The Cipher Brief: First Paris, then San Bernardino, now Brussels. How widespread are ISIS networks in Europe and North America and can we expect these kinds of attacks on a regular basis?
Mitch Silber: We need to make a distinction when we talk about ISIS networks. There are ISIS wannabe networks, which generally are in the United States. They are primarily comprised of those aspiring jihadists who actually haven’t traveled to Syria and Iraq and at best are in communications with ISIS followers via twitter and are really more fan boys of ISIS, but they nevertheless can be deadly. And then there are those who have actually traveled to the war zones and have been trained and indoctrinated. Europe clearly has many more, broader and deeper networks for the latter. Belgium, France, Germany, and the UK probably have the biggest and strongest networks.
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