CLARION PROJECT 03/29/2021

The Extremism Roundup Promoting Civil Discourse and Marginalizing the Extremes A weekly compilation of the most important developments in the struggle against radical ideologies NOTE TO OUR READERS: We have pulled out the salient points of the articles in this newsletter to keep you informed and focused on the most relevant, important and timely news in national security and extremism. While our national security experts stand behind the summary bullets and deem them trustworthy, Clarion Project does not endorse all the views expressed in the articles linked. Islamist & Anti-Muslim Extremism  AUDU MARTE/AFP via Getty Images

Investigative Reporting Classified Memo Details How US Commandos are Getting Beaten by Terrorists in Africa Formerly secret Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA) plans, combined with a recent Pentagon report, written by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a Defense Department research institution, reveal that U.S. commandos in Africa over the last two years have been unable to meet their mission goals.  “SOCAFRICA’s lack of progress in degrading and disrupting terrorist groups in Somalia, the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin and Mozambique in 2020 can be attributed in some part to the command not addressing the underlying conditions that cause violent extremism despite making it part of their mission to do so,” said Temi Ibirogba of the Center for International Policy. Read more >> Government of Denmark Denmark Implements Measures Against “Parallel Societies” Known for Islamism & Upheaval "As a society, we must step more into character and stick to our Danish values. We must not accept that democracy is replaced with hatred in parallel societies. Radicalization must not be protected. It must be revealed," said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.  The Danish government has announced a package of new proposals aimed at fighting “religious and cultural parallel societies” in Denmark. A cornerstone of the plan includes capping the percentage of “non-Western” immigrants and their descendants dwelling in any given residential neighborhood. The aim is to preserve social cohesion in the country by encouraging integration and discouraging ethnic and social self-segregation. Read more >> National Security Agency NSA Intercepts Iran Discussing Plots Against US Base Near DC & Senior Military Official In communications intercepted by the National Security Agency in January, Iran has been making threats against Fort McNair, an Army post in the US capital, and against the Army’s vice chief of staff and Gen. Joseph M. Martin, two senior US intelligence officials said. In response, the Army has been pushing to create a large buffer zone around Fort McNair; however, some city officials and residents believe the Pentagon has not provided evidence of a credible threat that justifies the severe reduction in access to waterways proposed. Read more >> Investigative Reporting Muslim Couple Speak Out After Vile Graffiti Spotted Near Their UK Home Nasr Moussa Emam and his wife Diane reached out to thank a hotel owner who reported Islamaphobic graffiti on a South Cliff information board that read “all Muslims are arseholes.” Read more >> Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images   Portland City Government Portland Leaders Condemn Ongoing Violence by ‘Anarchists’  Leaders and elected officials in Portland, Oregon, came together Monday to demand an end to violence, criminal destruction and intimidation by “anarchists” as nearly nine months of destructive protests continue in the city. “The misguided and miseducated anarchists reject civility and instead intentionally create mayhem through criminally destructive behavior tearing up our city. This must stop,” said former state Sen. Avel Gordly, the first Black woman to be elected to the Oregon State Senate. “I say to them today, stop, you are not helping, you are hurting Black people.” Read more >> Office of the Director of National Intelligence US Intel Report Warns of Antifa-Type Anarchist Threat The Office of the Director of National Intelligence report listed “Anarchist Violent Extremists” as one of the threats expected to rise throughout 2021. Alt-Left groups like Antifa openly subscribe to anarchist and communist ideologies. The ODNI report described this type of threat as “Domestic Violent Extremists who oppose all forms of capitalism, corporate globalization, and governing institutions, which are perceived as harmful to society.” Read more >> Investigative Reporting Clarion Exposes Alt-Right White Supremacist Group in Florida The Sovereign American Project first came to the attention of Clarion Project in its research to expose hate groups. Clarion national security analyst Ryan Mauro said he found it “terribly concerning” and passed the tip to Tactical Rabbit to investigate. Mauro balked at the idea that The Sovereign American Project is peaceful. “If you believe America needs to be turned into a white ethno-state,” he said, “that can only be accomplished by violence.” The SAP website disparages Jewish people. Three Jewish members of Congress from Florida condemned the Sovereign American Project in response to the expose. Read more >> Office of the Director of National Intelligence Intel Report: Racially-Motivated Extremists Building Overseas Ties  The ODNI report said racially and ethnically-motivated violent extremists “who promote the superiority of the white race…[have] the most persistent and concerning transnational connections…a small number…have traveled abroad to network with like-minded individuals.”  The overall domestic violent extremist threat is expected to rise throughout 2021. Read more >> Hostile Foreign Influence Operations Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images State Department’s Global Engagement Center More than 80% of Russian-originated Tweets on US COVID Vaccines are Negative The State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which monitors foreign disinformation efforts, has identified four publications that have served as fronts for Russian intelligence and have spread false or misleading claims about the Pfizer COVID vaccine. The German Marshall Fund analyzed over 35,000 tweets from Russian, Chinese and Iranian state media and found “Russia by far provided the most negative coverage of Western vaccines.” About 86% Russian tweets about the Pfizer vaccine and 76% about the Moderna vaccine were negative. Read more >> Investigative Reporting Bill to Curb Communist Chinese Influence Heads to Final Committee A Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed bill that would require groups to disclose funding from China and other adversarial countries when seeking large grants from Florida now heads to its final committee… At least one Democrat said he was initially a skeptic, but was largely sold on the proposal. Besides China, the list of flagged countries includes Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela. The legislation would force state agencies, local governments, and colleges and universities to disclose donations and grants from those countries worth $50,000 or more. Applicants for grants from or those proposing contracts with state agencies and local governments would also have to disclose financial connections to any of the listed countries. Read more >> Other Ideological Extremism Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images University of Cambridge Psychological 'Signature' for the Extremist Mind Uncovered  A new study suggests that a particular mix of personality traits and types of unconscious cognition—the ways our brain takes in basic information—is a strong predictor for extremist views across a range of beliefs, including nationalism and religious fervor.  Researchers from the University of Cambridge say that, while still in early stages, this research could help to better identify and support people most vulnerable to radicalization across the political and religious spectrum. Read more >> Government of France France Investigating Universities Over ‘Radical’ Ideas ‘Imported From The United States’ France intends to investigate universities to root out “Islamo-leftist” teaching and ideas it says have been imported to its universities from the US and are fracturing French society. This is the first time the French government has taken concrete steps to clamp down on what officials have referred to as “Islamo-leftist” ideas. Read more >> QUOTABLE My ardent desire is … to keep the United States free from political connections with every other country, to see them independent of all and under the influence of none.” --George Washington, Letter to Patrick Henry, October 9, 1795

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