely because they allowed al-Qaeda and other terrorists to use the country as a testing ground for attacks on the United States. Those who support this position argue that the Taliban, who are now back in power, two decades later, are not going to risk what they got. This means that they will not be allowed to build and use terrorist training camps in their country again. They want to consolidate their control over Afghanistan and keep it this time.

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However, if this is the case, then the implementation of this plan will pose a serious challenge for the Taliban. According to a June 2021 UN report, in the months leading up to the withdrawal of US troops, between 8000 and 10 jihadist fighters associated with the Taliban from Central Asia, the North Caucasus region of Russia, Pakistan and the Xinjiang region in western China poured into Afghanistan.

Al-Qaeda's latent presence in Afghanistan, as even US Secretary of State Tony Blinken notes, has been reduced, but not eliminated. The most likely scenario is that Afghanistan will once again become the Mos Eisley Cantina universe. The reason for this will be the joint presence of al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the country. Mos Eisley Cantina is a global jihadist universe where a worldwide network of Islamist movements of all shapes and sizes from North Africa to the Philippines comes to meet each other. They establish contacts, exchange ideas, and learn to conduct special terrorism training from each other.

In this regard, Afghanistan compares favorably with Yemen, Iraq, Libya and other states caught up in chaos and war, since the power of one group has been established there. It will create a unique gravitational pull that will mobilize foreign fighters from around the world. In the end, it was only in Afghanistan that the world superpower was defeated, which rekindled the global jihad.

Unsurprisingly, in recent days, al-Qaeda sources in Syria have noted that a large number of its foreign fighters have expressed a desire to travel to Afghanistan after the Taliban seizure of power.

Even if the Taliban banned the establishment of training camps, they will not refuse to provide "refuge" to Islamic militants who are looking for a kind of Islamist homeland. Afghanistan will be the crossroads for every militant group around the world. The country will potentially become a place where the Taliban will at least turn a blind eye to the exchange of terrorist knowledge and experience. This will be a conducive environment for jihadists.

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Ultimately, all these Islamist asylum seekers will go back to their radical groups around the world, and will operate from there, and not from Afghanistan, because the Taliban are trying not to leave their traces in the case.

"First there will be Western Europe, which will become a testing ground ... then New York," suggested former New York City Deputy Police Commissioner David Cohen.

USA lacks effective protection

Unfortunately, the Joe Biden administration's new counter-terrorism strategy, which focuses on using drones and other tools to repel enemies in distant lands, is unlikely to be effective. Without eyes and ears in Afghanistan, the US will not have sufficient data against this latent metastatic threat. Nothing replaces bases and a reliable network of informants who can understand the intentions and capabilities of the enemy.

As a result, instead of fighting the terrorists there, the Americans will have to stop them much closer to home.

What does it all mean for New York

During the administration of Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, there was a popular adage among the security forces that whenever a terrorist is arrested abroad, they always find maps or photographs of New York.

Since September 11, 2001, New York has been the target of 51 terrorist conspiracies, according to current NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism, John Miller. No other American city can match this dubious achievement.

And now that global jihadist networks have a haven to revive, that means the threat to New York will increase - perhaps not tomorrow, but over time. As previously reported Forum Daily New York, former TSA agents argued that more attacks were "just a matter of time."

Defending a city of nearly 9 million people is no easy task. New York has been the target of various conspiracies since 9/11, targeting subways, synagogues, Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge, New York Stock Exchange, John F. Kennedy Airport, PATH Tunnels, Chelsea, and the West Side Highway bike path. to speak of other purposes.

New York is the main target of the militants

Bloomberg stated that New York will always be a target for terrorists, being a famous symbol of America.

“Terrorists around the world who feel threatened by our freedoms are always focusing on these symbols of freedom - and this is New York,” he said.

Of course, New York is the international symbol of the United States. However, this is not the only reason it is at higher risk than other American cities. Although not the political capital of America, it is the financial capital of the country. Striking a blow at America's economic power has often been the target of terrorists.

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Moreover, it is the nation's media and communications capital, and to paraphrase Brian Jenkins of the Rand Corporation, "terrorists want a lot of people to watch them."

Advocacy benefits from a successful attack that gets news coverage around the world. For example, the success of the September 11, 2001 terrorists serves as an excellent recruiting tool. It also overtly instills fear in many more people. Finally, New York's Jewish population of more than a million also attracts jihadists driven by a religious-political ideology that hates Jews.

What are the weak points of New York

In addition to the city's residents, another million people travel (under normal circumstances) to the metropolis. This provides terrorists with a crowd of people, which can make the aftermath of an explosion in densely populated areas more deadly and more spectacular.

The city also has highways for public transport and there is no way to protect every kilometer of track. Also, all buses or commuter services that flock to the city are crowded places. The sending of several suicide bombers on the New York subway in 2009 by Al-Qaeda's Najibullah Zazi was just one of a series of such conspiracies over the past 20 years.

The recent history of conspiracies in New York, as well as urban terrorist attacks by ISIS in Europe, show that airports also remain an easy and profitable target for terrorists.