There were warning signs that an attack by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Australia might be imminent, says former Defense Department analyst Michael Maloof.
"The warning signs indeed were there," Maloof told Ed Berliner on "MidPoint" on
Newsmax TV Thursday.
Story continues below video.
Note: Watch Newsmax TV now on
DIRECTV Ch. 349 and
DISH Ch. 223
Get Newsmax TV on your cable system –
Click Here Now
Police in Sydney, Australia
uncovered a plot by ISIS militants to carry out beheadings at the request of an ISIS leader in the Middle East.
"Tony Abbott, the prime minister, has been hinting that something was brewing by becoming more vocal about ISIS, about trying to shore up defenses, about increasing intelligence surveillance and now committing Australian troops," he explained.
"The thing about ISIS is that what occurred in Sydney and what they uncovered is an ISIS warning that's going out to all of their lone wolves and operatives in various countries," he said.
"Australia is something that is shocking, but it's not surprising," he added.
"There are 60 Australians who are members of ISIS," explained Maloof, who worked as a senior policy advisor for former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
"One of the top commanders of ISIS in one of the Syrian cities is actually Australian," he said.
"Australia, whether they want to believe it or not, is in the fight," he added.
Senior analyst and investigative journalist for the Investigative Project on Terrorism, John Rossomando, told Newsmax that it's a reminder that even Americans can't be "complacent."
He explained that the ISIS is constantly "issuing threats to attack America."
For example, "in New York City, a police commissioner raised warnings about chatter that there would be an attack against Times Square," he said.
"You have these people reaching out on social media threatening to kill American journalists in Washington," he added.
"Look at the Boston bombing," Rossomando explained. "It took two guys who probably spent $50 to build those bombs."
"It's very easy for people like that to slip through and to be able to hit us where we're sensitive," he added.
© 2019 Newsmax. All rights reserved.