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New Year's Day terror attacks highlight America's divisions
Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: A Quick Take for you, a happy New Year, I wish that I could say that 2025 was getting off to a smoother start, clearly not the case, certainly not in my country.
Two terrorist attacks in the early hours of the first day of the year, in New Orleans, back where I went to school, Tulane University. 14 dead, dozens injured in a terrorist attack right on Bourbon Street, as all the revelers were celebrating. And then, hours later, Las Vegas, the Trump International Hotel, a Cybertruck carrying fireworks and gas canisters, essentially a bomb, a driver killed himself before blowing up his truck. Nobody else killed, lots of injuries, could have been a lot worse. Everyone's talking about potential connections, they use the same app to rent the vehicles, they're both US citizens, one's a veteran, one's active, one was active in the US Forces, both served in Afghanistan, were even on the same base.
No evidence at all that they knew each other, and certainly no evidence that the attacks were in any way coordinated. In fact, if you look at some of the posts and other things made by the New Orleans bomber, out of Texas, was thinking about attacking friends and family before he was worried about the media receptivity on that. Far more likely both of these were lone wolf attacks. But there are some important things to point out, like if you're angry and disillusioned with the US, its system, its leaders, its values or lack thereof, and you want to attack the excesses of it, decadence of the United States in your view, and you want to have great symbolism, January 1 gets you there, Bourbon Street in New Orleans, and Las Vegas are pretty much ground zero, so in that regard, not a coincidence at all.
A couple of lone wolves with the same sort of animus, in terms of why they would take their grievances out in the most public way, going after Trump and Elon, ditto, and of course, we've already seen a bunch of this in the most disastrous potential ways with the attempted assassinations against now President-elect Trump, one of which was this close, and almost happened, could easily have happened, and we'd be having very different conversations if that were the case right now. I'm thinking a lot about the symbolism, a lot about the impact, because the coverage in the media and on social media about these terrorist attacks is so overwhelmingly about trying to figure out who's to blame, which team, who's responsible? Is this on the right or on the left? Were these people outraged with Trump or were they Trump supporters? Were they white nationalists? Were they Americans? Were they not Americans? Were they Muslim extremists? All of that.
When, of course, the most important thing to focus on are the victims. The most important thing to focus on is the outrage that these attacks are occurring, and that innocent citizens, civilians are getting killed, are getting injured, that their families are suffering, that the impact on the communities, and that we're not apparently able to prevent them. That is the focus that we should have, and it couldn't be more different in that regard from 911, where the response was to rally around the flag. The response was to rally around the president, who had over 90% approval ratings in the weeks after those attacks, wasn't particularly popular beforehand. And what changed between those days, well, what changed was that the average American felt very patriotic and felt that all Americans were ultimately on the same side, on the same team.
And that is not where we are right now. Right now, the average American feels that the primary enemies are inside the country, supporting their political enemies, whoever they happen to be. And we are seeing this especially on social media, we're seeing this with so much disinformation, we're also seeing it, frankly, with President-elect Trump, who was immediately talking about, well, this was a threat from outside the country, and it's because we're not defending the border, and it's Biden, and he's the biggest disaster, and he's not protecting, as opposed to Biden is the American president, Trump is about to be the American president, they're both the leaders that deserve to be listened to, and need to be rallied behind in a time of crisis. Very far from that, you can't imagine a US really getting over 50% approval right now, with a good percentage of the remaining 50% thinking that that president is a core part of the problem.
And that means, number one, that these attacks are likely to do more to drive Americans apart than to bring them together. Secondly, that there's going to be much more politicization that comes on the back of these attacks, and talking about how certain parts of the US public is not patriotic. So, for example, when the first New Orleans attacks occurred, in New York City, there were some significant demonstrations, obviously completely unrelated, that were pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the US. A lot of response to that was these people need to be surveilled, they're calling for intifada, they are a part of the problem. When, in reality, they're American citizens expressing freedom of speech, just like Trump supporters or American citizens expressing freedom of speech, and they're all the same Americans. But a lot of Americans don't feel that way. And that, I think, is being maximized, it's being, the algorithms are driving more of that hate, more of that anger, more of that anxiety.
And the media coverage, which is so divided, is also driving that, depending on what and who you're watching and focusing on ensuring that the views that you bring into this are only going to be strengthened, and the enemy's views are going to be disparaged. That's where we are, that's how we're responding to tragedies, two tragedies, as we kick off 2025. I'd like to believe that these are solvable, addressable problems, and that we can create more of a community, create more of a civil society in the United States, but in the near term, the trend is not in that direction, the trend is indeed very far in the other direction.
And that's something that I think we're going to be paying attention to and talking about for some time to come. So, I hope that you and your families had a restful and peaceful and Happy New Year, but we've got a lot of work to do, and we'll do our best to honestly and without fear or favor, continue to analyze that for you, and talk about it, and focus over the course of the year. And that's it for me, and I'll talk to you all real soon.
