Ex-CIA chief suggests counter-radicalization strategy against GOP
5 Min Read
Former CIA Director suggests that counter-radicalization tactics be used against far-right extremists in the United States, stressing that voices from within the Republican Party are needed to denounce violence.
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Gun safety group founded and primarily funded by former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is now priming pushback against the GOP on guns. (Getty Images)
A former CIA expert who worked in a department on counterterrorism denounced American conservatives - right-wingers - as the new source of terrorism while claiming that the left is not as terrifying as the right.
Mark Polymeropoulos, former CIA senior intelligence officer, published an article on Sunday declaring that tactics previously used to "combat radical Islam must turn against the right in America."
Polymeropoulos' article for NBC News warned that even Republican terrorists, just like any other terrorists, should be subject to counter-terrorism and counter-extremism techniques.
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"I spent practically my entire career at the CIA working in terrorist operations before retiring in 2019. We fought transnational terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda not only with legions of foot soldiers but also with incredibly powerful propaganda arms."
He argues that the US and its allies considered those propagandists as crucial pieces of a terror group's machinery, as guilty as any other terrorist and that when innocent civilians were killed, the propagandists were held accountable.
Dangers of 'lone wolves'
In a rhetorical question, Polymeropoulos asked, "Why are these propagandists so dangerous? Because, while they might not supply weapons, they can effectively radicalize individuals to obtain them and put them to use — even from the comfort of their own homes via the internet."
According to him, they accomplish this by delivering the message that violence is acceptable, even admirable, through a process of normalization that breaks down the resistance that most humans have to such acts.
He believes that they give them a reason to justify the need for acting out violently, which goads foot soldiers to take steps toward action, adding that they can provide suggested targets and detailed information on how to carry out attacks.
"Terrorist propaganda is particularly dangerous because lone-wolf attacks have been our greatest challenge in the international counterterrorism arena."
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Polymeropoulos believes that a single individual is much harder for an intelligence service to detect and disrupt; larger terrorist cells are much easier to penetrate because of the clues they leave in travel patterns or phone records. "Lone wolves are often radicalized online in the same country that they will eventually target so the threat comes from within, often from citizens of the country," he explained.
He said that "lone wolves are a thorn for domestic US law enforcement as well, as we saw last week when a man not affiliated with any known group but immersed in right-wing propaganda attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi."
He revealed that the Constitution grants significant free-speech protections to extremist propaganda in the United States, preventing authorities from perfectly replicating our international counterterrorism tactics in the US.
How does this apply to GOP?
The former CIA senior intelligence officer explained that free speech can be exercised to proclaim that the normalization of violence against politicians is dangerous and unacceptable, adding that "some violent rhetoric might not be illegal, but it is all morally repugnant."
"To start with, we need to clearly identify what crosses the line into the realm of dangerous rhetoric. That means calling out those in the right-wing ecosphere who for years have demonized, and at times even promoted and encouraged, attacks on Pelosi."
He added, "Beyond Pelosi, there are odious examples like Donald Trump Jr. holding a semiautomatic rifle with an ammunition clip that has Hillary Clinton’s face drawn on it."
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"It’s also important to note that there is nothing equivalent being done on the other side of the aisle. Democratic politicians and leaders may not like Trump, but they don’t call for violence against him, let alone his execution. "
Following the #Texas elementary school massacre, which claimed the lives of 19 children and two adults, there has been fresh criticism of the hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions received by Republican politicians from pro-gun rights groups.#TexasMassacre pic.twitter.com/MnGOqXFoIh
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 26, 2022
According to Polymeropoulos, recent polling suggests that almost 1 in 3 Republicans believe that violence may be necessary to save the US, which he considers a deeply alarming poll.
He believes that it’s "not Democrats who must act. Instead, we need to find strong voices within the GOP who will denounce former President Donald Trump’s calls for violence against protesters and denounce the many voices demonizing Pelosi."
"If the GOP leaders do this, their followers will listen," thus diminishing rates of violence.
Polymeropoulos ended his piece by saying the system is “blinking red", revealing that the situation has reached a dangerous level and requires immediate action.
