President Donald Trump’s new national counterterrorism strategy accuses the EU of allowing hostile groups to “exploit open borders”
US President Donald Trump has signed a new national counterterrorism strategy that describes Europe as both a target and “incubator of terror threats,” while also singling out drug cartels and violent left-wing extremists as major dangers to America.
The 16-page document, released by the White House on Wednesday, says Washington’s counterterrorism policy will be guided by “America First,” “common sense,” and “Peace through Strength.”
The strategy lists three major categories of terrorist threats facing the US: “narcoterrorists and transnational gangs,” “legacy Islamist terrorists,” and “violent left-wing extremists, including anarchists and anti-fascists.”
A separate section is devoted to “wealthy NATO allies” that are said to have turned Europe into a permissive environment for “alien cultures” plotting attacks against both Europeans and Americans.
“The world is safer when Europe is strong, but Europe is greatly threatened and is both a terror target and an incubator of terror threats,” the document states. “It is unacceptable that wealthy NATO allies can serve as financial, logistical, and recruitment hubs for terrorists.”
“Unfettered mass migration has been the transmission belt for terrorists,” the strategy says, urging European governments to “rediscover” freedom of speech, hold “honest conversations about Islamism,” devote more resources to counterterrorism, and take greater responsibility for their own security.
“As the birthplace of Western culture and values, Europe must act now and halt its willful decline. It is clear to all that well-organized hostile groups exploit open borders and related globalist ideals,” the document reads. It also warns that “the more these alien cultures grow, and the longer current European policies persist, the more terrorism is guaranteed.”
The harsh language echoes similar criticism in Trump’s National Security Strategy released in December, which criticized the EU’s political and cultural direction, and warned of “civilizational erasure.” At the time, he argued that Europe was “destroying itself” with “disastrous” immigration policies.
Beyond Europe, the counterterrorism strategy says the US will continue military and law-enforcement campaigns against cartels and transnational gangs designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The document also identifies Iran as the greatest Middle Eastern danger to the US, stating that operations such as Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury will continue until Iran is “no longer a threat.”
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