The National Interest said that regardless of counter terrorism efforts within the United States, whether it is inter agency coordination, information sharing, or other measures, the problem of domestic terrorism will remain as long as the major problem of loyalties and political positions remains. .
And this American magazine confirmed – in a report – that if this threat continues, it will also pose a danger not only to individuals who are often victims of terrorist violence, but also to American democracy itself, and this is a greater problem.
Last week, the administration of President Joe Biden issued a “National Strategy to Combat Domestic Terrorism,” the first document of its kind in the country on the subject.
real
strategy
The National Interest believes that, like most other “strategic documents” issued by any US administration, the announced was not a real strategy that included government decisions of an executive nature, but rather a general declaration of goals and principles, but at least it constituted a welcome “official confirmation” that reflects the reality and source of most Terrorist threats targeting the country today.
The strategic document lists some of the points that were already familiar in foreign counter terrorism discourse such as sharing intelligence between different agencies “more freely” and introduces some new ideas such as tracing the links of local extremists across borders, and becoming some legal or investigative tools, which apply only to the Foreign targets are otherwise operable against domestic terrorists.
According to the magazine, the most important section of the document is its fourth and final axis, which is entitled “Confronting the long-term contributors to domestic terrorism.” As with external terrorism, the political, economic and social conditions surrounding potential domestic extremists ultimately determine, more than anything else, whether they will take the decisive step by resorting to terrorist violence. Lack of consensus and unity of opinion.
far right
The National Interest emphasizes that although the authors of this strategic document were keen to recall that terrorism is not limited to a particular ideology or political orientation, it is clear that most domestic American terrorism in recent decades has been driven by right-wing extremists.
It is a “statistical fact” that has not been refuted by the efforts of the hard right to exaggerate the activities of movements such as the leftist “Antifa” or “Black Lives Matter” movement against violence against African Americans, and it is very important to acknowledge it first before launching any approach against the threat of terrorism. the local.
In line with this context, the US intelligence community has acknowledged that “racially or ethnically motivated” violent extremists and “militia” violent extremists pose the most lethal threats within the United States today, noting the transnational connections of these “white supremacist” extremists.