March 14, 2016

The fear driving Trump's success is tying America's hands in war on terror

By Alexander Velez-Green

Donald Trump is riding a wave of fear to electoral victory across the country. One of the greatest fears driving supporters to Trump is that of the global jihad, led today by ISIS and al Qaeda. This fear is entirely at odds with reality. But its impact has not been limited to the U.S. presidential race. Indeed, this fear has become a danger in itself by tying the hands of America’s leaders in the fight against ISIS and al Qaeda.  

U.S. officials and analysts have often described the global jihad as an “existential threat,” and many Americans seem to agree. Today, 70 percent of Americans rate ISIS as a major threat to the U.S. homeland and 47 percent fear being victims of terrorism themselves. Trump has drawnsignificant support from these segments of the population by convincing them that he will do whatever it takes to keep them safe, from monitoring mosques to barring Muslims from entering the country. 

Read the full op-ed at The Hill.

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