People carry a dead body in a body bag on a stretcher near the site where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year's celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., January 2, 2025.
‘No accomplices’ in New Orleans attack, but national security concerns mount
“We’re confident, at this point, that there are no accomplices,” said FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia on Thursday at a press briefing about Shamsud-Din Jabbar,who drove a truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early Wednesday, killing 14 and injuring dozens more. Jabbar hailed from Texas and served for nearly eight years in the Army, including a deployment to Afghanistan. He posted on social media ahead of the attack, professing to have joined the Islamic State terrorist group.
Raia said that investigators had not uncovered a connection between Jabbar and the Cybertruck that detonated outside of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on the same day, but they weren’t ruling out the possibility that the two attacks were coordinated. Both attacks have superficial similarities: the timing; the use of trucks rented from the same company, Turo; and Matthew Livelsberger, the person suspected to have been behind the wheel in Las Vegas,served on the same military base as Jabbar.
Raia assured football fans that the Sugar Bowl, which was postponed for 24 hours following the attack, had taken the necessary safety precautions to proceed on Thursday. But New Orleans remains on edge as it prepares to welcome tens of thousands of people for the Super Bowl next month. And it isn’t the only city concerned about large gatherings in the wake of the attack: In Washington, DC, fears have ticked up about potential violence during Jimmy Carter’s upcoming funeral or Donald Trump’s victory rally and inauguration.
Despite these fears, the president-elect’s response was to link the New Orleans attack to insufficient border control and the dangers of illegal immigration, even though Jabbar was an American citizen. GZERO Media’s founder, Ian Bremmer, says that “far from rallying around the flag,” Trump’s “response to a devastating terrorist attack was disinformation and greater political division.”
A member of the National Guard Military Police stands in the area where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year's celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 2, 2025.
Deadly attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas open new year
The US opened in the New Year with a pair of deadly attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Early on Jan. 1, 14 people were killed and more than two dozen were injured after a pickup truck ran down a crowd in Bourbon Street. The FBI is treating the incident as a terror attack and has identified the suspect, who was shot dead by police, as Texas Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar. Before the attack, Jabbar posted on social media saying he had joined Islamic State; investigators found the flag of the terror organization in the truck and now believe that Jabbar acted alone.
Later yesterday morning, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, injuring seven and killing one person inside the vehicle. The Cybertruck was rented in Colorado by Army veteran Matthew Alan Livelsberger, who served on the same base as Jabbar and was the man killed inside the Cybertruck when it exploded. Reports suggest the explosion was deliberate, and while police are investigating whether there was a link between the New Orleans and Las Vegas attacks, the FBI says there is currently “no definitive link.”
A view down Bourbon Street shows a crashed white pickup truck after an apparent attack during New Year's Eve celebrations in New Orleans.
Terrorist targets New Orleans in vehicle attack
New Orleans is in mourning after a man drove a rented pickup truck into a Bourbon Street crowd early Wednesday, killing at least 14 and injuring dozens. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old realtor and Army veteran from Texas, plowed into revelers and fired on police before being killed. Officials are calling the incident a terrorist attack despite an earlier statement to the contrary, provoking criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, who called the attack ”pure evil” and linked it to rising crime and illegal immigration, even though Jabbar was born in the US. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, said there was “no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation's communities.”
Authorities found an Islamic State flag in the attacker’s truck, but it is not clear whether Jabbar was formally connected to an organized terrorist group. FBI Assistant Special Agent Althea Duncan confirmed that Jabbar did not act alone, citing surveillance footage showing other individuals planting explosive devices nearby. A detonator was found in Jabbar’s truck and two pipe bombs were defused. Investigators are piecing together his motives and searching for other suspects.
Security fail? While New Orleans had security barriers in place, they were not functioning because they were being transported to secure the Sugar Bowl, a college football game, which was scheduled for Wednesday. The game between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed until Thursday.
The incident comes just a week after a similar attack by vehicle at a Christmas market in Germany, raising fears that such attacks could further proliferate – as well as fears over law enforcement’s ability to defend against them.
Heavily armed police officers secure the scene. A car has crashed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg. Several people are killed and many injured.
Germany grapples with extremism after Christmas market attack
The Saudi doctor accused of killing 5 people in the Magdeburg Christmas market on Friday appeared in a German court on Saturday.Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, 50, was charged with five counts of murder, multiple attempted murder and multiple counts of dangerous bodily harm in an attack which also wounded over 200 people. One of those killed was9-year old André Gleißner, described by his mother in a social media post as “my little teddy bear”. A GoFundMe for the family has raised tens of thousands of dollars.
