New Federal Counterterrorism Strategy Expands Scope to Domestic Groups and Cartels

This strategy changes the scope of federal counterterrorism powers, potentially allowing for the use of military and intelligence assets against domestic organizations and drug cartels that were previously handled primarily through standard criminal justice channels.

• •The strategy identifies three primary terrorist threats: narcoterrorists/transnational gangs, legacy Islamist terrorists, and violent left-wing extremists.
• •The administration plans to use military, intelligence, and law enforcement tools against domestic extremist actors.
• •Drug cartels are now officially designated as a core national security threat alongside jihadist groups.
• •The strategy establishes a three-part approach: identifying plots before they occur, cutting off funding/recruitment, and dismantling networks.
• •Iran is explicitly named as the most significant state-backed threat to the United States.
• •The administration intends to pressure allies to take greater responsibility in combating shared threats.
• •The document criticizes the current intelligence community for being 'mired in old ways' and potentially 'weaponized' for political purposes.
• •The strategy authorizes the use of 'all tools constitutionally available' to disrupt domestic politically motivated violence.
• •The administration claims that drug-related deaths in the U.S. now exceed wartime combat fatalities over a 70-year period.