U.S. officials continue to shift focus from al Qaeda to ‘home-grown extremists’

Madison Ruppert, Contributor
Activist Post

Last year I broke down a report from the Homeland Security Policy Institute which not only lent support for increasingly harsh and widespread police state measures, but also served to shift attention away from the supposed threat posed by foreign terrorist groups towards the alleged threat of domestic terrorists.

One of the prime targets for demonization by both the establishment media and law enforcement has been the so-called “sovereign citizen” movement, something which I have written about previously.

This is all part of a concerted effort to turn almost everything into a sign of potential terrorist activity while breeding a culture of delusional paranoia, citizen spying and ubiquitous surveillance.

Now U.S. government officials have said that al Qaeda’s core organization cannot carry out another attack like the horrific events of September 11, 2001 and the likelihood of a chemical, biological, atomic or radiological attack over the next year are minimal.

Interestingly, this view expressed by the deputy director of U.S. National Intelligence Robert Cardillo conflicts with the ludicrous claims made recently about al Qaeda potentially planning another 9/11 in an attempt to justify an extended American military presence in Afghanistan.

Cardillo and other anonymous U.S. officials described their assessments on a conference call with journalists during which they claimed that the Arab Spring is also helping weaken the “core” al Qaeda organization.

However, al Qaeda has been quite vocal in showing support for Western-backed uprisings in Syria and Libya, which is hardly surprising when one is aware of what al Qaeda actually is and what purpose they serve, especially in the current events in the Middle East.

Mark Hosenball reports for the Associated Press that, “More worrying to U.S. counterterrorism officials and their allies abroad is the possibility of home-grown extremists, or “lone wolves,” who are radicalized over the Internet or in small cells, but who also now are being given encouragement by media outlets connected to al Qaeda and its affiliates.”

The officials would not go as far as to say that al Qaeda is on the brink of “strategic defeat,” since this would completely eradicate the primary justification for the American police state along with the Department of Homeland Security’s massive operations, the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, etc.

While discounting the planning power and resources available to the “core” al Qaeda organization, these officials did identify four loosely affiliated groups which they say still pose “threats of greater or lesser degree to U.S. interests”

They claim that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is the most dangerous group, which is hardly surprising seeing as they need to justify bombing people without knowing who they are and killing American citizens based on secret legal justifications.

They also cited al Qaeda in Iraq – which emerged thanks to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and subsequent occupation – which they claim maintains “a potentially lethal presence” in Iraq.

Furthermore, they claim al Qaeda in Iraq may be expanding operations into Syria, although they admitted that they do not think that it poses a threat to U.S. interests outside of that region.

They also brought up al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which is in the North Africa region, although they said that it is mostly engaged in criminal activities like kidnapping for ransom money.

However, they did say that they were worried that these tactics could eventually become “more spectacular kidnappings intended to win publicity for militant causes.”

The officials noted that despite a short period during which Somalia’s al Shabaab enjoyed attention from “disillusioned Islamic youths in both the United States and Europe,” they are now seeing a measurable falloff in the organization’s Western support and recruiting.

However, an anonymous official in counterterrorism noted that it is “clear we’ve made progress towards defeating al Qaeda the organization,” although the ideology and other elements of the organization remain intact.

He also claimed that “a number of active networks in the United Kingdom” remain.

I see this as part of the larger push to shift the attention away from foreign threats and towards the people of the United States in order to legitimize the ludicrous spending and eradication of liberties required to maintain the American police state.

I’d love to hear your opinion, take a look at your story tips, and even your original writing if you would like to get it published. Please email me at [email protected]

Please support our work and help us start to pay contributors by doing your shopping through our Amazon link or check out some must-have products at our store.

This article first appeared at End the Lie.