US says migration has made Europe an ‘incubator’ for terrorism in new counter-terrorism strategy | Trump administration
In its new counterterrorism strategy announced on Wednesday, the Trump administration accused Europe of being an incubator of terrorism fueled by mass migration.
The strategy also focuses on rooting out “violent left-wing extremists,” including “radically pro-transgender” groups, as Trump’s conservative administration steps up political attacks on opponents.
It also places America’s drug cartels at the center of counterterrorism efforts.
But some of its strongest language is reserved for Europe, home to many U.S. allies alarmed to see their continent once again in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.
“It is clear to everyone that well-organized hostile groups are exploiting open borders and the associated global ideals. The larger these foreign cultures grow and the longer current European policies continue, the more guaranteed terrorism becomes,” the strategy said.
“Europe, the birthplace of Western culture and values, must act now and stop its deliberate decline,” said the strategy, led by counter-terrorism coordinator Sebastian Gorka.
The report stated that European nations remain “leading and long-term counterterrorism partners” of the United States, adding: “The world is safer when Europe is strong, but Europe is highly threatened and is both a terrorist target and an incubator of terrorist threats.”
The new criticism of Europe comes just months after Trump said in his new national security strategy that the continent was facing “civilization erasure” due to migration.
Trump has also recently criticized European NATO allies for not helping his war against Iran.
The Trump administration has moved aggressively to reshape the western hemisphere region, with the removal of Nicolás Maduro as Venezuelan president, dozens of U.S. military strikes on drug vessels allegedly operated by cartels, and new pressures on Cuba’s communist government.
The administration’s campaign to blow up ships allegedly smuggling drugs in Latin American waters has continued since early September and has killed at least 191 people in total.
Trump has also sought to pressure regional leaders to work more closely with the United States to target cartels and take military action against drug traffickers and transnational gangs that he says pose an “unacceptable threat” to the hemisphere’s national security.
Gorka said administration officials will meet with allies later this week to discuss how they can strengthen their counterterrorism strategy.
“As the president has made clear, we will measure your seriousness as a partner and ally by how much you bring to the table,” he told reporters, adding that the United States expects “more” from its partners.
Left-wing groups remain a major preoccupation of the Republican president’s administration, and the strategy targets what he calls “violent Left-Wing Extremists, including Anarchists and Anti-Fascists.”
It says U.S. counterterrorism efforts “will prioritize the rapid identification and neutralization of violent secular political groups whose ideologies are anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist.”
Since returning to power last year, Trump has demonized the recognition of gender diversity and transgender people.
He regularly describes his administration banning transgender women from women’s sports and signing an executive order declaring there were only two genders shortly after taking office.
With France-Presse Agency and Associated Press
