The threats that face the United States today are the same threats that we faced on 9/11,” says Michael McGarrity, Assistant Director for the Counterterrorism Division of the FBI. “Of course they have evolved over the years. We still have threats from Al Qaeda, but other new groups have formed and evolved, such as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS.”
McGarrity stresses that today’s threat environment is complex and dynamic. The primary international terrorism threat to the United States has evolved from the sophisticated, externally directed plot to the individual, inspired attack. The groups, how they operate, and their targets have all changed over the last few years. What hasn’t changed is the commitment to do harm.