A new survey of current and former soldiers in the United States has found that the number of troops with extremist ideologies has tripled due to a series of recent events, including an attack on Capitol Hill. ۔
According to the report, such incidents have helped the extremist elements to organize.
The National Consortium of the University of Maryland's Counterterrorism Study Program, Start, released a new review report Wednesday, analyzing 354 such individuals, according to Jeff Seldon of the Voice of America. Those who have or have been associated with the military and have been charged with criminal acts linked to extremist ideologies or have been convicted in this regard.
The analysis found that between 1990 and 2010, the average number of such cases increased from seven each year to 21 over the past decade. The highest increases were seen in 2017, 2020 and 2021.
The study report says that in all these years, there have been incidents that have organized a large number of extremists in the United States. These events include the 'United the Right' rally in Charlottesville in 2017, the global Corona epidemic in 2019, demonstrations for justice against racism in 2020 and the presidential election.
This includes the attack on the US Congress building on January 6, 2021.
According to the report, the most active of these incidents was the siege of the US Congress by supporters of former President Donald Trump aimed at blocking the process of confirming the victory of Democratic leader Joe Biden in the elections.
Of the 563 people charged in connection with the siege, 15 percent are from the US military.
However, according to the analysis, most of these 15% were not working for the US military at the time of the attack.
The START report concludes that during the Congress siege, 78% of those in the military were associated with an extremist ideology and were not working for the military at the time. When extremism prevailed in their thinking or they were arrested.
Michael Jason, co-author of the report, said in a written statement about the findings of the report that most of the people in our data turned to extremism when they left the military. So when people with military backgrounds talk about the issue of extremists, they basically mean ex-servicemen.
Continuity in Past Reports The results of Start's analytical report seem to be a continuation of previous reports that looked at extremism within the US military.
SEE ALSO: January 6 riot at Congress was internal terrorism: The FBI Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report last April stating that the number of serving US military personnel Those involved in terrorist plots are few but increasing.
The agency wrote at the time that the data should be taken as a warning. Because these challenges will remain, and extremist networks want their people inside the US military and law enforcement agencies.
The agency added that extremists were working actively to recruit current and former personnel.
Two new reports on the extremist trend in the US military have raised concerns about this disturbing trend and the lack of data on it, just days after the US Department of Defense removed it from within the military ranks. New measures were announced to root out extremism.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has made it a priority to fight extremism within the ranks of the military. In April this year, he issued a memorandum urging the immediate removal of infiltrating groups within the military.
At the same time, Lloyd Austin spoke of increasing the training process for those preparing to leave the military.
Lloyd Austin wrote in the memorandum that the majority of uniformed servicemen and their civilian comrades serve with integrity, but any extremist behavior within the military has far-reaching implications.
The Pentagon's plan to eliminate extremism within the military The US Secretary of Defense has immediately drawn up a strategy and warned that even a small group of extremists could have a huge impact on the organization.
Pentagon officials say they have evidence that extremist groups have tried to infiltrate military services and recruit current servicemen.
According to a report released by the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the agency, which monitors the performance of the military, is also facing a shortage of funds and a possible conflict of interest.
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