Last Call For Our Little White Supremacist Domestic Terrorism Problem, Con't

Newly-confirmed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is wasting no time in dealing with the largest problem in America's military: the fact that it's been a hotbed of disaffected white supremacist terrorism in America for decades, from Tim McVeigh to today.

 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has signed a memo ordering commanding officers and supervisors to hold a one-day "stand-down" to discuss extremism within the armed forces in the next 60 days, the Department of Defense announced Friday.

Why it matters: After multiple current service members and veterans were arrested for their actions during the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol siege, the Pentagon has increased efforts to combat white supremacy and other forms of extremism in its ranks, according to the New York Times.

What they're saying: "This stand-down is just the first initiative of what I believe must be a concerted effort to better educate ourselves and our people about the scope of this problem and to develop sustainable ways to eliminate the corrosive effects that extremist ideology and conduct have on the workforce," Austin, the first Black man to lead the Pentagon, said in the memo. 

"We will not tolerate actions that go against the fundamental principles of the oath we share, including actions associated with extremist or dissident ideologies. Service members, DoD civilian employees, and all those who support our mission, deserve an environment free of discrimination, hate, and harassment." 

"We owe it to the oath we each took and the trust the American people have in our institution."

 

Whether or not this remains symbolic remains to be seen, but let's remember that the Trump regime was not only actively encouraging white supremacist domestic terrorism in the ranks of the US military, Trump was doing it in order to overthrow the government and take over the country.

 

It came depressingly close to working.

 

Getting rid of the neo-Nazis, fascists, and terrorists in our armed forces will take a long time, and it will take an even longer time to do so from America's police forces. But at least the Biden administration acknowledges that the problem, you know, exists.