Hearing examines evolution of post 9/11 threats

Lawmakers examined the nationwide evolution of post 9/11 threats during a recent Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.

“This hearing is timely,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said. “A little more than 20 days ago, the last American troops withdrew hastily from Afghanistan and the Taliban, once again, took back the government of Afghanistan. The new Taliban looks very much like the old Taliban, with terrorists on the United Nations Security Council’s blacklist at its highest ranks.”

Portman said the leader of the Haqqani network was named the acting Interior Minister.

“The CIA, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, DIA, have already moved up the timeline of when terror groups operating in Afghanistan are likely to threaten the homeland from ‘possibly two years’ to within one to two years.”

Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said out of the ashes of 9/11 the Department of Homeland Security was created, with one primary mission, keeping Americans safe from all threats.

“In the 20 years since those horrific attacks, the threats to our nation’s safety have become increasingly complex and widespread,” he said. “The scale and severity of the security threats we are facing today can be daunting, and given the increasing strains placed on the Department of Homeland Security, we must ensure they have the resources and personnel to effectively carry out all of their critical missions.”

During the hearing Peters sought information regarding steps the FBI is taking to combat the use of social media to plan domestic terror attacks and pressed for additional transparency regarding when the Biden Administration would ease travel restrictions with Canada at Northern border land crossings.