PragerU Live! Interview with Lisa Daftari (6/6/17)

hey everyone this is Elicia Krauss back here at the Prager uhq which is under transition right now we're in the process of moving from one office to another hence the reason there's this weird white wall behind me but I know that you are tuning in to hear our friend and expert Lisa deari she's the editorinchief of the foreign death.com you've also probably seen her on television quite a few times or heard her on radio Lisa is an expert when it comes to terrorism or specifically a counterterrorism expert in the Middle East and she's here to talk to us today about the latest Terror attacks in Manchester London and Paris Lisa thank you so much for making time for us today of course great to be back with you guys really appreciate it and of course if anyone wants to tune in and be able to hear from you every single day you have a really awesome email that I have signed up for it's called The Daily Dispatch and it's a kind of top 10 world news Roundup focusing on National Security issues for us here in America and Foreign Affairs people should definitely check that out as well um so when we booked this we plann to talk about the recent attacks on Saturday in London and had no idea this that we'd be waking up this morning to unfortunately talk about attack at Notre Dam um in Paris on on police forces there by a man that the French security forces have now said was an Algerian citizen uh and I think that he was a student in Paris and he was shouting this is for Syria as he attacked a two police officers with a hammer before he was shot in the chest he is alive so I'm sure that they will be interrogating him soon to see where his ideas came from where his ideology came from where his reasoning or purpose for this attack came from he apparently also had knives on him so he wanted to do much more damage than with just a hammer um what are your thoughts on this most recent attack uh this is going to be what we're going to be seeing going forward more and more and more we're seeing obviously more incidents unfold in Europe but uh this just points to this uh evolution in Isis and other uh Terror groups that basically follow in isis's Footsteps in which they've created this post Bin Laden type of terrorism it's a do-it-yourself Jihadi 101 where in your own home within your own possessions you find weapons that are everyday weapons you don't need a sophisticated bomb you don't need to be in Syria or Iraq to get any kind of training uh but you can launch local attacks in small scale that do as much damage um meaning for isis's name to get out to have another uh type of of of of attack to have one casualty or five or 10 um you have done your job and if you die in the process it's even better because you're a Shahed you're a martyr and it's exactly what we've seen if we start connecting the dots in Manchester in London and and more recently this morning so I've been hearing a lot from Fox News to MSNBC to CNN that there is probably going to be an unfortunate increase in attacks during Ramadan why is that you know it's funny because everyone talks about an increase in the tax during Ramadan but uh traditionally it was just the opposite uh other Terror groups and other Rogue regimes always had a ceasefire at least some some point of of or type of clemency during the month of Ramadan whenever I had human rights cases with in Saudi Arabia or Iran that was the time to push them in front of those courts because that's when you would see the most uh compassion coming from those rogue rogue regimes same thing with Terror attacks or activity within Syria right now again Isis new face of terrorism new type of ter ISM that has zero um you know there's no there is no nothing is sacred you go after children you go after women you saw the the Manchester attack young girls nothing is sacred uh and now you see during the month of Ramadan and you ask why well everyone's guards are down literally and figuratively you know you have people who are off duty in terms of their their uh police forces you saw this in Iraq um the young people and young families out at an ice cream parlor and there was an attack there uh and then you see during the month of Ramadan that Isis has actually called for an increase in attacks uh during this time because they want to basically you know have have this time period to say Ramadan is a period of War because we're doing it for the holy cause for people who who want to differentiate between the the Isis actually following the religion of Islam and not you know I follow Isis on on the web on a daily basis and it's amazing to see that between 12 and 2 Eastern which would be the time of ifar uh in the caliphate or in the region you see them basically be very very inactive online going to show that they are celebrating the holiday they're actually partaking in the holiday and the festivities uh and breaking their fast at night so it's an interesting time period to watch all these attacks um and and to watch the directive coming from the the caliphate which also takes us into the the the discussion or the debate over inspired attacks versus directed attacks from the caliphate from from Isis itself so I guess that's one of the questions that uh arose over the weekend that some security forces are asking is these gentlemen or I hate to even use the word gentlemen but these terrorists in London there were three of them in that van and then some you know that participated overall in the attack uh on the London Bridge and then in a market nearby and so obviously there had to be some planning or orchestration at what point do you think that the security forces will find out or do you think that they already know whether or not they got this directive from someone in the Middle East like potentially Syria uh or raqa even you know giving this directive of of what to do right so they they rounded up 12 individuals in the aftermath meeting you know this is a terror cell really all all 12 of those individuals according to CNN International and BBC yesterday were released were released right within those 12 there was women older people younger people between the ages of 19 and 60 so when you think about it even though they were released and and and it's it's interesting to see uh