The 20th anniversary of the devastating 9/11 attacks provided a murky opportunity to assess the current U.S. counter-terrorism strategy for decades to come. Although the Biden administration recognizes that white nationalism is “The deadliest“U.S. national security threats. Our counter-terrorism framework still relies on an outdated post-9/11 world view, rather than adapting to the reality of 1/6. The result is that the U.S. continues to convict Muslims and people of color as well as in various parts of the world. Human nationalist terrorism lacks sufficient accountability.
As I discussed in the book, Native hatredBased on more than ten years of research and direct interviews, when the rebellion forced the United States to recognize that terrorist faces are also white, the term “terrorism” still conjures the image of a man with a brown beard. The United States continues to distinguish between domestic and international terrorism, which is neither helpful nor accurate, and now hinders our government’s response to the January 6th attack.
Unlike the names of the 9/11 hijackers or their leader Osama bin Laden, the names of hundreds of attackers on the US Capitol (the core of democracy) are not known to the public. Uprisings are often not directly related to terrorism. Instead, the media mainly used terms such as “riot” and “thug” to describe the atrocities on January 6.
The label of “terrorism” is powerful both in court and in public opinion. Its lack of applicability to white nationalists participating in the uprising is a clear example of continued double standards. White nationalist terrorism is fundamentally different from radical Islamic terrorism. These differences are directly related to the definition of domestic and international terrorism outlined in the US Patriot Act.
Passed immediately after the devastating attack on September 11, Patriot Act A sharp and increasingly irrelevant distinction is made between domestic terrorism and international terrorism. The bill defines domestic terrorism as “mainly occurring within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States,” but allows the prosecution of foreign terrorism and defines it as “mainly occurring outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”The current application of the Act also creates the following categories Terrorist organization To this day, they are mainly radical Islamists.
Today’s terrorism, especially in the age of social media, is transnational. For example, the January 6th plan is almost entirely carried out online on different continents.
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Social media has accelerated the transnational nature of white nationalism. Building on the existing complex media infrastructure used by white nationalists, the ability to share tactical information and real-time communication through social media further strengthens organizational connections.
We know that on the day of the uprising, white nationalists Coordinate their movements “Use gestures, mobile phones, walkie-talkie-like applications, and encrypted chat programs such as Signal, MeWe, and Zello.” Since then, hundreds of Toll The evidence presented by federal prosecutors shows that white nationalist groups like Oath Guardians, Three percentage points with Proud boy, Not only Coordinated The attack on January 6 was also linked to countries outside the United States.
After January 6, you don’t have to look for too many examples of how these transnational ties are manifested in terrorism. Take Brenton Tarrant’s live broadcast of the 2017 Christchurch attack on two mosques in New Zealand as an example, which resulted in the murder of more than 50 New Zealand Muslims.This attack was caused by Online chat group This supported Tarrant’s worldview, so much so that he committed this atrocities. His declaration, Great alternative, Itself is a model of the later declaration, Terrorist attacks all around the world.
The reality of post 1/6 security threats requires the redefinition of terrorism as transnational, rather than understanding it as domestic and international. This will transform concepts and resources to solve the problem of white nationalism.
In addition to perceptions, this shift also means that resources, including money, time, and people, will be allocated for a more comprehensive understanding of and countering white nationalism, rather than being used to unnecessarily affect communities of color. Surveillance, they are disproportionately classified as terrorists, even though Not enough evidence.
Understanding terrorism as a transnational nature will change public perceptions, prosecute power and resources to combat white nationalism in an all-round way. This is the most urgent threat to the security and social stability of the United States and many countries in the world.
Dr. Sara Kamali is a public scholar who studies white nationalism, radical Islamism, and interconnected systemic inequality.She is also the author of this book Native hatred: why white nationalists and radical Islamists wage war against the United States (University of California Press, 2021). Her twitter is @sarakamali.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author.
