The US Congress has released a report indicating the failure of the US government to curb terrorist travel and prevent its citizens from being recruited by members of the Islamic State.
The study conducted by Republicans and Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee said since 2011, more than 250 Americans who left the United States have joined or tried to join the jihadist group, Fox News reported.
"Despite concerted efforts to stem the flow, we have largely failed to stop Americans from traveling overseas to join jihadists. Of the hundreds of Americans who have sought to travel to the conflict zone in Syria and Iraq, authorities have only interdicted a fraction of them," the report said.
"The US government lacks a national strategy for combating terrorist travel and has not produced one in nearly a decade,'' the report said.
Congress said security lapses in some European countries may also have contributed to the problem. "Gaping security weaknesses overseas—especially in Europe—are putting the US homeland in danger by making it easier for aspiring foreign fighters to migrate to terrorist hotspots and for jihadists to return to the West," the report said.
The bipartisan report, which was extensively reviewed for over a period of six-month, aims to assess the severity of the threat from those leaving home to join jihadist groups and to identify potential security gaps, CNN reported.
Interviewed by Fox News, National Security Analyst for the Clarion Project Professor Ryan Mauro said America's "luck is bound to run out'' unless there is a shift of strategy to counter terror acts.
"As horrible as attacks like the Chattanooga shooting were, we've been incredibly lucky. But our luck is bound to run out,'' Mauro said, according to CNN.
"If the fighting in Afghanistan brought us 9/11, it's frightening to think what the fighting in Syria and Iraq will bring us," he added.
The report reflected on the 10,000 foreign fighters that battled the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s, contributing to the rise of al Qaeda. Today, more than 25,000 have joined jihadists in Iraq and Syria, CNN said.
Congress faulted the Obama administration's lack of strategy to identify all who try to return to commit terror attacks and its complacency towards returning US citizens.
CNN quoted the White House as saying: "Several dozen have also managed to make it back into America,'' and that "several people were identified and arrested this year trying to return to the United States.''
Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-California, meanwhile, said the problem requires consolidated effort in order "to facilitate action and programme" and to move forward.
"These are real threats, requiring real solutions and commitments,'' Sanchez said.
