![Montana Foreign Affairs Experts Point to Islamic Terror in San Bernardino Attacks](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2015/12/GettyImages-499676954.jpg?w=630&h=420&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89&w=980&q=75)
Montana Foreign Affairs Experts Point to Islamic Terror in San Bernardino Attacks
Police and investigators are now reporting that San Bernardino shooter Sayid Farook was a “radicalized” Islamist. Before these reports were made know though, Montana experts on international affairs were calling the attacks acts of Islamic terrorism. University of Montana Professor Mehrdad Kia said the attacks looked suspiciously like the bombing of the Boston Marathon.
"I have no hesitation to, not only denounce it as a heinous terrorist attack, but to call it what it is, Radical Islamic terrorism. The case has similarities with the two [Tsarnaev] Brother's in Boston."
Kia noted that just as the Tsarnaev brothers had traveled abroad before their terror attack, Farook recently traveled to Saudi Arabia.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Senegal Mark Johnson who serves as an Adjunct Professor at UM highlighted possible ties between the San Bernardino terror attack and the group known as Islamic State, or ISIS.
"I hate to bring the bad news, but this is worse than we imagine," Johnson said. "There are currently 900 active cases pursued by the FBI in all 50 states. Two days ago a former Great Falls High School student was arrested in California on charges of aiding and abetting ISIS, so how real is that? You'll probably be incensed. ISIS is an apocalyptic death cult and my bias is that this cannot be anything but a terrorist act."
The Great Falls High School Student with ties to ISIS Johnson referred to is 22-year-old Nicholas Teausant, who pleaded guilty on Tuesday, December 2, of attempting to “provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.” An FBI informant says Teausant had planned on traveling to Syria via Canada to join ISIS.
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