Anger is growing over missed opportunities to prevent the attack. Riyadhhad flagged the suspect to German authorities last summer,citing a post where he threatened that Germany would “pay a price” for its treatment of Saudi refugees. At the same time, al-Abdulmohsen called himself a“Saudi atheist” and evinced sympathies for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
On Friday, the AfD held a 2000-person rally at a memorial site near the market, calling for “Remigration”, and chanting “Migration Kills.” The incident has putmigration and national security front and center in Germany’s upcoming national election, anticipated for February 23. The AfD is currently polling at around 19%, second only to the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at around 33%, but all other parties have ruled out forming a coalition with them.
Lebanon's Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem speaks during an interview with Reuters in Beirut's suburbs, Lebanon November 22, 2019.
Will Hezbollah’s new leader give peace a chance?
Hezbollah on Tuesday named cleric Naim Kassem, 71, as its new leader. Kassem was a longtime deputy of Hezbollah’s previous leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike last month.
Kassem inherits Nasrallah’s job at a precarious moment for Hezbollah, which has been fighting with Israel since Hamas attacked the Jewish state last October. The conflict escalated when Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon earlier this month.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant responded to Kassem’s appointment by posting his picture to X with the caption, “Temporary appointment. Not for long.”
Mixed signals. Kassem has often been the public face of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, a role that’s increased since Nasrallah’s death.
On Oct. 8, Kassem gave a speech in which he expressed support for a cease-fire in Lebanon, without explicitly linking a truce to an end of the Gaza war — a condition upon which Hezbollah previously insisted. But in another speech on Oct. 15, Kassem signaled Hezbollah wouldn’t agree to a deal that didn’t include an end to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
In the days ahead, we’ll be watching to see if Kassem takes a clearer position on a cease-fire now that he’s officially the new voice of Hezbollah.
FILE PHOTO: Police officers stand at the entrance to a building during a raid in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Security forces have searched several properties in Berlin, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein in connection with the ban on the terrorist organization Hamas and the international network Samidoun in Germany.
US and Canada list Samidoun as a terrorist group
The United States and Canada both moved Tuesday to designate Samidoun as a terrorist entity, following Germany, which banned the group last year, and the Netherlands, which banned it last week. Samidoun, which is also known as the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, is headquartered in Vancouver and is accused of having links to and advancing the agenda of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is already listed as a terrorist group.
The listing means that governments in both countries can freeze assets belonging to the group and prevent them from banking, for instance.
Calls for Samidoun to be listed increased after a rally in Vancouver on Oct. 7, the anniversary of the terrorist attack on Israel, where a masked woman led a crowd in chants of “death to Canada, death to the United States, and death to Israel,” and Canadian flags were burned.
Prosecutors are weighing whether to file hate speech charges against one of the group’s leaders over an earlier rally.
In Canada and the United States, rallies against the war in Gaza have inflamed tensions, and antisemitic incidents have increased dramatically.
On Tuesday, Israel released a report warning that antisemitism in Canada is on the rise and that Jewish places of worship, community centers, and day schools have been targeted. On Saturday morning, a Toronto Jewish girls’ day school was shot at for the second time. Nobody was hurt, and students have returned to class, but the community is fearful.
Indian paramilitary soldiers stand alert while Jammu and Kashmir National Conference candidate Mubarak Gul arrives to file his nomination papers for assembly elections in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on September 2, 2024.
Can Kashmiri voters keep Modi’s party out of control in local assembly?
The Indian-occupied region of Kashmir kicks off its first phase of elections on Wednesday for its own truncated government and local legislative assembly, as New Delhi reintroduces some local authority after taking direct control in 2019. Kashmiris, the majority of whom are Muslim, have frequently boycotted elections in the past to protest Indian occupation but reportedly plan to participate this time to attempt to deny the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party control.
Who are the main players? Besides the BJP, which enjoys support from the regional Hindu minority, especially around the city of Jammu, the local People’s Democratic Party and National Congress party are the main contenders. PDP was in coalition with BJP from the last election in 2014 to 2018, while NC has allied with the Indian National Congress, BJP’s main rival on the national level. In addition, 145 independent candidates have registered – a record high — which some Kashmiris say is due to the BJP attempting to dilute the opposition vote. Vote counting is scheduled for Oct. 8, after two additional phases on Sept. 25 and Oct. 1.
The new assembly will have partial control over social policy like education, culture and taxation but not over the police, and it will not enjoy the special privileges it had prior to 2019.
The upshot? If Kashmiri parties can form a governing coalition, they will still be very limited in what legislation they can pass, but it may reduce the appeal of armed insurrection for disaffected youth. Violence in the Vale of Kashmir, which India accuses Pakistan of supporting, has already cost tens of thousands of lives, and we’re watching whether the ballot might prove mightier than the bullet.