Far-right terrorism a transnational threat backed by state actors, says US official
September 23, 2019 4 Comments
Threats posed by white supremacist and other far-right groups are now global in nature and are increasingly backed by state actors, according to a Congressional testimony by an American former counterterrorism official. The testimony was delivered by Joshua Geltzer, former senior director for counterterrorism at the United States National Security Council. Geltzer, who now directs the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, testified on Friday before two subcommittees of the US House of Representatives. The Subcommittee on National Security and the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a joint hearing entitled “Confronting Violent White Supremacy”.
Geltzer said in his testimony [.pdf] that the type of violence perpetrated by white supremacist groups in America cannot any more be characterized as “domestic”, because it is quickly becoming transnational in character. White supremacist violence in America is part of a “global surge” that is “increasingly interlinked and internationalized”. In fact, the attackers themselves internationalize their role in this global movement by referencing white supremacist violence in other parts of the world to justify the use of violence in the US, said Geltzer. He added that the emerging center of this global surge of white supremacist violence appears to be located in Ukraine and Russia. It is there that funds provided by the Russian government are being used to train and educate white supremacist leaders in guerrilla warfare, social media propaganda and various forms of ideological training.
It is therefore imperative, said Geltzer, that the US Intelligence Community begins to examine white supremacist violence within this new transnational context. For instance, it would be helpful if the mission of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was changed to include a concentration in so-called “domestic terrorism”, including white supremacist violence, he argued.
Also on Friday, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled its new strategy report. The report views “domestic terrorism and mass attacks” as a growing threat to the United States that is equal in magnitude to the threat posed by Islamist terrorists. The report identifies what it describes as “a disturbing rise in attacks motivated by domestic terrorist ideologies”. One of the most powerful drivers of this new wave of domestic violence is “white supremacy”, according to the DHS.
► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 23 September 2019 | Permalink
An investigation by Republican lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives has reportedly found that military intelligence analysts were pressured into changing reports on the Islamic State by their superiors. The investigation follows 
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US Capitol Police ignored warnings prior to January 6, lacked adequate training
April 16, 2021 by Joseph Fitsanakis 3 Comments
THE POLICE FORCE OF the United States Capitol did not take into account warnings ahead of the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress, and lacked adequate training to respond to it, according to its own inspector general. These findings are presented in a 104-page report that was given to Congress on Thursday, a day after it was leaked to NBC News.
The report’s lead author is Michael A. Bolton, who serves as the inspector general of the US Capitol Police. He presented his findings on Thursday before the Committee on House Administration, which deals with the general administration of the United States House of Representatives, including matters relating to employment, safety and appropriation.
According to Bolton’s report, Capitol Police did not act on intelligence reports that gave prior warning about the propensity for violence by supporters of the so-called “Stop the Steal” movement that formed around Donald Trump in late 2020. One intelligence warning, which is quoted in the inspector general’s report, stated that the Stop the Steal movement was attracting “white supremacists, militia members and others who actively promote violence [and] may lead to a significantly dangerous situation for law enforcement and the general public alike”.
Another intelligence report, issued on January 3, warned Capitol Police that Trump’s supporters had concrete plans to descend on the Capitol and were “actively promoting violence” with “Congress itself [as] the target”. Yet another intelligence report, issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, notified Capitol Police that maps of the Capitol Complex underground tunnel system were being circulated on online message boards frequented by Trump supporters.
The report concludes that, by the time the attack began to unfold on the afternoon of January 6, it was too late for Capitol Police force to stop it, because its personnel “lacked policies and procedures” that were needed to do so. The force was thus “severely unprepared” to deal with the mass insurrection that led to several deaths and many more injuries, the inspector general report concludes.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 16 April 2021 | Permalink
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