Radical Islam: An Escalating Threat

This article by John Powers addresses the escalating threat posed by radical Islam and the safe havens that support the movement.

This was originally written as an Op-Ed. The opinions expressed are those of the author.


"We have ignored warnings of serious threats before that resulted in extreme consequences. The 1930’s are a good example. In many respects the current threat of radical Islam is much more serious as it could easily become irreversible if we fail to act decisively.

"The reason for such a dire prospect is that the number of safe havens that serve as centers for recruitment appear to be multiplying exponentially. Forty years ago, radical Islam seemed fairly limited and the threat was mainly in the background until the bombings in 1983 (Beirut Embassy) and 1993 (World Trade Center). Today, the numbers of recruits flocking to ISIS is a bit frightening and is best viewed as an indicator of the rate of growth of this threat. For perspective, we only need consider the damage done by Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen prior to his death in 2011 to understand the potency of these safe havens.

"Radical Islam was not seen by most as a serious threat until al Qaeda brought down the twin towers and the Taliban took over Afghanistan. While the Taliban was not welcomed by the majority of Afghanis, little was done until it was believed that Osama bin Laden was offered sanctuary there."

Download a PDF of the full article here.

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