Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, the terrorist threat to the United States remains real, and the country is losing the vigilance needed to counter it, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned. She accused the Trump administration of weakening the government’s capacity to detect and counter terrorist threats.
In an interview with journalist Andrea Mitchell on Thursday, Clinton said: “We have really lowered our guard when it comes to counterterrorism. Not to scare anyone or overstate the situation, but the United States is not paying enough attention to resurgent terrorist activity.”
Clinton was a senator from New York at the time of the 9/11 attacks. She noted that over the past 25 years, many planned terrorist attacks have been foiled at the last moment, while some have succeeded. In her words, the terrorist threat has not disappeared — it has merely receded somewhat. Thousands of extremists remain in various parts of the world who want to cause major harm to the United States, she said.
Clinton said the United States needs to overcome its internal divisions while confronting both state and non-state threats simultaneously. State adversaries such as Russia, China and Iran must be taken seriously alongside non-state actors such as terrorist organisations, she said.
Criticising the Trump administration, Clinton said President Trump is paying more attention to plans for building a ballroom at the White House than to analysing intelligence coming out of Afghanistan. Such prioritisation, she said, is not consistent with sound decision-making.
Clinton alleged that the Trump administration has weakened the capacity of various parts of the federal government, including State Department functions that have traditionally been tied to intelligence gathering and terrorism threat assessment. As a result, she said, the United States’ “eyes and ears” in West Africa and other parts of the world are no longer what they once were.
Last year, thousands of positions were cut across federal government departments as part of the Department of Government Efficiency initiative led by Elon Musk, according to reports, with the CIA and the State Department among the agencies affected.
Clinton said many dedicated officials continue to work at the FBI and intelligence agencies within the US government system, but she believes they are not being given the resources and clear direction needed to carry out their responsibilities properly, leaving them unable to fully exercise the capacity required for their duties.
When asked for comment on Clinton’s remarks, the White House directed NBC News to the Department of Homeland Security. A spokesperson for the department countered that the agency is capable of addressing evolving terrorist threats and is advancing recruitment, reform and modernisation efforts at record pace.
In the interview, Clinton also recalled her own experience with air quality in New York after the 9/11 attacks. She said that at Ground Zero, she saw smoke like a black curtain, particles suspended in the air, and an intense smell, and that she herself developed a throat ailment.
Asked whether the Bush administration’s information on Manhattan’s air quality after 9/11 was misleading, Clinton said three things were at play: flawed science, an attempt to reassure the public, and a reluctance to confront the truth.
She said some leaders may have been unwilling to acknowledge the truth because they wanted to keep the economy running, reopen Wall Street, and signal a return to normal life. As a result, she said, they either deliberately overlooked certain issues or simply failed to ask the necessary questions.
Clinton also addressed comments by comedian and 9/11 health advocate Jon Stewart, who has said nearly 10,000 people have died so far from 9/11-related illnesses. She said a coordinated effort is needed to reach, test and treat people who developed health problems from the attacks but are not enrolled in programmes designated to assist victims, and called on city, state and federal governments to work together to secure the necessary funding.