The U.S. will likely go to a heightened state of alert after the terror attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, but former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik said Wednesday on
Newsmax TV's “America’s Forum” that no one should be surprised by this or future attacks.
“This enemy is not going away and they are here to stay,” Kerik said. “This attack in France was an attack on liberty, democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of expression. If they do it in France, they're going to do it here.”
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“This attack is no different than we've seen in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, or anywhere else in the Middle East. New York City has been the victim of two of the most substantial terrorist attacks in world history, and we've had 13 attempts over the last 13 years to attacks us again right here in New York City.
“At the end of the day, this is something we have to be prepared for, and the key behind preventing these attacks is intelligence. If you're not on top of these groups, if you don't saturate them with operatives and get inside, you're not going to know they're coming, and if you don't know they're coming, this is what we're going to see in the future.”
At least 12 people were killed and dozens more injured, some critically, in a terror shooting at the
Charlie Hebdo offices in eastern Paris.
The United States must re-evaluate its preparedness for such attacks, especially border security, Kerik said.
“The borders are probably one of the biggest issues right now. Immigration is one thing, terrorism is another, and there is an enemy abroad that wants in this country. They're going to get in here, they're going to come in through any way they possibly can, and the borders is going to be one of their most successful if we don't change the way we operate. We have to make sure our intelligence capabilities are at their peak form.”
It’s also important to look at the big picture – radical extremism – and not get sidetracked by individual groups.
“People get focused on the names: ISIS, ISIL, al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah, and so on and so forth,” Kerik said “The reality is, these are radical Muslim extremists that despise freedom and liberty. This magazine was attacked because of a cartoon, because they made a cartoon about Islam and it was perceived as negative. They despise freedom, democracy, and the fact that we have women that go to school and . . . religious freedoms.
“Everybody, in their eyes, should be Muslim. If you're not a Muslim, then they believe they have the right to kill you. That's the mentality of the people you're dealing with.
"Whether it's in Paris, London, Spain, or here in the U.S., this is the enemy that we face in the future. We're either going to fight them and kill them abroad or you're going to fight them here, because they're here and they're coming here.”
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