The White House released the Biden administration's first strategy to combat "domestic terrorism" that threatens US national security. 

“This overarching strategy provides the US government and partners with a nationwide model for understanding and disseminating information regarding domestic terrorism;

preventing recruitment for the purposes of domestic terrorism and mobilization for violent acts;

suppression and containment of domestic terrorism;

combating long-standing participants in domestic terrorist activities, ”the statement reads.

A separate statement by Joe Biden was published, in which the US President characterizes this phenomenon.

“Domestic terrorism, driven by hatred, intolerance and other forms of extremism, is a stain on America’s soul.

It runs counter to all our country's aspirations and poses a direct challenge to our national security, democracy and unity, ”Biden said.

In turn, in an extended release on the White House website, it is noted that the assessment of the threat of internal terrorism was made on the basis of expert opinions provided by the special services and security agencies of the United States.

The experts concluded that the most dangerous elements of this phenomenon are adherents of white supremacy and anti-government extremists who are part of various militias.

Joe Biden, the document says, after his inauguration as President of the United States, immediately ordered a hundred days to review the government's policy in this area.

Unclear strategy

The strategy, published by the White House, indicates that it will be based on four "pillars".

The first is the exchange of information.

It is noted that the FBI and the US Department of Justice have created a reliable system for methodically tracking cases of domestic terrorism, and the security and intelligence agencies and the US State Department receive data from foreign partners on the international aspect of this phenomenon.

The second “pillar” of the strategy is to prevent involvement in domestic terrorism.

The Department of Homeland Security has designated the fight against "domestic violent extremism" as a priority area and will provide grants totaling $ 77 million to combat it to municipal and local governments.

The third "pillar" is designated as the actual prevention and fight against internal terrorist activities.

Under this section, the US government will increase support for federal and local law enforcement agencies, and the Department of Justice and the FBI will prioritize the fight against domestic terrorism.

“This includes $ 100 million in funding in additional resources for the DOJ, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, which will be included in the president's proposed fiscal 2022 budget.

The purpose of such a measure is to ensure that the highest federal authorities have analysts, experts, prosecutors and other personnel and resources at their disposal to suppress domestic terrorism and restore justice in the event of a violation of the law, ”the strategy says.

The identification of internal terrorists and extremists in the ranks of government services, the army and law enforcement agencies will also be intensified.

"The HR Department will consider updating the application forms of candidates for particularly responsible positions in the highest federal state authorities, which can help experts in identifying potential threats of internal terrorism," the document says.

  • Trump supporters outside the Capitol on January 6

  • Reuters

  • © Shannon Stapleton

The fourth "pillar" is "the fight against long-standing participants in domestic terrorist activities."

As part of this part of the strategy, the US government will more actively protect Americans from harassment on racial, ethnic and religious grounds, as well as limit the possibility of acquiring firearms for those involved in domestic terrorism.

In addition, the fight against disinformation will be intensified.

"The US government will also work to find ways to counter polarization, often fueled by misinformation, misinformation and dangerous conspiracy theories on the Internet, in order to maintain an information environment conducive to reasonable democratic discourse," the document says.

Appointment of extremists

In May, US Attorney General Merrick Garland requested additional funding from Congress to counter domestic terrorism.

Speaking at the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, he said that $ 45 million should be provided to the FBI to conduct investigations related to domestic terrorism, $ 40 million - to help federal prosecutors work in this area.

  • Attorney General - United States Attorney General Merrick Garland

  • Reuters

  • © Win McNamee

It is worth noting that during the appointment hearings on the Senate Jurisprudence Committee, Garland announced that he would oversee the prosecution of white supremacists and other participants in the events of January 6, 2021.

Then the participants in the rally in support of Donald Trump clashed with the Capitol police and occupied the building of the US Congress.

Joe Biden called these events a planned attack carried out by domestic terrorists and extremists, spurred on by Trump.

Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that this strategy will be used to persecute political opponents of the American political establishment in the person of the US Democratic Party.

“Undoubtedly, this strategy was adopted in response to the action of Trump supporters who occupied the Capitol. With such measures, Biden is trying to strangle political opponents, designating them as terrorists. Obviously, the tough measures taken by the White House administration will make political opponents think more than once about whether it is worth taking any further action against the current leadership of the country. In addition, this measure should strengthen the position of Biden, who has not yet received full support from the Americans because of the split persisting in society, ”the expert emphasized.

Andrei Sidorov, head of the department of international organizations and world political processes at the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, in an interview with RT, also noted that the Biden administration will use this strategy to strengthen control over unreliable citizens in the person of supporters of ex-President Trump.

“Under domestic terrorists, the US federal authorities used to mean subversive organizations of various kinds that pose a threat to society and the state and whose cells operate on the territory of the country.

But now the Biden administration, by internal terrorism, means Trump supporters, ”the political scientist noted.

At the same time, the actions of Trump's supporters who have occupied the Capitol are hooliganism, but not terrorism, according to Andrei Sidorov.

"However, in modern conditions in the United States, anything is possible, so it can be expected that the Biden administration will view Trump and his supporters as a threat to American democracy, respectively, their actions will be punished in the most harsh manner, including qualifying under the articles on terrorism," concluded the expert