A few days ago in Kabul, Afghanistan, an ambulance made its way through two checkpoints and when stopped at a third, a massive bomb in the back was detonated by the driver, killing 103 and injuring 235.
The Taliban, a religious extremist group, claimed responsibility as they have for other recent and horrific attacks.
Afghan security forces admit that they no longer know whether or not the attackers make it through city defenses or are living in Kabul and radicalized there.
Police and other agencies are fractured and broken, possibly beyond repair.
That’s not surprising as they simply mirror the state of the Afghan government which is characterized by fraud, deceit and theft.
The Afghans engage in tribal bickering with no clear leadership or commitment to protecting the public.
It is the perfect environment for terrorists, homegrown and otherwise.
Meet Sajmir Alimehmeti
Sajmir Alimehmeti
Sajmir was a 22-year-old Bronx native when he was arrested in 2016 for attempting to provide material support for ISIS.
He watched beheading videos like porn and twice tried to enter the United Kingdom as he was trying to make his way to Syria.
The Brits turned him back each time.
Here in the states he began helping others, or so he thought, in their attempts to betray America and to foment terrorism.
Sajmir was arrested, goes on trial in May and faces 45 years in prison.
The FBI
Sajmir is not alone.
He is one of over a hundred other jihadis who have been brought down as they were in the planning stages of their mayhem.
Kabul should be so lucky.
What we have that Kabul does not is an extremely effective nationwide investigative force which, at least since 9/11, has an excellent reputation in partnering with other law enforcement agencies to interdict terror on American soil.
Time and again FBI agents have successfully infiltrated cells or engaged terrorists and stopped them cold.
This is the agency which Donald Trump describes as being in tatters and which some congressional members are attacking mercilessly and without merit.
Trump
Their actions are not only some of the most cynical ever, they make us less safe now and in the future and purely for political gain.
Searching for a like example is difficult.
Draft dodgers reviling Vietnam soldiers comes to mind.
The veterans were serving their country yet were recklessly attacked by people who both lacked the will to serve and also stooped to attack those who did.
That, by the way, is Trump to a tee when he absurdly seeks to weaken the FBI for his own purposes.
There is a price to be paid for falsely undermining the agency which protects us, Kabul is proof of that.
Attacking the FBI is a fool’s errand conducted by cynical politicians who would sacrifice our safety for their own gain.
The outcome is a weakened democracy and a country at greater risk of a terror attack.
