On Tuesday, Donald Trump stood in front of more than 800 generals and admirals of the US military and explained their new enemy to them. Your own compatriots.
“Our story is full of military heroes who fought against all enemies – foreign and domestic,” said Trump. “You know this sentence well. It is in the oath: foreign and domestic enemies. Well, we also have domestic. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Grover Cloveland, George Bush and others began to keep in order and peace … Now they are happy to say: Oh, the military should not use.”
Trump continued to speak and referred to the “enemy from the inside” and a new war – “a war from inside” – that the generals would have to lead in the future.
The memo NSPM-7
If there was still ambiguity as to which enemies the President wants to target within the United States – whether with the military or other state organs – a national security directive that was published a week earlier clarifies this: Anyone who is not with him is considered against him – and against the United States.
On September 25, the White House “NSPM-7”, published a far-reaching arrangement that is directed against “anti-fascist”, “anti-Christian”, “anti-capital” and “anti-capital” statements-as well as against statements that “advocate the abolition of the US government”, “show extremism in migration, breed and gender” or “enemy towards traditional American views to family, religion and morality.
The memo announces a new strategy to “examine and smash networks, organizations and institutions, promote political violence so that law enforcement authorities can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they lead to violent political files”.
Manipulated threat situation
It is undisputed that political violence is increasing – and a current survey showed that more and more Americans consider it “to get the country back on course”.
The problem: the majority of this violence does not come from the areas to which Trump is based on NSPM-7 the federal authorities. A week before the Memos was published, the Ministry of Justice removed a report from its website, which showed that “the number of right -wing extremist attacks continues to exceed all other forms of terrorism and domestic extremism”.
“Since 1990, right -wing extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated killings than left -wing extremists – 227 incidents with over 520 fatalities,” says the now archived report. “Left -wing extremists committed at the same period 42 attacks with 78 deaths.”
Twisted facts and dangerous alliances
The deputy press spokeswoman of the White House, Abigail Jackson, accidentally cited similar statistics when she posted a graphic with the heading “Left-wing terrorism at 30-year high”-which shows that almost four times as many right-wing extremists such as left-wing extremists have been carried out since 2016.
The deleted report also referred to an assessment of the Ministry of Homeland Protection, according to which these extremists represent “an acute threat”, reinforced by pandemic stress, ideology conflicts about immigration and narrative for alleged voting fraud.
But in the same week when Trump gave his speech, FBI director Kash Patel announced that the FBI ended the cooperation with the anti-defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)-two of the leading US organizations against anti-Semitism and white nationalism.
Against civil rights groups and critics
The SPLC, which has been documenting hate groups for decades, reacted with sharp criticism: “For decades, we have been sharing data and analyzes for decades to protect civil rights and take extremists.
But now the government is not aimed at violent extremists, but on individuals and organizations – from nonprofits to political groups to civil rights organizations – that express different opinions.
The democratic MP Ro Khanna from California, who ran against the Patriot Act in 2003, called NSPM-7 “an even greater interference with freedom”. “The threat with retaliation is intended to intimidate people and give the government the authority to pursue political opponents,” he wrote to Rolling Stone.
The ACLU also urged: Hina Shamsi, head of the National Security Project, called NSPM-7 “a shameful and dangerous step”. “After one of the most shattering weeks for our fundamental rights, the President instrumentalized political violence in order to incorrectly branded nonprofits and activists as ‘domestic terrorists’.”
Resistance of law firms and NGOs
Numerous law firms published warnings before the far -reaching consequences of the memos. Over 3,000 nonprofits signed an open letter in which they sharply criticize NSPM-7:
“This attack on nonprofits does not happen in a vacant space, but as part of a comprehensive offensive against organizations and individuals who represent ideas or serve the president that the president refuses, or want to enforce the rule of law against the government. Whether church, environmental organization, refugee aid, university, law firm or former government official – the instrumentalization of the executive is illegal And wrong. “
Permanent consequences and threatening backdrop
Matthew Sanderson, head of the political legal department at Caplin & Drysdale, explained that the memo is officially focused on “political violence, terrorism or conspiracy against rights”, but the choice of words of Trump’s vice chief Stephen Miller was worrying. “He used the expression ‘entire government’ several times – this is not a symbolic act, but an announcement with permanent consequences.”
On request, spokeswoman Abigail Jackson wrote to Rolling Stone: “At the President’s instructions, the Trump government will uncover the network, strike violence in American communities, and end any illegal activities with executive measures against left-wing violence.”
“You have no idea how merciless we are”
How NSPM-7 is ultimately implemented remains open. But three things are clear: Trump does not shy away from watching opponents-how Adam Schiff, Letitia James and James Comey can confirm-he suppresses unpleasant opinions-like Jimmy Kimmel knows-and he is ready to send troops to US cities.
In Memphis-the youngest of Democrats, into which Trump sent the national guards, although crime sank to a 25-year low in September-Stephen Miller clearly made the hardness of the procedure: “The gangsters with whom you have to do-you are mercilessly? You have no idea how merciless we are? You don’t know how hard we are. think you are uncompromising?