Muslim American Terrorism In Decline

Researchers at Duke University say the number of Muslim Americans convicted of terrorist acts in the U.S. is on a steady decline. They released the findings in conjunction with the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.  In 2009, 49 people were arrested, and the number has dropped each subsequent year to 14 arrests last year. David Schanzer, director of the Triangle Center, says recent terrorism plotters haven’t been as sophisticated.

“They’re less capable than individuals from earlier years and their plots are getting stopped at an earlier stage,” he says.  “Of the 14 individuals we only had one person who was actually able to execute an act of violence.  All the rest were arrested before anything actually happened.”

Schanzer says none of the 14 people arrested last year had any training at terrorist camps overseas.