Stopping the Terrorist Among Us By Chuck Missler

Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued a long-awaited counter-terrorism white paper on Tuesday warning that the threat of home grown terrorists in Australia has increased. The US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made even stronger statements Sunday when she said that in 2009 the terrorist threat shifted from international terrorists to those from within the United States. Whether committed by foreign or domestic terrorists, neither Americans nor Australians want violent attacks carried out on their soil. At the same time, there is concern that efforts to thwart future domestic terrorists will lead to greater infringement on basic freedoms.
After the November, 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, the Rudd Government of Australia commissioned a white paper to explore the different successes and concerns in fighting the war against global jihadism. The paper released Tuesday defined the country's primary terrorist concern as "a global violent jihadist movement," but also made clear that Australians influenced by "violent jihadist messages" were a growing threat.
We do not need to scrutinize every neighbor, and we do not want the federal government scrutinizing each one of us. We certainly do not want people targeted just because they disagree with the government. However, there are certain behaviors that should warn officials about potential terrorist attacks. And while we keep an eye out for shoe bombers and work to keep our teens from running off to join Al-Qaida, we need to remember that international jihadists are still out there, and they have not given up on their desire to take down the West for Islam.
Ultimately, this battle - like so many – is truly a spiritual battle; the weapons of our warfare are spiritual. Jesus told us to pray for our enemies, and that includes those among us who seek our destruction.