We must assume sleeper cells in US, says senator

A key U.S. senator said Sunday the country has to assume there are some “sleeper cells” within the U.S. that would like to carry out a terror attack.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said he was not aware of any specific cells, but noted that the recent attacks elsewhere in the Western world make it a safe assumption. Johnson is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

“What you’re seeing happen in Europe, you’re seeing how widespread that is,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I think you have to assume that that is a risk that we have to consider.”

{mosads}Johnson criticized President Obama’s policy to combat terror groups, arguing the administration is insufficiently committed to the cause to battle against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“As long as ISIS is not losing, they are perceived as winning,” he said. “We have to defeat ISIS. We can’t let them continue threatening the rest of the world for years.”

He also criticized administration efforts to shut down the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, warning that remaining captives pose a major threat to the U.S.

“The people left in Guantánamo Bay are evil people,” he said. “The people there are the worst of the worst, and they should not be released.”

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said U.S. intelligence needs to focus on the greatest threats to home.

“In some cases these are Americans that we know have been associated with these extreme groups,” he said. “It’s really important that our intelligence community focus on those that are the highest risks to the United States.”

Cardin supported the president’s security stance. While he said it should fall to Congress to specify the use of force, he added that ground support in the Middle East should come from someplace besides the U.S.

“The president is right, this is a complicated situation,” he said. “It’s important that ground support be done by those in the country.”