Senior Dem: Foreign fighters are ‘number one security concern’

The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said recent terror attacks in Paris and Copenhagen, Denmark, highlight the potential for extremist groups to carry out or inspire violence in the U.S.

{mosads}“I think it’s our number one security concern in the U.S. right now, is being concerned about people who support [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria], either who have been over there and come back, or who simply pledge allegiance to them,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said Monday on CNN’s “The Situation Room.”

He said the threat could be countered, in part, through “good intelligence and good law enforcement.”

“I think you need to do a better job of getting to these people before they act,” Smith said. “But they do leave trails. You can find them, whether it’s because they’ve been in these countries, stuff that’s posted on the Internet, intelligence that’s available. That’s the way you deal with it, is you try to find them before they commit these types of acts.”

“But it’s not easy,” he added.

His comments come as the Obama administration is set to convene a three-day summit on countering violent extremism, with a focus on how to discourage young people from joining radical causes.

This weekend, terrorist attacks in Copenhagen left two people dead. The events in Copenhagen come one month after gunmen shot dead 12 people at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical publication.

Smith said “there are two levels of concern” regarding attacks on U.S. soil.

“One is an al Qaeda 9/11-type attack, where it’s plotted, planned. … The other, which is, you know, more difficult to deal with, in some ways, is the lone wolf, the person who’s individually motivated in the U.S. acting out,” he said. “So tracking both of those is of utmost concern to our law enforcement.”

Asked if he had come across any evidence pointing to a specific plot or sleeper cell, Smith replied, “Not that I’ve seen. No.”