It’s been a busy news cycle, needless to say, in the aftermath of the New Orleans terror attack on New Year’s Eve. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the name of the terrorist, posted videos to social media just a few hours before carrying out a car-ramming attack on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
In these posts, Jabbar pledged his allegiance to ISIS and vowed to kill. Sadly, he did just that. At least 15 people were left dead, and approximately 35 were injured after he plowed his truck through a crowd at 3:15 a.m. on January 1st. After striking the revelers, Jabbar got out of his vehicle and began opening fire before he was gunned down and killed by authorities.
In addition, we are now learning that he planted two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that thankfully did not detonate in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which has lost virtually every shred of credibility over the past few years, seems to have missed all the warning signs with Shamsud-Din Jabbar. No doubt, the FBI is very busy pursuing and spying on “white supremacists” and pro-life grandmothers here in the United States, which, according to the Biden Administration, is a more significant threat than even Islamic terror. Is it any wonder why a guy like Jabbar slips through the cracks and is able to carry out this horrific attack?
One of the lead FBI investigators on this case in the immediate aftermath of the attack stated this was not a “terror event.” It’s almost like their knee-jerk reaction. The FBI did not have any details at that point in time, and yet they insisted this was not terrorism-related… “Move along; nothing to see here!” Well, guess what? The ISIS flag from his truck said otherwise, as did the IEDs planted elsewhere in the city.
The fact that this was a “terror event” soon became difficult for the FBI to cover up. The American people weren’t having it. Now, the FBI insists that Jabbar was a lone actor despite, shortly prior, stating that he had accomplices.
The New Orleans terrorist was a 42-year-old from Texas who served for years in the US Military. He apparently became increasingly radicalized over the months leading up to the attack. Jabbar reportedly had financial troubles and two failed marriages. His life was a disaster on every level, and he turned to Jihad. Doubtless, more details will emerge in the coming days.
In addition to the attack in New Orleans, there was another attack, or at least an attempted attack, in Las Vegas. While the details remain murky, it seems that a 37-year-old man, who was reportedly an active-duty Green Beret from Colorado, rented a Tesla cyber truck made by Elon Musk and blew it up outside of the Trump International Hotel. Needless to say, the choice of vehicle and the target location were not a coincidence. The message was clear.
These attacks occurred only hours apart. Interestingly, both of these attackers apparently attended Fort Bragg, a military installation in North Carolina.
As this was all taking place, we also saw mere hours later hundreds of Hamas supporters chanting in Times Square, New York City, for an “intifada revolution.”
All of this has to stop. President Trump has a full agenda on his desk when he takes office on January 20th. As does Dr. Sebastian Gorka, who will be serving as director of counterterrorism in the Trump Administration.
One overriding factor in dealing with this terrorism is the porous Southern border.
Some 12 million now reportedly have entered the United States illegally in the past four years alone under Joe Biden and “Border Tsar” Kamla Harris. Of those 12 million, there are a significant number of “gottaways” whose whereabouts in the United States, identities, and backgrounds are unknown. We do know that at least 13,000 people who crossed into the US over the past four years illegally were convicted of murder in their home country. We also know that about 300,000 children who entered the US as unaccompanied minors have disappeared. God knows what happened to themโI don’t even want to speculate. Keep them in prayer.
The past four years were a flashing neon sign: Enter! No matter who you are, no matter where you’re fromโAfghanistan, Yemen, Iran, or Egyptโcome on in! Sadly, there is a significant possibility that sleeper cells slipped through. That’s a big area of concern.
Not to mention the 30 death row inmates, coldblooded murderers, Joe Biden pardoned just days before Christmas, stopping them from receiving their much-deserved death penalties. Sick stuff has gone on these past four years.
I say all that to say this: a new sheriff is in town on January 20th, and the madness, the fecklessness, the incompetence, and the wickedness of the Biden Administration is coming to an end.
That doesn’t mean we will not have to grapple with the aftermath of these destructive policies. On my Watchman Newscast, I recently conducted a poll asking, “Do you believe in 2025 that ISIS will be resurgent?” A whopping 80% of our respondents said, “Yes.”
A reemergence of Islamic terrorism is not only a concern in America. Shortly before Christmas, we saw a similar car-ramming attack in Germany. At least five people were killed when a 50-year-old Saudi national plowed through a Christmas Market.
Such occurrences took place many times, both in Europe and the United States, at the height of ISIS. However, Donald Trump, during his first term, kept his word by crushing the ISIS caliphate, resulting in a relative lull in Sunni Jihadi Terror between 2017-2023. ISIS was demoralized and, by extension, so were its followers who were inspired by the success of the jihadist group. Remember, success breeds attraction. When ISIS was at its zenith in 2014-2016, controlling some 58,000 square miles of territory across Syria and Iraq and publishing its brutal propaganda videos, thousands of young Westerners flooded into Syria to join.
ISIS was making major gains. Then, all of a sudden, they were punched in the nose by Donald Trump, his administration, and the Kurds who were assisting us. ISIS was essentially no more. Sure, fighters still existed, but the organized mini caliphate attracting vast numbers of recruits from the West… those days were gone.
With Assad’s Regime in Syria replaced by the jihadist rebel group HTSโwhose leader has ties to al-Qaedaโwill Syria again become an incubator for Sunni terror?
I think it’s God’s timing for Trump to take office in 2025. It couldn’t come at a more tumultuous time for the United States or for the world. Whether you live in America or elsewhere, I humbly ask for your prayers for the United States, President Trump, and his incoming administration. Let’s all join together in praying Psalm 91, often referred to as the soldier’s prayer, over America. I believe it’s a golden moment of opportunity for the United States, where God Almighty has given us a second chance to set things right from the madness we’ve seen rise in our nation.