you know whether or not in the future we're going to say that there was any correlation or any if you connect the dots between there has been in the past different attacks within Europe where you have seen uh cross collaboration over over you know borders over between countries between individuals between families um women involved and the whole entire family involved so whether or not there was a direct Communications that points to you know when we ask the question what can we do when you look at a directive a direct um order from from the CATE from headquarters in order to carry out an attack you think well we haven't if we haven't been able to get them offline which is a very daunting task right so even if Twitter takes down a quarter million accounts you know Millions more come back like Sprout up like weeds because that's what they do they're dedicated to this time you look at that direct Comm communication which we have not been able to break if there is a directive if there is that direct people within calate able to reach these individuals and able to and and and law enforcement not able to intercept these messages that's where we need to look more closely within this country within Europe and say that's where our Intel what whatever we gain for example you have those videos on YouTube which these individuals who who carried out the London attack were inspired by to carry out a ramming and knife attack with in some time period now they decided to launch this attack during the month of Ramadan again something that Isis has been pushing but law enforcement the these individuals came under their radar at different time periods but specifically for watching this YouTube video and specifically for being inspired to do a ramming and knife attack this really speaks to very specific Intel very specific uh you know looking at these these individuals and their activities and being able to move in Faster rather than sitting back and owing these events to unfold so one of the things that I consistently think about I lived in New York City for seven years in a post 911 World obviously we're in Los Angeles now it's the second largest media Market in the country it's the home of Western culture which you know Isis deems to hate much like Al-Qaeda did so what's preventing these sorts of attacks you know right in our own backyard I think we we obviously have a very very sophisticated level of intelligence cyber intelligence I I think the US has been very very um keen on on stopping these types of attacks and and activities and um you know like yourself I I you know lived in New York City um for for many many years and I remember um you know so many attacks that were foiled that you know the the public doesn't hear about uh and some that we do hear about but regardless I think an attack like you know let me back up and say an event incident like the car that basically mounted the sidewalk a couple weeks ago in Time Square for example that was not a terror or directly a terror attack he had other Grievances and other you know mental instabilities that that are talked about but what it did point to was that vulnerability in someone being able to still have a do that type of attack in Time Square which is always been looked at as one of the main targets uh should you know God forbidden a terror attack be launched in in one of these open public spaces um you know I think for a very long time more specifically since 2014 when the caliphate was launched um US law enforcement both local and federal have been very much focused on breaking these cells especially within larger cities and being able to safeguard these um so to speak soft targets I attended a cousin's graduation a couple weeks ago in Los Angeles and I had to walk through three sets of metal detectors for an outdoor uh ceremony um which is a bit you know scary that these are the times that we're living in but also makes you feel great that this is these are the the safeguards that have been put in place in the aftermath of all these different incidents taking place speaking of those safeguards what do you think that the United States and our allies you know most of Western Europe can do during this time when we know that these type of low-level attacks are going to be attempted by lovers of Isis what so what can we do to defend ourselves and our citizens yeah I think two things that definitely come to mind is shared intelligence I think some of the um the most you know simple of of uh kind of warnings and threats have been overlooked and missed uh because there's been this this lack of of sharing of intelligence I think one of the reasons that brexit actually took place like the straw that you know the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back in terms of brexit was this you know failure on the part the EU and that Community to look at this as a as Terror as a as a serious threat and to share intelligence across borders to truly stop this whether it's weapons take being taken across Borders or individuals going across borders in Europe and I think the UK had enough of it and now look at what's going on in the UK uh in terms of all these Terror attacks I think we truly need to across the pond across borders look at how we can better collaborate to stop this as a global threat I think you know Donald Trump going over to to the region was a great way to kind of start this symbolic um sharing of intelligence now our you know the Arab countries divorcing with cutter another great symbolic breaking with that world and really uniting this world meaning the terror and the prot terror and the anti-terror worlds right now uh and and and truly going going forward and having a a a more robust community and society and and Intel world to rely on and going after this threat can you I've been following the story but if you mentioned uh a kind of divestment from qter and relationships there I know that Saudi Arabia and a few other nations have been leading the way can you explain to our audience what's happening yeah basically to put it in the most simple of terms cutter has been the terrorist piggy bang for a very very very long time they have basically whitewashed a lot of the money that has been funneled in uh to Terror organizations being able to give it back