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‘Every second matters’: How effective are post-9/11 counterterrorism systems against the ‘lone actor’?

By WTOP Staff

Saturday’s shooting near the White House showed “how quickly a single individual can force federal security into crisis mode,” WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green said.

The suspect who U.S. Secret Service said opened fire near a security checkpoint is dead after he was shot by officers who returned fire. It was the third incident of gunfire near President Donald Trump in the past month, The Associated Press reported.

He was identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best, said a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. Best was known to authorities.

The moment authorities confirmed that Trump was inside the White House, “that situation escalates dramatically,” Green said. “The Secret Service has to immediately assume the possibility of an assassination attempt, a diversion, a diversionary tactic or a broader coordinated threat until they can prove otherwise. That means every second matters.”

Green said agents kicked in measures that lock down movement, including securing evacuation routes, monitoring secondary threats and coordinating with local and federal agencies.

But the most difficult threat to stop is the “fragmented lone actor,” Green said.

After 9/11, Green said counterterrorism systems were largely built to detect networks, including how groups communicate, move money, plan operations and coordinate attacks.

But more recent threats often involve individuals acting alone or within loosely connected online spaces.

“Their motivations may involve ideology, it could be mental instability, personal grievance, sometimes obsession with public figures, or the desire for notoriety. And often it’s a combination of all of those factors that makes these threats today harder to predict,” Green said.

That’s because the warning signs are scattered across social media, police encounters, personal behavior and online behavior rather than a structured terrorist organization.

“The lone actor is the big threat right now,” Green said.

Listen to Green’s analysis below.

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