Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Former Foreign Secretary of India and Former Indian Ambassador to the US, in an interview with CNBC-TV18, delved into the implications of these attacks, emphasising the need for a comprehensive approach to counter this growing threat.
On New Year’s Day, New Orleans witnessed a horrifying attack where a truck ploughed into a crowd, killing 15 and injuring dozens. The driver, a 42-year-old US Army veteran, was reportedly influenced by Islamic State (IS) ideology, with an IS flag found in his vehicle. Concurrently, a Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas killed one and injured seven. Authorities uncovered gas canisters and firework mortars in the vehicle, raising suspicions of a coordinated terrorist act.
Shringla stressed the importance of determining whether these incidents were isolated or part of a broader network. “There could be more than just lone-wolf attacks,” he noted, suggesting that an organised cell might have supported the perpetrators.
He highlighted the ease of accessing vehicles and explosives as critical vulnerabilities that need addressing without compromising public convenience.
With these incidents unfolding during the transition of power to President-Elect Donald Trump—who will be inaugurated as America’s 47th president on January 20—Shringla acknowledged the mounting pressure on the incoming administration to implement stronger counterterrorism measures.
Trump’s past rhetoric on immigration and his proposed stringent entry protocols for certain countries may find renewed relevance, given the domestic and international dimensions of these attacks.
Shringla noted that the New Orleans attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was a US citizen and former military personnel influenced by IS ideology. This challenges stereotypes about terrorism being primarily an issue of illegal immigration, urging a nuanced approach that considers sociological and psychological factors.
Shringla linked these incidents to broader geopolitical dynamics, particularly the instability in the Middle East. He warned that unresolved conflicts in Syria and Iraq could enable groups like ISIS to regain prominence, potentially sparking a new phase of international terrorism.
“The developments in Syria, especially the fall of the Assad regime, have raised fears about an [IS] revival,” Shringla observed, cautioning against giving non-state actors the space to regroup. He called for global vigilance and preemptive actions to mitigate the risks of such trends.
Excerpt from the interview:
Q: Give us a sense of how these attacks make things even more challenging for the incoming Donald Trump administration. I’m speaking about the attack in New Orleans and also the Cybertruck explosion that we saw in Las Vegas.
Shringla: It certainly puts a spotlight on the issue of terrorism in the United States. I think, largely, the United States has been insulated from acts of rampant terrorism that we’ve seen in many parts of the Middle East, Europe, Asia, etc. There have, of course, been some egregious exceptions — 9/11 was one, the bombing of the FBI office in Ohio was another. This, of course, is another incident where I think it spotlights the role of Islamic terrorism in the United States.
From what I can see, other than the right-wing militant groups in the US, Islamic terrorism is a significant threat in terms of security in the US. And the latest incident certainly would put pressure on incoming President Donald Trump to take stronger measures.
Trump has already been speaking about the threat of terrorism in the United States. He’s talking about illegal immigration. He’s talking about having a list of countries that would be pre-checked and where entry into the United States would need more stringent sort of scrutiny and oversight. So, from that perspective, I think he has a certain set of actions that are already ready. But clearly, I think this is something that they have to take into account.
We shouldn’t forget that the current individual, the perpetrator of this terrorist attack in New Orleans, is a US citizen. Shamsud-Din Jabbar has been an army veteran as well. He was a human resource and IT specialist and served in the United States army for quite some time. But at the same time, he’s been an Islamic terrorist because he had an IS flag with him. He was influenced by IS ideology. And his mission was to kill as many people as possible. He’s killed 15 people, at least, and injured several dozen. So, this is a major act of terrorism, one that all countries across the world should condemn. I think there is no place for terrorism of any kind anywhere in the world.
Q: Donald Trump, during his first presidency, had imposed a travel ban on countries which had a predominantly Muslim population. If that was Donald Trump’s record, there could be questions about Joe Biden’s record as well because we’ve seen complete support from the US to Israel, which has been carrying out attacks in Gaza, that several Muslim countries have questioned. At the same time, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria has given rise to fears about an IS revival. And here you have a military veteran in the US, somebody who probably had affiliations to IS, and that is being studied, somehow being indoctrinated, or having some motivation to carry out this terror attack. Do you think Donald Trump is possibly taking over at a very complicated time?
Shringla: Undoubtedly. I think events in the Middle East, especially recent events, both involving Israel and various groups that it has had to fight against, as well as the developments in Syria, do give rise to the possibility of a greater sense of disequilibrium and impetus to new acts of terrorism and new actors on the international scene.
We must also remember that Raqqah in Syria was the headquarters of IS. So, at one stage, IS controlled a very major swath of territory from Iraq to Syria. And it had thousands of people who had come in from outside as well to support it in its gruesome and barbarous sort of campaign of terrorism. If these developments in Syria go wrong, in terms of how the post-conflict situation evolves, various non-state actors like IS can assert themselves then and are given space to do that. I think it could spell some new phase of international terrorism. That would be a significant concern.
So, I think Trump has his hands full, and many countries worldwide would need to closely observe and study these trends to see whether these could impact them. These developments must be watched closely, and pre-emptive action must be taken wherever necessary.
Q: You’ve seen US politics very, very closely. If I were to ask you about certain red flags, big red flags that you pick up from these two recent acts of terror, and I’m calling them acts of terror because the US police, the US government is investigating them as acts of terror—one in New Orleans, where the truck driver ploughed into a crowd of people. The second, which is somehow being investigated as a connected attack, is the explosion of the Cybertruck. Now, the reason why it’s considered connected is because both the vehicles were rented from the same agency. And the Cybertruck blast took place outside the Las Vegas hotel of Donald Trump. The Cybertruck is from Tesla and is owned by Elon Musk. What are some of the big concerns that you would immediately have?
Shringla: What I think has to be looked into is whether these incidents are isolated or if a network of people is supporting them and involved in organising and abetting them.
I sense that there could be more than just lone wolf attacks. There could be an organisation and a cell working to support them. This must be investigated thoroughly. Also, those involved within the US, who are probably helping them with funding and other necessary means that would empower them, would have to be investigated very closely.
So, it raises several issues, including the ease with which you can rent vehicles without too much problem and the sort of access to explosives that we have seen in the recent case. I think more checks have to be instituted without being intrusive. Obviously, the convenience of people is also important, but I think there would be pressure on the Trump administration to bring in more measures that would make it more difficult for perpetrators of these attacks to operate. And also on a wider basis, I think, crack down on the sort of scope for such terror attacks within the US. Still, if it’s a homeland issue, for example, Jabbar was an American citizen, and IS influenced him. Still, he was not an illegal immigrant or anything of that sort. I think these are issues that go beyond the larger stereotypes and would have to be looked into from a sociological perspective.
Watch the accompanying video for the entire conversation.
