Secretary of Homeleand Security Jeh Johnson says it will rely on more help from ordinary Americans.
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The discussion followed President Obama’s Oval Office address to the nation Sunday on terrorism.
The announcement comes after husband and wife, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in a shooting referred to by the White House as an “act of terror”. Rep. Stephen Lynch recently disclosed this bombshell: “Back in August, we did an investigation – the inspector general did – of the Department of Homeland Security, and they had 72 individuals that were on the terrorist watch list that were actually working at the Department of Homeland Security”.
This will be the third terror alert system put in place by the Homeland Security Department since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which began with the color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System. “Now, the new system apparently is going to be a bit more sensitive”.
Johnson described the change as a new alert system, which he said would better inform the public about threats to the United States, but he did not provide specific details.
The National Terrorism Advisory System, the warning system being updated in the coming days, has too high a bar, Johnson said. “It could happen at a moment’s notice”.
Johnson says terrorist threats to the USA have evolved and terrorist-inspired threats are a growing concern. The FBI is investigating the California shooting as a terrorist attack.
Johnson cautioned, however, against vilifying Muslims. The current system has been criticized for not issuing enough alerts; such alerts were issued only in the event of an “elevated threat” and “imminent threat”.
In response to the San Bernardino attacks, Johnson said he has also directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to review the process for granting K-1 visas, which allow U.S. citizens to bring their future spouses into the country.
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While DHS is revamping its alert system, Congress is trying to figure out a way to work around “dark platforms” that can be used to hide communications from the government.
