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Carl Higbie is not whispering. After another round of senseless killings tied to Islamist extremists, Higbie told viewers exactly what too many in the political class refuse to admit: we are still at war with a violent ideology that will exploit any vacuum we leave. That bluntness is what Americans want to hear — honesty about the enemy and a refusal to pretend these are merely “isolated incidents.”
The facts back him up: Islamic State elements have been reactivating fighters, distributing weapons, and attempting to rebuild networks in Iraq and Syria, even if they no longer hold large swaths of territory. Experts and intelligence officials have warned that the fall of regimes and the chaos in the region create opportunities for ISIS affiliates to regroup and inspire attacks abroad. This is not alarmism; it is the hard, inconvenient reality our leaders must confront before more innocents die.
Worse, the United States has at times hollowed out its own deterrent by pulling forces and closing bases, moves that critics rightly say have handed the initiative back to our enemies. Recent withdrawals from Syrian bases have alarmed Kurdish partners and risked creating the exact security vacuum ISIS needs to expand again. If policymakers want to argue that disengagement makes America safer, they should explain how that logic stopped ISIS from reappearing in the first place.
Higbie’s prescription is straightforward and patriotic: get serious about military pressure, intelligence cooperation, and decisive action across the region to destroy terror nodes before they can strike here at home. We should not be timid about using our military advantage — airstrikes, special operations, and partnered local forces are the tools that have degraded ISIS before, and they can do so again if backed by consistent political will. Cowardice or inconsistency will only cost more American lives and more suffering abroad.
Meanwhile, the left and the mainstream media keep playing word games — calling jihadist attacks “lone wolf” incidents or “mental health” episodes rather than naming Islamist ideology as the motivating factor when evidence points squarely to it. That refusal to call out the problem isn’t compassion; it’s fatal naiveté that endangers neighborhoods, synagogues, and shopping malls. The American people deserve leaders who tell the truth and defend them, not talking heads who sanitize the threat to score political points.
If we care about protecting American families, we must secure our borders, strengthen vetting for refugees and travelers from terror-prone regions, and rebuild our intelligence partnerships with allies on the ground. Military action without follow-through on immigration and counter-radicalization would be like bailing out a sinking boat with a teacup; we need a full-court strategy that marries hard power with smart policy. Failure to act decisively hands the next headline, and possibly the next body bag, to people who celebrate our pain.
Americans should be proud of our troops and demand Congress and the White House give them a clear mission and the resources to finish it — not contradictory orders, not premature withdrawals, and certainly not excuses. Carl Higbie’s blunt call to “get serious” reflects a piece of patriotism the left often forgets: protecting our people sometimes requires strength, clarity, and the courage to do what must be done. If you love this country, you stand with the men and women who defend it and demand our leaders stop the self-inflicted retreat that costs lives.
