by Rob Crilly at The Daily Mail
The Pentagon is to start training for service members leaving the military to prevent them being radicalized by violent extremists, as part of the country’s first domestic terrorism strategy due to be unveiled on Tuesday.
It follows a review that stated the most dangerous elements of the threat today come from white supremacists and anti-government extremists.
The White House also called the Capitol riot a ‘domestic terrorist attack’ in the report and backed a ‘purge’ of extremist content online.
The strategy includes $100 million for the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security for analysts, prosecutors and investigators.
‘In addition, the Department of Defense is incorporating training for servicemembers separating retirements in the military, who may potentially be targeted by those who seek to radicalise them,’ said an administration official.
‘Domestic terrorist attacks in the United States also have been committed frequently by those opposing our government institutions. In 1995, in the largest single act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history, an anti–government violent extremist detonated a bomb at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people – including 19 children – and injuring hundreds of others,’ the report says.
‘In 2016, an anti–authority violent extremist ambushed, shot, and killed five police officers in Dallas. In 2017, a lone gunman wounded four people at a congressional baseball practice. And just months ago, on January 6, 2021, Americans witnessed an unprecedented attack against a core institution of our democracy: the U.S. Congress.’
The move follows revelations that a disproportionate number of people arrested during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol were active military personnel or veterans.
Experts in domestic terrorism have long warned that far-right militants were targeting people with military or law enforcement training for recruitment.
The new strategy brackets the Capitol assault – when thousands of Trump supporters descended on Congress – with mass shootings at a synagogue in Pittsburgh and a Walmart in El Paso as part of the country’s ‘tragic history’ of domestic terrorism
The strategy will also address the danger of ‘insider threats’ within the military or security agencies.
‘The Department of Defence, Department of Justice, and Homeland Security Department are similarly pursuing efforts to ensure that domestic terrorists are not employed within our military or law enforcement ranks, and that they improve their screening and vetting processes,’ said the official.
‘Training and resources will be developed for state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement partners as well as for sensitive private sector partners, to enable them to enhance their own employee screening programme, and to prevent individuals who post domestic terrorism threats and being placed in positions of trust.’
The strategy will be launched by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday morning.
In a foreword, President Biden said America could not ignore the threat from domestic terrorism.
‘Together we must affirm that domestic terrorism has no place in our society,’ he said.
‘We must work to root out the hatreds that can too often drive violence…
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