the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Scott Mann, is a former Lt. Col and Green Beret. He is the CEO of Mission America and author of the best selling novel “Game Changers”.
He spent 23 years in the Army Special Forces Career involved in Foreign Internal Defense, Counter-insurgency, and Stability Missions. He served in the Special Operations for over 18 years and has been a Green Beret for over 15 years in combat deployments in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Iraq and Afghanistan.
– Experience in targeting Al Quida foreign fighters
– Designed and implemented strategy in Afghanistan that could defeat ISIS now
– Still teaches Green Berets, FBI, and Law Enforcement on ISIS vulnerabilities He is one of the only former Lt. Col’s that is actively still involved in the day-to-day transition of Green Berets from active duty into civilian life.
He has been quoted frequently and seen on MSNBC with Alex Witt, Fox News, Fox News Radio, among other high profile media appearances. As a reminder, he is based in Tampa and can come in via Satellite or Skype.
Statement:
We need a new definition for terrorism in America:
-The politically correct titles “lone-wolf”, “self-radicalized”, and “homegrown terrorism” are outdated terms that are putting Americans at more risk at home.
I have been fighting terrorism my entire adult life. I knew that this shooting in California was Islamist violent extremists within minutes of the attack – I alluded to this in a tweet just minutes after it broke on the wire.
I am not unique here. Anyone who has been fighting this threat knew right away what this was…Islamist violent extremism taking root in America.
According to several wire reports, the female shooter , Tashfeen Malik posted a pledge to Isis leader Baghdadib on Facebook.
But that is not enough to act on these days.
In fact, many leaders and some in the media were quick to say that it was unsure if “ISIS actually ordered the attack.”
Further, law-enforcement officials equivocated the attack by calling it “self radicalization”.
As if somehow these factors make it less impactful and threatening on our country.
When two people are able to massacre 14 people and wound many more – when they leave behind a remote controlled Explosive Device, and engage police with. Assault rifles while rolling in an SUV, – it is just as real and potentially threatening as the Paris attacks – maybe more. Here is why:
The old terror model of foreign fighters trained and mobilized from dark, foreign lairs has gone the way of Osama Bin Laden.
There is a new sheriff in town.
It has been replaced with some Americans and other extremists who are here legally, and radicalized, trained, and resources through a powerful global network that is both virtual and physical.
In fact, this is the new face of strategic terrorism in America. It is how I S I S and Al Qaeda will conduct their hardest hitting and most relevant attacks against us.
ISIS clearly tells us this in their latest Nov 24th English speaking propaganda video.
They brag about “goading us into dropping bombs that cost 250k while they mobilize surrogates to kills us with bullets that cost less than a dollar.”
Meanwhile, our senior leaders and many in the media downplay this by using terms like “Lone Wolf” and “self radicalized.” We point out that ISIS may not have directed the attack.
I can’t help but shutter at what they were building. The improvised explosives they were constructing make them just as threatening to our safety at home as the 19 Hijackers trained in the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
We should be grateful – I suppose – that for whatever reason these two extremists decided to accelerate their plan and not put into use all of those IEDs that were in their apartment.
When IEDs start going off in our shopping malls, street intersections, and elementary like they did in Fallujah, Iraq in 2006,America will change forever.
I hope we don’t wait until that horrific moment to change our definition of what terrorism in our country has already become.
They are here – we had better get serious about dealing with them.
