Oh boy, folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is convening diplomats from around the world in Washington to discuss a response to what he calls a “resurgence” of “far left political terrorism”. According to a State Department official, this is a key priority of the Trump administration, which has argued that “violent left-wing extremists, including anarchists and anti-fascists” are a foremost terrorist threat to the United States, alongside cartels and “legacy Islamist terrorists”.
Now, I’m not one to dismiss any form of terrorism, but it seems to me that the administration is trying to make a big deal out of something that may not be as big of a deal as they’re making it out to be. Multiple former officials have said that the issue has been politicized by the administration and that the threat from the “far-left” does not rise to the level of that posed by groups like ISIS or by far-right extremists.
It’s also worth noting that the administration’s counterterrorism strategy released in May didn’t even mention far-right extremists, which is a bit odd considering that they’ve been responsible for some pretty horrific attacks in recent years. Thursday’s ministerial, according to the State Department, is meant to “expand coordination, enhance information sharing, and strengthen international law enforcement mechanisms to counter the threat” that they say has “remained a blind spot in the international community’s counterterrorism focus”.
A senior State Department official said 65 country delegations are slated to attend the event from “across the Western Hemisphere, Asia, Europe, and beyond”. However, many of the delegations will not be led by the foreign ministers of the countries, but rather more working-level and technical officials. Several cited scheduling, with invitations to the event only being issued at the beginning of July.
Countries that had worked with the administration on the topic were among those invited, the official said, noting they’ve had “very productive engagements with Germany, with Greece, with Italy, and that’s often where the problem is most pronounced in Europe”. In his speech, Rubio plans to describe left-wing terrorism as “the result of a unique evil rooted in a deep resentment towards civilization”, according to the State Department official.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller are also expected to participate. The threat of left-wing terrorism “has not really been addressed collectively in an effective way”, the senior State Department official said. According to the official, partners have said they “have a handle” on other forms of political violence but “this one is more difficult for us”.
The senior official cited attacks by members of European Antifa groups, which the administration designated as terrorists last November, as examples of far-left terrorist actions. However, former officials said the ministerial appears to be a part of the administration’s broader effort to amplify the threat and target those on the political left who oppose Trump’s policies.
Several who spoke with CNN said that the reality of the threat from far-left extremists does not match the administration’s portrayal. Ian Moss, the former deputy coordinator for counterterrorism at the State Department under the Biden administration, said that “we looked at terrorism of all stripes, including left-wing terrorism, but the reality and the data, both here domestically and abroad, indicate that left-wing extremism is not and has not been the type of threat or the degree of threat that far-right terrorism or extremist violence or jihadist violence have posed”.
Moss noted that there are “other forms of violent ideological extremism, Islamist violence for starters, and then certainly violent right-wing extremists or White identity terrorists, which are a real risk, a real concern domestically and internationally, and one that the administration seems to have not focused on”. Michael Duffin, a former senior counterterrorism adviser at the State Department, said that “never” in his nine years of working on counterterrorism “had so-called left-wing extremism risen” to a level warranting such high-level focus.
In conclusion, it seems like the Trump administration is trying to make a big deal out of left-wing terrorism, but the facts just don’t seem to support their claims. It’s almost like they’re trying to distract us from the real threats out there, like far-right extremism and jihadist violence. Anyway, I’m going to go refill my coffee cup, because this story has left me shaking my head 🙄. Bless their hearts, I guess they’re just trying to keep us safe, but it’s hard to take them seriously when they’re so clearly politicizing the issue.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
