U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland (L) and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testify before a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine domestic violent extremism in America on May 12, 2021. (Alex Wong/Pool via Xinhua) (Credit Image: © Alex Wong / Xinhua via ZUMA Press)

President Joe Biden released his “National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism” last week. It’s a clear blueprint for expanding the national security state to suppress white Americans. It ignores the threats of radical Islam, black nationalism, and to a large extent, antifa to focus on “white nationalists” and “anti-government extremists.” It calls for more tech censorship and more job discrimination against suspected “extremists.” It doesn’t make America safer. It tells the government to persecute political enemies.

The memo describes the “most persistent and lethal threats” to America: “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (principally those who promote the superiority of the white race) and militia violent extremists.” It attributes several incidents to white extremists, including the 1921 Tulsa race riot and the recent physical attacks on Asians. The Tulsa riot occurred a hundred years ago and most of the reported anti-Asian attacks were committed by blacks, not white “terrorists.”

The memo outlines its strategy to counter domestic terror in four steps:

First are efforts to understand and share information regarding the full range of domestic terrorism threats. Second are efforts to prevent domestic terrorists from successfully recruiting, inciting, and mobilizing Americans to violence. Third are efforts to deter and disrupt domestic terrorist activity before it yields violence. Finally, the long–term issues that contribute to domestic terrorism in our country must be addressed to ensure that this threat diminishes over generations to come.

This action plan wants more money for intelligence agencies to spy on Americans instead of foreign terrorists. It demands extra screening of government personnel. It may even lead to more censorship in the U.S.

Its top priority for stifling extremist recruitment is to curtail distribution of “hate” propaganda. The report claims that non-violent racial ideology can inspire terrorism and must be monitored and suppressed:

The IC [intelligence community] assesses that DVEs [domestic violent extremists] exploit a variety of popular social media platforms, smaller websites with targeted audiences, and encrypted chat applications to recruit new adherents, plan and rally support for in-person actions, and disseminate materials that contribute to radicalization and mobilization to violence. . . .

The widespread availability of domestic terrorist recruitment material online is a national security threat whose front lines are overwhelmingly private–sector online platforms, and we are committed to informing more effectively the escalating efforts by those platforms to secure those front lines.

The U.S. government is particularly worried about the international scope of white nationalists. The memo warns that “individuals with similar ideological beliefs exist outside of the United States and these RMVEs [racially-motivated violent extremists] frequently communicate with and seek to influence each other.” The guidance sees the international connections as a way to designate domestic extremists as terrorists:

The Department of State, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, is working with other components of the Federal Government and with our foreign allies to assess whether additional foreign entities linked to domestic terrorism can, under the relevant statutory criteria, be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global 18 National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism Terrorists.

That designation would mobilize “the full range of tools applicable to understanding international terrorism threats.” Intelligence agencies could monitor and collect information on American citizens much more aggressively.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris listen to a National Security briefing by the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, National Security Adviser Nancy McEldowney and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan during the daily presidential briefing in the Oval Office. (Credit Image: © Adam Schultz / White House / Planet Pix via ZUMA Wire)

The White House guidance urges government, including the military, root out suspected extremists through extensive vetting. The White House urges new background checks and interview questions that would probe candidates for potential extremist ties and suspicious political beliefs. The brief also says the federal government is “reviewing and updating its definition of prohibited extremist activities among uniformed military personnel.” It doesn’t say what those may be, but based on the focus on social media, it could involve tweeting material that liberal bureaucrats don’t like.

The memo includes liberal mush. Stopping Americans “from being drawn into the grip of domestic terrorism:”

means tackling racism in America. It means protecting Americans from gun violence and mass murders. It means ensuring that we provide early intervention and appropriate care for those who pose a danger to themselves or others. It means ensuring that Americans receive the type of civics education that promotes tolerance and respect for all and investing in policies and programs that foster civic engagement and inspire a shared commitment to American democracy, all the while acknowledging when racism and bigotry have meant that the country fell short of living up to its founding principles. It means setting a tone from the highest ranks of government that every American deserves the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that our Declaration of Independence recognizes as unalienable rights.

It adds that the White House must prioritize “efforts to ensure that every component of the government has a role to play in rooting out racism and advancing equity for under-served communities that have far too often been the targets of discrimination and violence.” The Biden administration doesn’t seem to care about the rise in violent crime or the threat of jihadis. It’s worried that some white Americans want to preserve their people and way of life. That’s the real threat to the regime.