DHS Chief: Terror Threat Requires New Govt Response

Says Threats Keep Him Up at Night

Department of Homeland Security chief Secretary Jeh Johnson today said that he believes 15 years into the global war on terror America is safer from attacks similar to 9/11, but is “challenged” by possible attacks from lone wolf actors and home-grown extremists.

Johnson cited the shootings in San Bernardino and Orlando as examples of the things that keep him up at night, and that he believes it “requires a new whole of government response and public participation” to prevent future attacks.

He went on to cite cyber-security and the risk of dirty bombs, along with “bio threats” as other things that the Department of Homeland Security needs to keep an eye on, saying that some things are of “lower probability, but higher impact.”

Ultimately, he concluded that the DHS needs to keep an eye on anything and everything, and that the government’s ability to do so currently was “a mixed bag,” saying that they need private citizens to remain “vigilant” and to inform them of anything potentially suspicious.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.