San Diego's Tragic Lesson About Terrorism

Two teenagers attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing a security guard and two others before taking their own lives. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime, citing hate speech on a weapon and a suicide note containing discussions of racial pride. The event reflects a common pattern of terrorism involving easy access to weapons and a desire to use violence to make an ideological statement. Recent years have seen far-right extremism become more frequent and more deadly than left-wing violence. The attack occurred during a documented increase in anti-Muslim incidents in the United States since October 7, 2023. The latest U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy fails to mention right-wing extremism or non-Christian targeted victims, and it has been shaped by a Trump appointee who emphasized Islamist terrorists, drug cartels, and left-wing extremists while overlooking right-wing violence.

"Yesterday in California, the physical world and the world of free-floating grievance and ideological bluster met once again, when two teenagers attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing a security guard and two others, before taking their own lives. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime; according to police, the words hate speech had been scrawled on one of the weapons, and a suicide note left by one of the attackers contained discussions of racial pride."

"The incident exemplifies an all-too-common form of terrorism: attacks by people who have easy access to weapons and a desire to use violence to make a statement. Some of these attacks come from the left, or from people with inscrutable worldviews. In recent years far-right extremism has proved more frequent and more deadly than the left-wing version. The killings in San Diego took place amid the documented increase in anti-Muslim incidents in the United States since October 7, 2023."

"This reality is not reflected in the latest version of the United States Counterterrorism Strategy, which the Trump administration released earlier this month. The report, periodically updated, is meant to inform the American public about the current nature of the terrorist threats facing the country and to advise state and local officials about how to plan and train. This year's document makes no mention of right-wing extremism or of victims who are targeted because they are not white Christians."

"Once a serious document written by serious people, the counterterrorism strategy has been hijacked by the Trump appointee Sebastian Gorka, who used the document to assert that the greatest challenges to the American homeland come from Islamist terrorists, drug cartels, and left-wing extremists. Each is a threat, of course, but the report is striking for overlooking the violence perpetuated by those on the ideological right."

Read at The Atlantic