There are various estimates of how many Americans, Europeans and citizens of other countries have traveled to the Middle East to fight with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The European Union’s intelligence chief recently said more than 3,000 Europeans have done so, a jump of 50 percent in one month. Our own National Counterterrorism Center estimates more than 100 Americans have left the United States to fight alongside ISIS terrorists, and these individuals presumably could be motivated to bring violent terrorism to American soil.
When we compare these numbers to the handful of terrorists who comprised the Hamburg cell at the epicenter of planning the 9/11 attacks, we can see why hundreds or thousands of these terrorists give us reason to worry. And when we consider how easily these individuals can travel to the United States — in some cases simply by coming home — we must take action to protect our homeland from domestic terrorist attacks.
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