Don’t Take the Boot off ISIS’s Neck

Let’s begin with a quick trivia question: Can you remember, off the top of your head, when the most recent significant jihadist terror attack in the United States occurred? It came almost two years ago, when an ISIS-inspired terrorist truck attack in Manhattan killed eight innocent people and wounded twelve. Since then, there have been plots and plans, but no significant attacks.

This is a remarkable achievement, especially considering the scale of the challenge the United States and our allies faced at ISIS’s height in 2014 and 2015. A jihadist army had seized territory the size of a nation-state, it was recruiting new followers from Europe and the United States, and it was executing and inspiring attacks and plots, at scale, in cities across the globe.

Here at home, look at the dramatic increase in cases related to jihadist terrorism after ISIS burst onto the scene:

This rise reflects a core truth about combating ISIS and groups like it: The existence of jihadist safe havens amplifies the jihadist threat. Granting jihadists the time, space, and resources to plan, recruit, and inspire yields more attacks and more plots.

The steady decrease in arrests after the Obama administration launched its war against ISIS, which continued as President Trump took office and continued the fight, is telling, too. In October 2017, the caliphate’s “capital” fell to allied forces, and the territory it once controlled lay in ruins. While the fight against ISIS continued, the group was no longer the triumphant, terrifying force that it had been when it seemed poise to sweep through Iraq, before Obama’s intervention. In the interim, it had lost fighters by the tens of thousands, land, and resources. Today, it remains a shell of its former self.