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More than 800 Australian police officers carried out a raid this morning in parts of Sydney, in the largest such counter-terrorism raids in that nation’s history. Fifteen people were detained initially and two have now been charged with 9 being released. Prime Minister Tony Abbott justified the raids saying that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, against whom the US and other nations are fighting a war, had urged their Australian colleagues to behead people in public.

Western countries like Australia, Britain, and the United States, have raised the specter of home-grown “terrorists” joining ISIS fighters in Northern Iraq and Syria. A Rochester, New York man arrested in May was indicted yesterday by a jury of several charges of providing material support and resources to terrorists. Thirty-year old Mufid Elfgeeh was born in Yemen and became a naturalized US citizen. The charges against him are based on testimonies of two FBI informants who went along with Elfgeeh’s plans to recruit members for ISIS and help arm them.

US Attorney General Eric Holder this week announced a plan to curb recruitment for ISIS. In the words of the Justice Department, the project will be a, “new series of pilot programs in cities across the country to bring together community representatives, public safety officials and religious leaders to counter violent extremism. The … programs will be run in partnership with the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Counterterrorism Center.”

As if confirming American fears of a home-grown attack, ISIS released their latest video this week using the format of a movie trailer to warn the US that it intends to attack American troops and the White House.

GUEST: Shahid Buttar is the Executive Director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee.