After officials in both Ottawa and New York City conceded, albeit belatedly, that the violence visited on those cities by “lone wolf” terrorist actors was inspired by Islamist militants overseas, the United States is today acknowledging that the terrorist threat to the homeland is elevated.
American officials are not explicitly warning the public that the threat of Islamic terrorism is on the rise; after all, there is an election in six days and voters don’t need any more reasons to head to the polls next Tuesday and vote Republican. But actions speak far louder than words, and the actions of the Department of Homeland Security speak volumes.
Late Tuesday night, citing increased threats of terrorism, DHS revealed that it was increasing security at every federal building across the nation. DHS added that additional security will be provided to sites in New York City, Washington D.C. and elsewhere.
“The reasons for this action are self-evident: the continued public calls by terrorist organizations for attacks on the homeland and elsewhere, including against law enforcement and other government officials, and the acts of violence targeted at government personnel and installations in Canada and elsewhere recently,” read a statement released by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson. “Given world events, prudence dictates a heightened vigilance in the protection of U.S. government installations and our personnel.”
A senior official told Fox News that the increased threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and ISIS’s calls for terrorist attacks in the West, is another reason to heighten vigilance.
“ISIS is waging a campaign of war over the Internet to incite homegrown violent extremism in the United States. We must do everything we can to protect every American abroad and at home,” said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) in a statement welcoming the move. “Secretary Johnson’s efforts are to be commended, and no public servant should rest until this evil is rooted out and demolished.”
Less than one week out from an election, everything is political and the threat of terrorism is no exception.
In 2012, voters rated Republicans and Democrats evenly on which party is best suited to handle the issue of terrorism. Today, according to a recent Pew Research Center study, Republicans are favored over Democrats to best address terrorist threats by 17 points. Despite the fact that Barack Obama leads a government presently waging a war against ISIS in the Middle East, the president’s party fares no better on the question of which party voters trust more to neutralize the Islamic State threat. According to Gallup’s October survey, voters trust the GOP over Democrats on the ISIS issue by 19 points.
While gaming the political effect of a terrorist threat is admittedly crass, and all hope that this move by DHS proves to be merely precautionary, the increased anxiety that will accompany heightened security amid a terrorism warning is likely to lopsidedly benefit one party over the other.
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