Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Sign up for Axios NW Arkansas
Stay up-to-date on the most important and interesting stories affecting NW Arkansas, authored by local reporters
There were more than 10,000 terrorist attacks worldwide last year — five times as many as there were the year of the Sept. 11 attacks, the leader of a new congressionally mandated task force on extremism told reporters.
The big picture: After 9/11, the U.S. honed in on confronting terrorists and protecting the homeland, according to former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean, a co-chair of the original 9/11 commission and co-chair of the new task force on extremism. But Kean told reporters there's been "no headway" on one of the commissions' recommendations following the 9/11 attacks: preventing the spread of Islamic terrorism.
Terror groups thrive on instability, a newly released report from the task force explains. Areas that have no solid governing power, are in the midst of a civil war or are suffering from a "breakdown of social order" are at the highest risk of fostering extremism.
- Per the report, 77% of conflicts in the Middle East, the Sahel region in Africa and the Horn of Africa "have a violent extremist element," up from 22% in 2001.
- But the damage brought on fragile states is only the beginning: "As more states suffer violent outbreaks of extremism ... international order unravels further."
- And extremism undermines regional influence and fuels chaos, the task force explains, allowing powers like Russia, Iran and China to exploit threats for their own economic and strategic purposes.
- Per the report, the U.S. "cannot compete effectively against China, Russia, or Iran as long as extremism fuels an arc of instability" in the region.
The bottom line: The report concludes that extremists are now focused on "establishing a new political order." The task force says the U.S. strategy must evolve into one of prevention, starting by strengthening the world's most at-risk states.
"Despite our best efforts since 9/11 to counter terrorism and protect the homeland, the threat of extremism and its danger to the United States has evolved, and it continues to grow.”— Former Gov. Thomas Kean