WASHINGTON: The US government on Tuesday unveiled a "national strategy" to fight domestic terrorism, an effort ordered by President Joe Biden after the January 6 assault on Congress and attacks by white supremacists. "Domestic terrorism - driven by hate, bigotry, and other forms of extremism - is a stain on the soul of America," Biden said in a statement.
"It goes against everything our country strives for and it poses a direct challenge to our national security, democracy and unity." The White House said the threat of domestic terror attacks is not new but that it had grown in recent years, particularly from racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists and anti-government or anti-authority violent extremists.
Though law enforcement has said the primary threat is from the extreme right, and particularly armed militia groups, officials said the new strategy is "ideologically neutral." The new strategy sets broad orientations rather than concrete measures, with the goals of "prevention, interruption and dissuasion" while preserving individual freedoms.
The Biden administration wants first to improve information sharing on extremist groups or individuals at the federal and local levels. The Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have set up a new nationwide system for reporting and tracking terrorism-related cases.
The government also wants to thwart the recruitment of violent extremists and calls for violence, in part by collaborating with large technology platforms and social media networks.
But it will not go as far as some members of Congress and law enforcement experts have urged, to create a distinct federal "domestic terrorism" crime.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.