US Homeland Security Department accused of disbanding homegrown terrorism unit

Some employees of the United States Department of Homeland Security claim that a unit specializing on homegrown and domestic terrorism was inexplicably disbanded, leaving America vulnerable to attack. The allegations were published on Tuesday on the website of The Daily Beast, an investigative news and opinion website. In a leading article published on the site, reporter Betsy Woodruff cites “current and former DHS officials” with knowledge about the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), which is the intelligence wing of the DHS.

Woodruff claims that, until recently, I&A employoed a team of analysts that worked on potential threats from domestic terrorism activity and homegrown violent extremist individuals or groups. They then shared their reports with law enforcement on the state and local level, which is DHS’s mission. But in August of 2017, when David Glawe assumed the post of Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis, I&A experienced a major reorganization. The article alleges that Glawe —who was appointed by President Donald Trump— did away with the I&A unit that monitors domestic militancy, including far-right radicalization. Ever since that move, I&A have “significantly reduced their production [of analysis] on homegrown violent extremism and domestic terrorism”, according to a DHS official quoted in The Daily Beast piece. The I&A’s reduction in output has “generated significant concern at headquarters given the growth in right-wing extremism and domestic terrorism we are seeing in the US and abroad”, said another DHS official.

But in a written response to the website’s allegations, Glawe dismissed the claims as “patently false and the exact opposite of what we have done”. He went on to state that I&A has “significantly increased tactical intelligence reporting on domestic terrorists and homegrown violent extremists since 2016”. Referring to The Daily Beast’s claims, Glawe said that “those pushing such a narrative either do not understand intelligence collection efforts or don’t care about the truth”.

► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 04 April 2019 | Permalink