For much of the past half-century, Western counterterrorism efforts were organized around secure borders. Threats typically originated elsewhere. They travelled, arriving with suspicious travel histories, false documents, or known terror affiliations.

But in 2025, that approach no longer works.

The violence that unsettled Western societies this year did not come from clandestine crossings and centrally coordinated cells. Terror attacks instead were perpetrated by individuals who immigrated legally or were natural born citizens, had few early indicators of radicalization, and featured no clear organizational ties to terror cells.

In Washington, D.C., a targeted shooting near the White House left National Guard members dead and wounded; prosecutors charged an Afghan national admitted through a resettlement program with first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill, noting he had entered legally and was not on terrorism watchlists prior to the attack. (RELATED: REPORT: Alleged National Gaurdsmen Shooter Was ‘Not Functional’ For Months, Emails Warned)

Earlier in the year, two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum by a suspect who shouted “Free Palestine.” The alleged gunman, Elias Rodriguez, was an American citizen who traveled from Chicago to Washington, D.C., to carry out the deadly attack.

Canada offered its own instructive example. In late 2025, police in the Greater Toronto Area arrested Waleed Khan, 26, Osman Azizov, 18, and Fahad Sadaat, 19, alleging a series of hate-motivated attempted........

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