“If people close to someone who carries out an act of terror can be encouraged to come forward and say something, that does make a difference.”
Apparently the Obama administration is prepared to keep hoping that will happen until every city in the United States is on fire.
“On 9-11 anniversary, Homeland’s Johnson says advanced plots unknown to public foiled ‘all the time,'” by Catherine Herridge, Fox News, September 10, 2016:
As the United States on Sunday prepares to mark the 15th anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says terror plots, unbeknownst to the public, have been disrupted “all of the time” since he started running the agency.
“We have prevented a number of actors from carrying out their intent at the very latest stages of their plotting and planning,” Johnson told Fox News on Friday.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed on Sept. 11, 2001, when al Qaeda high-jackers took down four U.S. commercial jets, including two flown into the twin World Trade Center towers.
Johnson also said the new wave of potential terror strikes is coming with little warning and in more undetectable ways.
“9-11 was the prime example of a terrorist-directed attack,” he said. “We now live with the prospect of terrorist-inspired attacks in which ISIL, al Qaeda try to literally reach into our homeland through the internet, through social media.”
Johnson made his remarks as federal employees for the first time in 15 years are working in offices at the Trade Center, rebuilt in Lower Manhattan with a memorial to the victims of the attack, which toppled the two towers.
“It goes to our resilience as Americans, as New Yorkers, as people of the free world — that we won’t let somebody else dictate what we do,” said Roger Parrino, a senior counsel for Johnson.
Johnson told Fox News that U.S. intelligence officials have no information about a specific or credible domestic threat Sunday. However, he suggested that such advanced warnings are no longer what they were to the intelligence community.
“In this environment, it’s important to, frankly, not get hung up on that — when you’re dealing with terrorist-inspired attacks that could strike with little or no notice,” he said. “The cop on the beat could be the one to detect the next terrorist attack on the U.S.”
Johnson argued the new faces of domestic terror are people in the United States like husband-wife team Omar Farook and Tashfeen Malik, who last year fatally shot 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif., and Omar Mateen, who in June shot and killed 49 people inside an Orlando, Fla., nightclub.
They struck with essentially no advanced notice and without direct support from members of a terror network.
All three also appeared self-radicalized, meaning they became radical Islamic terrorists via internet sites, compared to going to the Middle East or perhaps talking with radial clerics in the U.S.
“Nothing can prepare you for that moment,” Johnson said.
Still, Johnson acknowledges “there were definitely signs” that at least Mateen was preparing for an attack. And he urged members of the country’s Muslim community and other Americans to notify authorities.
“If people close to someone who carries out an act of terror can be encouraged to come forward and say something, that does make a difference,” he said….

Guy Macher says
Attacks foiled all the time!? This affirmative action hire is too stupid to understand what he is implying.
Kathy Brown, Esq. says
What a great point Guy! They’re ALL ‘affirmative action’ hires, which explains a whole lot I’m thinking.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM says
“Affirmative action hire” – love it. This clown is more clownish than the ultimate clown – Barry Soetoro.
Shane says
I prefer to think of Johnson as a political hack who was given the job because of his service to the Democrat party, which I think is accurate. Johnson is either ignorant or lying about the muslim wife being radicalized on the Internet, because she was a Jihadi before she came to America and married an American Jihadi. She was allowed into our country without proper background checks which would have found out that she went to a radical Islamic school. If she had been denied a visa, perhaps her husband would not have had the guts to slaughter his co-workers.
Another case of Obama valuing loyalty over competency!
al norm says
“affirmative action hire” “aah” – I am using it from now on. It explains so much of the redolent stupidity in Government departments.
eagle says
Johnson had better be careful!! CAIR will be up his ass. Johnson has just admitted the news media is filtered. Like the frog in the pot, Obama wants to keep the public in the dark about how bad his agenda is hurting the American people.
carol says
And what’s this BS from Johnson?
“All three also appeared self-radicalized, meaning they became radical Islamic terrorists via internet sites, compared to going to the Middle East or perhaps talking with radial clerics in the U.S.
“Nothing can prepare you for that moment,” Johnson said.”
Just a phony statement when a little *research* might have avoided that moment one “cannot prepare for” (sic) – at least in the case of Tashfeen Malik who was radicalized while at university in Pakistan before arriving in US as a jihadist bride.
Johnson is using the Internet to slide by the responsibility for allowing such people into the US willy nilly. More people might want a Donald Trump to try to do better.
PRCS says
Well, perhaps Kerry’s desire for the media to NOT cover the subject quite so much is already in effect.
rubiconcrest says
To the extent that we don’t know when a known terrorist may strike he is correct. To the extent that we must wait for a cop on the beat to stop them he is not correct. We could have stopped Ft Hood, Boston, San Bernardino and Orlando if we had acted on intelligence readily available. We could also have denied entry of those who pose a threat before they even entered the country but Jeh Johnson is not willing to deny entry on the basis of known associations. He’d rather have us think that the terrorists are all lone wolfs and suffer body harm from them than make non-citizens suffer the rejection of entry.
commonsense says
“We could also have denied entry of those who pose a threat before they even entered the country but Jeh Johnson is not wiling to deny entry on the basis of known associations.”
Anyone who subscribes to a creed that mandates warfare against, conquest, and subjugation of nonbelievers, hatred of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, et al., and the repudiation of the United States Constitution should, ipso facto, be viewed as an enemy. Islam is the creed I have just described, and Muslims – ALL Muslims, should be denied opportunities for education, residency, and citizenship within the United States and, for that matter, any country not already Islamic. No exceptions. Even those Muslims who are only nominally so, or even non-practicing, are threats to us, as their continued self-identification as Muslims, no matter how attenuated or deracinated, may result in their childrens’ suddenly Getting Religion (and if not their children, then perhaps their grandchildren, or great-grandchildren). And then what? We MUST wake up, for god’s sake, before it’s too late.
JMB says
“Nothing can prepare you for that moment,” Johnson said.
Say again! This guy is paid to protect the people of what used to be the worlds mightiest nation. I think the crew of 1960s TV comedy “Get Smart” could do a better job, at least they were able to identify the bad guys trying to do evil deeds. I think the Batman 1960s crime computer may have been able to work out who the bad guys are. Even Donald Trump has it worked out when he said ban Muslims from entering the USA.
Time to get smart and get real.
Now let me think
JMB says
(The last 4 words on the above comment are a typo. (I did not see then when I hit POST)
Rob says
The French have said much the same thing in the last day or so.
What’s that saying about: ‘If you are in a hole STOP DIGGING’.
If these threats are emanating from the one ‘community’ why allow more of them into our countries?
Crusades Were Right! says
“Don’t pay attention to the few jihad attacks that happen; just think about the countless ones we stopped!”
Maybe someone should tell the Mohammedans to stop dwelling on the Crusades that happened, and dwell instead on all the ones that DIDN’T HAPPEN!
; ¬)
Screeminmeeme says
All of this from a man who just spoke at the ISNA (Muslim Brotherhood) conference where all speakers support jihad against America.
In the Obama administration, this makes perfect sense.
Angemon says
The saddest part is that he seems to genuinely believe this will happen.
Ed says
If true, we’re in a lot more trouble than people realize. Shouldn’t we be made aware of that?