We all remember that fateful day when passenger planes slammed into buildings and open fields claiming the lives of many. For some of us, we’ve lived with the consequences of that day for the better part of 14 years now. We lost loved ones on airplanes and in the buildings, we have seen loved ones go off to war. While some of us were fortunate enough to have our family members and friends return home, a percentage of us have lost even more since that very day. September 11th took us by surprise. But the terrorists as we knew them were over there. The fight was supposed to happen over there in order to prevent infiltration over here in the safe arms of Our America. As I walked into a school today, I couldn’t help to notice the large “Gun Free Zone” poster on the outside fence next to the building entrance. It alarmed me because in truth, those with firearms planning to do some damage to innocents could care less about a sign loudly proclaiming “Gun Free Zone”.

The attack on the Inland Regional Center of San Bernardino happened at a Christmas party for unassuming, developmentally disabled individuals. Like 9/11, it happened at a time and a place and in fashion that no one would have ever expected. Then again, no one ever walks into work, a party, a school, a movie theater (the list goes on) and expects to be a victim of an act of terror. Concert attendees in Paris weeks ago did not know what they were walking into, just as the individuals attending this Christmas party didn’t. While 9/11 wiped out 2,976 lives, there have been 44 attacks by Muslims against Americans (that we know of) since 2001. The attacks have not been 9-11-scale but occurred in more common and intimate settings such as golf courses, restaurants, gas stations, store parking lots, movie theaters, marathons, military recruitment centers and community centers (to name a few). Terrorists in the name of jihad are no longer targeting Naval ships, large government buildings and urban areas; they have moved to the outskirts of town, the suburbs. They have changed their tactics and their landscape.

Dr. Sebastian Gorka and his wife Katharine of the Threat Knowledge Group have formulated the following assessment in regards to the threat if ISIS in The United States. You can read the whole document here. Here are some key findings: