This story in today’s Washington Post details a warning by FBI Director Robert S Mueller III that small groups of extremists, unconnected to larger terrorist organizations like Al Quaeda, could wreak havoc in cities around the United States.
Mueller said diverse communities like San Diego are particularly vulnerable to terrorism stemming from these smaller splinter groups, according to the Post. Here’s a snippet from the story:
At a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Mueller said that the bureau is expanding its focus beyond al-Qaeda and into splinter groups, radicals who try to enter the country through the visa waiver program and “home-grown terrorists.”
“The universe of crime and terrorism stretches out infinitely before us, and we too are working to find what we believe to be out there but cannot always see,” Mueller said.
One particular concern, the FBI director said, springs from the country’s background as a “nation of immigrants.” Federal officials worry about pockets of possible radicals among melting-pot communities in the United States such as Seattle, San Diego, Miami or New York.
You can read the whole of Mueller’s speech here.