Instead of starting a new thread I’ve piggy-backed on an old TS thread.
For your convenience I’ve pasted a smattering of paragraphs from the 32 pages making up the report - you get a gist of the WH focus from these clipped sections. Originally, I included my observations on each paragraph but I’ll see if there is any interest in this material.
Me, I’m always interested in what any current occupant of the WH is focused on.
The White House National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism
June 2021
“Domestic terrorism can take many forms, inspired by a wide range of violent ideologies whose common, dangerous feature is the resort to violence rather than the peaceful expression of views and resolution of differences. Individuals subscribing to violent ideologies such as violent white supremacy, which are grounded in racial, ethnic, and religious hatred and the dehumanizing of portions of the American community, as well as violent anti–government ideologies, are responsible for a substantial portion of today’s domestic terrorism. Tackling the long–term contributors to this challenge demands addressing the sources of that mobilization to violence – with leadership from relevant domestic–facing agencies, coordinated by the White House’s Domestic Policy Council and in close partnership with civil society.”
“That 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. And it means ensuring that there is simply no governmental tolerance – and instead denunciation and rejection – of violence as an acceptable mode of seeking political or social change.”
“Although the U.S. Government must do everything it can to address enduring challenges like racism and bigotry in America, the Federal Government alone cannot simply “solve” these challenges quickly or on its own. On the other hand, tackling the threat posed by domestic terrorism over the long term demands substantial efforts to confront the racism that feeds into aspects of that threat. We are, therefore, prioritizing 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. This approach must apply to our efforts to counter domestic terrorism by addressing underlying racism and bigotry.”
“We will work toward finding ways to counter the influence and impact of dangerous conspiracy theories that can provide a gateway to terrorist violence.”
“For example, the Department of Homeland Security and others are either currently funding and implementing or planning evidence– based digital programming, including enhancing media literacy and critical thinking skills, as a mechanism for strengthening user resilience to disinformation and misinformation online for domestic audiences. The Department of State and United States Agency for International Development are doing similar work globally.”
“Maximizing the Federal Government’s understanding of this particular threat also means supporting and making appropriate use of the analysis performed by entities outside the government that bring to bear relevant expertise and doing so in a structured way that provides a channel for such analysis while also avoiding bias or improper influence – or even the appearance of it. To that end, and consistent with civil liberties and privacy protections, the Department of Homeland Security will introduce a new systematic approach for utilizing pertinent external, non–governmental analysis and information that will provide enhanced situational awareness of today’s domestic terrorism threat. That includes, where appropriate, specialized areas and types of analysis, including ways in which gender–motivated violence can have implications for domestic terrorist threats.”
In today’s interconnected world, very little remains wholly within a single country’s borders, and domestic terrorism is no exception. Terrorists and their supporters increasingly connect with each other via Internet–based communications platforms, recruit and encourage mobilization to violence across international boundaries, and point to ideologically similar foreigners as inspiration for their acts of violence. Some domestic violent extremists have sought ties and connections to individual violent extremists overseas. Aspects of the domestic terrorism threat we face in the United States, and in particular those related to racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism, have an international dimension. Identifying, confronting, and addressing that international dimension must be part of a comprehensive approach to tackling the domestic terrorism challenge.
“It also means reducing access to assault weapons and high–capacity magazines and enforcing legal prohibitions that keep firearms out of dangerous hands. Such prevention efforts must be pursued while safeguarding civil rights and civil liberties, including privacy protections, and while avoiding discrimination, bias,
and stereotyping.”
“The Department of Defense, in addition, is incorporating training for service members separating or retiring from the military on potential targeting of those with military training by violent extremist actors. The U.S. Government is also developing a mechanism by which veterans can report recruitment attempts by violent extremist actors.”
“Additionally, the National Counterterrorism Center, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Homeland Security will release publicly a new edition of the Federal Government’s Mobilization Indicators booklet that will include for the first time potential indicators of domestic terrorism–related mobilization. These agencies are also working toward including a range of resources that the public may consult in the event of possible domestic terrorist recruitment or mobilization.”
“We intend to launch a new approach to aggregating, synthesizing, and publicizing information on research, grants, technical assistance and training, and other Federal resources that can help to advance domestic terrorism prevention, among other aspects of violence prevention. Led by the research and community–facing components of the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Education, and Homeland Security, departments and agencies are working to develop an easily accessible and navigable one–stop website to increase the transparency and accessibility of such resources to a broad range of stakeholders, including community–based organizations, state and local partners, academics and researchers, and the broader public.”
The Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online
“We will do all of this in a global, multi-stakeholder setting in which we can collaborate on addressing terrorist content online with partner governments similarly committed to freedom of expression as well as with technology companies and civil society organizations. Therefore the United States endorses the Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online. We applaud language in the Christchurch Call emphasizing the importance of tackling the very real threat posed by online terrorist content while respecting human rights and freedom of expression.“
Link added for your convenience - you can look at the BIGTech supporters.
https://www.christchurchcall.com/
“Federal law enforcement is enhancing its efforts to ensure that Federal investigators and prosecutors nationwide are well positioned to tackle this escalating threat, and both the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation are receiving additional resources to support this enhanced effort. The President’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget includes significant additional resources for the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation to ensure that they have the analysts, investigators, and prosecutors they need to thwart domestic terrorism and do justice when the law has been broken.”
In the meantime, Federal law enforcement is working to identify interim measures that will allow the necessary flexibility in movement of human resources to ensure that the domestic terrorism threat is addressed not only thoroughly but also aggressively. Moreover, the Department of Justice plans to augment its provision of training and other resources to U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country to match the heightened priority already being assigned by the Department to domestic terrorism investigations and prosecutions. Furthermore, the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation will sustain the already robust collaboration between counterterrorism investigators and prosecutors and hate crimes investigators and prosecutors.”
Complete 32 page report at link below:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-conten...-Terrorism.pdf