Terror Threats Diversifying

According to a new report from the former leaders of the 9/11 Commission, terror threats to U.S. soil are becoming increasingly difficult to target and recognize but are also less capable of producing large-scale, massive casualties. Former 9/11 Commission Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton told The Wall Street Journal: "It's a much more complex and a much more diverse threat than it was" in 2001, adding that "We lag behind still in developing responses to this threat." Meanwhile, the number of homegrown threats has risen, with Americans increasingly being recruited to areas in Africa like Somalia and Yemen. In 2009, there were 10 U.S.-linked attacks, plots or incidents involving individuals traveling outside U.S. borders to be trained as terrorists. The report also states that terrorists are increasingly likely to turn to suicide operations, as well as aviation attacks and U.S. soldiers fighting in the Muslim world.