Daily Digest Online

The recent terror attack in Sydney, Australia, has prompted intelligence officials and counterterrorism experts to issue urgent warnings. They argue that global jihadist networks are expanding their influence, contradicting the perception held by many Western governments that groups like the Islamic State (ISIS) are on the decline. Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and managing editor of The Long War Journal, identifies a persistent miscalculation in Western policy. "We’ve always been quick to declare terrorist organizations defeated and insignificant, and that couldn’t be further from the truth," he stated. He points out that despite the loss of its territorial caliphate, ISIS maintains a significant presence, with approximately 2,000 fighters in Afghanistan alone, as noted in a recent United Nations report. According to Roggio and other analysts, the attack in Australia is clear evidence of a broader, intercon...