US needs a plan for white supremacists

In 2001, an attack on the World Trade Center awakened the United States to the threat of foreign terrorism. We realised we lacked a comprehensive approach to Islamic terrorism and responded with substantive reforms, which better prepared federal agencies to face the threat.

Now it’s time for a new reckoning. We need to recognise the threat of white supremacist terrorism and develop tools to defend ourselves. The threat of white supremacy is real, and it’s getting worse.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, 2018 saw more attacks by Right-wing extremists in the US than any year since 1995 – when another white supremacist carried out the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in American history. The internet

has contributed to this rise. White supremacists can find vulnerable people on websites like 8chan instead of recruiting them in person. The anonymity of the internet makes hate more palatable, as individuals are rarely exposed.

Combating domestic terrorism is a steep task. Law enforcement officials can’t police ideology, and even if they could there are too many white supremacists to monitor or they don’t surface in any recognisable way until they take violent action. But without a broad effort to combat domestic terrorism, the problem will only get worse.

We are not a nation which bends to terrorism, or gives up rather than face a challenge. It’s time to wake up.