Kerby Anderson

This administration has declared a war on terror, but they aren’t thinking of a war on Islamic terrorism. No, they talk about a war on “violent extremists” in America. You might think they want to go after Antifa and other groups that have been rioting and vandalizing. But I don’t think they are the target either. There is a great deal of ambiguity in defining who are the targets of this new domestic war on extremists. And I think they are intentionally being ambiguous about their intended targets. We do have a few hints. The newly installed Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, argued that the military needed to rid itself of “racists and extremists” in its ranks. He even ordered a 60-day stand down to root out “white supremacism” and “extremism.” Terms like “white supremacy” have often been applied to a large number of individuals. General Stanley McChrystal says he sees terrifying parallels between Islamic terrorists with Al-Qaida and the people who stormed the Capitol on January 6. Former CIA Director John Brennan recently talked about what looked like insurgency movements overseas that could bring together an unholy alliance here of “religious extremists, authoritarians, fascists, bigots, racists, nativists, even libertarians.” Religious extremists? Would conservative Christians fit into that category? Libertarians? Some of these terms have been so broadly applied that a large portion of America could be identified as domestic extremists. It is time to ask this administration to speak plainly. Who do they believe is a threat? Why do they believe those groups are a threat to America? Are they talking about us? I wonder if they refuse to be precise because they want all of us to be afraid.