Right-wing extremism, fueled by a medley of white supremacist groups, poses a far bigger threat in the United States than attacks inspired by Islamist terror groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State network (both banned in Russia), the Soufan Group said in a new report on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2019) Right-wing extremism, fueled by a medley of white supremacist groups, poses a far bigger threat in the United States than attacks inspired by Islamist terror groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State network (both banned in Russia), the Soufan Group said in a new report on Tuesday."There is a disproportionate amount of media attention dedicated to groups like al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State, leaving a glaring blind spot when it comes to understanding the magnitude of the threat posed by right-wing terrorist groups," the report stated.
Between 2009 and 2018, 73.3 percent of all domestic extremist-related killings were perpetrated by right-wing extremists, compared with 23.4 percent perpetrated by terrorists motivated by Salafi-jihadism and 3.2 percent by left-wing extremists, the report said, citing statistics released by the Anti-Defamation League.
In 2018, for example, right-wing terrorists in the US killed 15 Americans, while jihadists killed only one American over the same period, the Soufan report said.
The report recommended that US officials work locally and federally in two parallel efforts: first, the Federal government needs to act as it did in the 1960s and 1970s when it dismantled the Ku Klux Klan and other racist groups.
In addition, the report calls for a an honest and prioritized social effort at countering the ideology of hate, not just from the adherents of bin-Ladenism but the vitriol of hate now passing itself off as white nationalism.
