Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
After 20 years, we're looking over our shoulders this 9/11 <[link removed]> – The U.S. retreat from Afghanistan will inspire Islamist extremists worldwide to rise up again. After all, on the 20th anniversary of al-Qaida’s great victory over “the American Satan,” the Taliban will control more territory, have a more powerful military, more money and more international recognition than the day the Twin Towers came down. How could that not help Islamist terrorist in their recruitment drives around the world? How could this groups’ reversal of fortunes occur so quickly? America and freedom have enemies around the world. While nations that oppose us might not risk conducting a campaign of terror directly against the U.S., they would certainly be willing to countenance or even facilitate renewed Islamist extremism if it helps distract America from dealing with them. And, of all the means of global warfare, terrorism is the easiest to organize and pull off. After all, it focuses mainly on killing unsuspecting innocents as they go about their everyday lives. There are no easier targets. Global terrorism is only not a problem when the free world takes its seriously. It is like the chronic disease that becomes a major problem only when it goes ignored and untreated. Before this last month, we took our eye off the terrorist ball. As a result, we will all be looking over our shoulders this 9/11. Heritage expert: Tom Spoehr <[link removed]>
Biden’s Risky ‘Over the Horizon’ Counterterrorism Plan for Afghanistan <[link removed]> – With the fall of the Afghan government, in some ways, it feels like we’ve come full circle to those fateful days before 9/11, when the Taliban largely ruled Afghanistan and al-Qaeda planned, trained, and operated for attacks abroad. In the
aftermath of the Afghanistan withdrawal and evacuation, the White House has promised the American people an “over the horizon” strategy to fight any transnational terrorism threats emanating from Afghanistan. Unfortunately, a strong counterterrorism effort is going to be needed. Under Taliban control
or in areas outside Taliban control, Afghanistan could once again become a safe haven for terrorist groups and a veritable incubator for hatching deadly international terrorist plots. There’s a very good chance the U.S. would be square in the sights of Afghanistan-based terrorists—again. Though the Taliban claims its policies will be different from the days before 9/11, it has long been affiliated with several international and domestic terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and the Haqqani network. Those terrorist ties
will almost certainly continue under this latest Taliban regime. Those groups have fought for years with the Taliban against the Afghan government and its partners, including the United States. Heritage expert: Tom Spoehr <[link removed]>
Twenty Years After 9/11: Never Forget <[link removed]> – Twenty years after the horrific attacks on the U.S. homeland, the world is as dangerous as or even more dangerous than it was on the morning of September 11, 2001. The U.S. faces not just major threats in China and Russia, but the increased threat of transnational terrorism. Those who are in charge of the levers of U.S. national security—President Biden first and foremost among them—must be up to the task of constant vigilance. Heritage expert: Lora Ries <[link removed]>
Marxism Underpins Black Lives Matter Agenda <[link removed]> – As I explain in my new book “BLM: The Making of a New Marxist
Revolution,” published Tuesday, Alicia Garza, one of the main BLM founders, made her goals clear in Maine in 2019, when she told a group of eager New England leftists: "We’re talking about changing how we’ve organized this country, so that we actually can achieve the justice that we are fighting for. I believe we all have work to do to keep dismantling the organizing principle of this society, which creates inequities for everyone, even white people." Ripping out the foundations of American society is exactly what those indoctrinating schoolchildren and putting American workers through reeducation sessions in their workplaces
desire. Schoolteachers now proudly and openly explain on social media that they bring critical race theory to the classroom to “challenge a broken system.” Meanwhile, beleaguered employees are having to resort to lawsuits to stop their companies from trying to reeducate them through critical race theory. America proudly—and rightly—proclaims itself “the Land of the Free.” So, how did we get here? Black Lives Matter brought us here. Heritage expert: Mike Gonzalez <[link removed]>
Biden to announce vaccine mandate for companies with more than 100 employees <[link removed]> – The best way to increase immunizations is to encourage Americans to talk with trusted
sources like their doctors or family members. Coercing, shaming or discriminating against Americans who do not get the vaccine flies in the face of building public support to combat COVID-19. Even though he said the government would not mandate vaccinations, President Biden is doing an about-face and mandating them for federal workers. Such moves undercut public trust
and efforts to get more Americans vaccinated, especially those who are suspicious of the government’s record on COVID or unsure whether the benefits outweigh risks for the vaccine. This also ignores the success that America has made. More than 82% of Americans at greatest risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 are fully immunized and nearly 93% have gotten at least one shot. Instead of painting the unvaccinated as menaces to society, the president should present a rational and non-judgmental case that people will be better off if vaccinated. Heritage expert: Doug Badger <[link removed]>
18 States Passed Election Reforms This Year. Here’s What They Did. <[link removed]> – The 18 revised state election laws could be the most such successful bills since 14 states passed election measures 10 years ago, the Brennan Center said, noting: “The United States is on track to far exceed its most recent period of significant
voter suppression—2011.” Most of the new laws, however, allow more early voting and are less restrictive than election laws in New York, where the Brennan Center is based, von Spakovsky said. Kansas and Kentucky are the only states with Democratic governors to enact major election reforms, although
Nevada saw passage of a modest new law. The Kansas law came only after a veto override. In most states that acted, a clear partisan divide opened over election reforms, with Republicans backing them and Democrats opposed. “I think it’s a hopeful sign because I think it finally, maybe, will show that many of the opponents in the political
ranks are realizing that the lies they are telling about voter ID aren’t working,” von Spakovsky said of states with Democratic governors. “Given that the American people overwhelmingly support [voter] ID, that they better finally get onboard and go with what the American people think is a good idea,” he said. Heritage expert: Fred Lucas <[link removed]>
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