AP: Homeland Security Found No Evidence Of Extra Threat From 7 Muslim-Ban Nations
According to a report in by the Associated Press, a draft intelligence report that was compiled by the Department of Homeland Security found no evidence that citizens from the seven countries included in Donald Trump’s Muslim-ban pose any extra terror threat.
The AP said, “Analysts at the Homeland Security Department’s intelligence arm found insufficient evidence that citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries included in President Donald Trump’s travel ban pose a terror threat to the United States.”
The Homeland Security analysis which was conducted by the agency’s intelligence unit noted that citizenship is an “unlikely indicator” of terror threats within the United States.
The report from Homeland Security clearly undermines the case for Donald Trump’s executive order. Trump claimed that the seven countries on his travel-ban represent a specific and increased threat risk and thus all travel from those countries should be banned. But the report from Homeland Security suggests that there is no increased risk associated with those countries.
According to an earlier report, Trump asked Homeland Security and the Justice department to find evidence to help build the case for his Muslim-ban.
However the Trump request has frustrated members of the intelligence community because they say it politicizes intelligence gathering and that the Trump administration is essentially asking Homeland Security to cherry-pick intelligence to fit their conclusion rather than have the intelligence inform a conclusion.
According to the AP report, Homeland Security has identified 82 individuals that have been inspired by a foreign terror group to attack the United States. And of those 82 people, more than half were born in the United States. And the remaining individuals were from 26 different countries. Two individuals were born in Somalia and Iraq receptively and one person was identified from Iran, Sudan and Yemen.