to those Terror organizations funding a lot of these Terror activities and think that symbolically whether it was Donald Trump's trip to to Saudi Arabia or I should say more likely that this shift in the Middle East has been has been going on for a very long time when you see countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt aligning themselves more with some a country like Israel because of this war on terror and basically turning their backs on more Rogue regimes and pro Terror regimes like cutter and a lot of people will say well you know Egypt and Saudi Arabia Are Not Innocent they have their hands in a lot of this activity yes that is true but we're in a post Ally World in terms of foreign policy and we're actually entering or have been entering this more interest aligned foreign policy and that means that countries like Saudi Arabia and uh Jordan and Morocco and um Israel can have this Unity because they want to keep Terror off their borders and out of their country and I think that this really points to the the more symbolic or the more tangible changes that we're seeing in the region so you mentioned going to a graduation obviously that would be considered a soft target um you know Cars 3 is coming out my almost four-year-old wants to see it with her nana and papa in a couple of weeks would you recommend that Americans just be wary of going to places like malls and theaters that might be soft targets or should they just keep living life as usual this is such a tough question it it truly is such a tough question because the American Patriot in me says can't let them win we can't we can't stop our lives um but the realist in me says you have a you have a four-year-old child and it's your responsibility and mine to keep that child and every other child safe and to keep our our famili safe and I think that this is an important note uh to really emphasize when it comes to the current state of American politics left right and Center we have to come together to say that we need we need terar out of our borders whether the these individuals are already here whether they're coming in from from within our borders we have to keep America safe it's not it's not policy it's not a political party this is reality and unfortunately I don't want to tell you not to take your child to the mall or to the prominade or to Time Square it's that you should have that ackn we should all acknowledge that this is the current threat and we need to do everything in our in our power to temporarily at least be cognizant of this threat and to really put the pressure on local and federal law enforcement all the way up to legislative measures that will um really keep National Security at the Forefront and we're seeing this from our current Administration thankfully uh and hopefully we'll see a a change and and we can start seeing real changes in terms of of of stopping this threat so final question um do you think that those changes specifically on the national and the legislative level though are going to potentially infr on any constitutional Liberties of of Americans we we saw this in the aftermath of 911 Patriot Act and in The Patriot Act uh in in even local law enforcement you know I obious I come from a middle eastern family and I remember my brothers always getting stopped at the airport even getting stopped by you know local police getting pulled over all the time and you know it it didn't bother them at the time because they knew that it was temporary and for the good of the people meaning if there is some sort of of threat if people who you know fit that profile look like them then they should be stopped and they should be questioned now that always comes with in the keeping the greater you know good as the priority and wanting to keep American safe as the priority will always infringe upon our rights some somewhat but I think that the main goal is to keep intact the Constitution as much as possible to keep our rights intact as much as possible and to work from that point of view or that perspective to work then to build uh those safeguards around this fence of of the constitution in our rights as as difficult as that is I think look in if we want to kind of talk real talk uh in the aftermath of 911 I think many of us were on board with the Patriot Act with you know profiling with you know long lines at the airports because always 2020 absolutely as we kind of departed from that we forgot about 911 911 became like what we're safe we're became ignorant we truly became ignorant until we started seeing it again and in this country if you talk to so many individuals they still don't believe that we have had Terror attacks since 911 they don't see Orlando or any of the or s San Bernardino or any of the other attacks which have been small and medium and large scale since then as attacks they don't look at Europe and think that that could happen to us next and it will happen to us next because people have kitchen knives and people have cars and there you know life goes on in this country so I think that looking back we don't want another 9111 scale attack but we also don't want these knife attacks and these local attacks to happen here so I think we have to be patient and we have to remember that National Security is not a part of an issue as much as it's always one especially more recent times and that we don't want what's happening they said what happens in Israel is going to happen all around the world it went from Israel to Europe and unfortunately we're going to see more of it in the west but we hope not well Lisa we appreciate your time and your expertise today be sure to follow Lisa on twittter and on Facebook it's just her name Lisa duari which you can copy and paste it's also when and doubt sounded out we appreciate your time today and just a reminder for everyone these prer you lives are free much like all of our videos are free because of generous donations from normal people like you and me so please click the link and be willing to donate even $5 helps get our message about western civilization and the beauty of our freedoms and Liberties here in the United States that are applicable to people all around the world thank you so much for tuning into to this priew live and we'll see you soon e e e e e e e e e for