The arrest of seven North Carolinians on conspiracy charges is a disturbing development that shows how the US is finally emulating Europe: hometown terror has hit its shores.
The problem is “far more rampant than the media or the public is aware of,” writes dallasnews.com.
And what impact does homegrown terror have on tourism?
Since no major tourist plot in the US has been successful since 9-11, there’s not a lot of projections about how this might impact tourism. But a single terrorist attack on tiny Tunisia in 2002 was a “devastating blow” to that country’s tourism. “It took us to 2006 to forget about 2002,” said Ezzeddine Hammedi, director of Tunisian tourism.
No specific terrorist plans or targets overseas are listed in the charge sheet released in North Carolina, although it claims some of the defendants traveled to Israel in 2007 with the intent of waging “violent jihad” and returned home without success.
"These charges hammer home the point that terrorists and their supporters are not confined to the remote regions of some far away land but can grow and fester right here at home,” said US Attorney George E.B. Holding.
“Experts say it is quite likely the next terrorist attack in the United States will not be the work of well-trained al-Qaeda operatives sent from abroad, but rather that of an American citizen,” said the Council on Foreign Relations.
National security officials have long feared the emergence of a new breed of American militants who would raise little suspicion as they move in and out of the country carrying out the aims of terrorist groups like al-Qaida, according to the AP.
There have been several other well-known efforts at homegrown terrorism which include a plot by a Long Island resident to blow up trains and New York City’s subways.
The arrest of Daniel Boyd and his two sons in North Carolina proves that radical Islamic ideology transcends economic class problems, says the Dallas News. They came from a middle class family.
“That the FBI stopped all these plots is amazing, but they will never continue to bat a thousand. One of these days, the jihadists will succeed,” warns the newspaper.
by David Wilkening
