Censorship of the press during the War on Terror is part of the Patriot Act (yesterday’s post). The Patriot Act is still in effect. The idea behind censorship (called prior restraint) is to counter the political effects of terrorist acts.
Terrorist organizations use attacks to garner attention. Getting the attention of a targeted nation or group is intended to cause fear and over reaction. The attention of criminals can result in copycat attacks. The attention of people sympathetic to their cause will increase donations and recruits; this is why terrorist outfits take credit for attacks. It is also possible groups will take credit for attacks conducted by other terrorist groups to prop up their own esteem.
The idea is if a terrorist bombs a plane to blame it on faulty equipment or pilot error. This takes away the motivation of terrorist groups to bomb planes. The shoe bomber, with c4 that would simply burn like sterno when lit with his lighter, was an attempt around the censorship. If he gets caught trying to blow up a plane he gets into the news. That’s what the terrorists want; attention. It is probable the bomber didn’t know he was being used in this way.
Intelligence is the front line of defense. It is unknown how many terrorist attacks are stopped before they get off the ground. These attacks are detected and thwarted without ever making the news.
CSIS compiled a dataset of 740 terrorist attacks and plots in the United States between January 1, 1994, and January 1, 2025, 140 of which were jihadist attacks and plots. CSIS
On 31 October 2025 FBI director (who’s seen the Epstein files) Kash Patel announced his organization had arrested suspects who were planning a terrorist attack on Halloween in Dearborn, Michigan (CNN).
wtf?
- Jihadist Terrorism in the United States Center for Strategic and International Studies
- The FBI says it thwarted a potential terror attack in a Michigan city. But the community’s residents are skeptical CNN
- The Global Engagement Center is Closed for Business 4dforum