The War on Terror 2.0

Posted on Updated on by Geoff CarterCategories:Capitol Riot, Michael DiMilo, Politics, Social Commentary

Artwork by Michael DiMilo

By Geoff Carter

America knows how to deal with terrorists. Or we think we do. After the 9/11 attacks, President Bush declared a war on terror. He warned the government of Afghanistan that harboring terrorist groups would result in severe consequences, and then on October 7th, when they refused to act, America attacked Afghanistan in a series of missile strikes mostly aimed at Al Qaeda terrorist training camps and Taliban military installations. And then we invaded. We came, we saw—and we stayed. Military operations concluded there just recently. The war in Afghanistan lasted twenty years, the longest in American history.

In 2003, citing fears that Iraq had been producing weapons of mass destruction (claims that have since been debunked), the United States, as part of their war on terror, invaded Iraq and eventually deposed Saddam Hussein. While the United States formally withdrew from Iraq, troop remain there to this day to provide training and support to the Iraqi military.

These military actions were direct (and in one case misguided) responses to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the first shots fired in the war on terror. We were attacked and we retaliated. Whether these military actions were effective deterrents to these terrorist groups is debatable, but few other attacks have taken place against America since. Foreign attacks, that is. We don’t seem to be quite so sure how to deal with domestic terrorism.

On January 6th, 2021, the United States Capitol was attacked by a violent mob with the intent of halting the certification of the presidential election. The rioters were inflamed by Donald Trump’s claim that the election had been stolen and that he was still the rightful president. The mob broke into the Capitol, destroyed property, threatened lawmakers, and attacked police. Five police officers defending the Capitol died, but due to the courageous actions of these and other officers, the attack was thwarted. There seemed little doubt that the rioters intended to harm members of congress and even the vice-president. There seemed little doubt that these were acts of terrorism.

Records of the crowd chanting, “Hang Mike Pence” could be clearly heard after Mr. Pence declined to suspend the election certification. Some rioters erected a gallows in sight of the Capitol Building. Terrorism. 

Eventually, the crowd was dispersed, some rioters have been arrested, charged, and jailed, and the January 6thCongressional Committee has steadfastly pursued those responsible for the riot. In fact, the investigation has uncovered ties between the Proud Boys, a far-right white nationalist militia group, those responsible for fomenting the riot, and, allegedly, some members of Congress. Terrorists.

But the Big Lie lives on. Trump’s supporters, whom President Biden has termed MAGA Republicans, have continued proclaiming—with absolutely no proof—that the election was stolen. Senate Republicans like Ron Johnson, Ted Hawley, and Representatives Marjorie Taylor Green and Lauren Boebert (to name only a few) continue to sow doubt about that election in particular and the effectiveness of the electoral system in general, resulting in widespread harassment and violence against state election officials.

Secretaries of state and election officials nationwide have been threatened by adherents of the big election lie. Some have had to leave their homes for their own safety, others have had their families threatened, have had private information released online, or have suffered intimidation. A significant percentage have left their jobs. 

During the January 6th Congressional hearings, election worker Wandrea “Shay” Moss testified that she and her mother Ruby Freeman, received death threats because they’d been wrongfully accused of hiding ballots. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was called after the election by President Trump himself, asking him to find 11,780 votes. The President harangued Mr. Raffensperger for over an hour bullying him to find votes. The Secretary, to his credit, refused to bend to the President’s will. 

Last week, citizens armed with rifles and wearing body armor—who wished to remain anonymous—sat near early voting ballot boxes in an obvious attempt to intimidate citizens exercising their right to vote. Then, even more recently, Paul Pelosi, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was savagely attacked by an intruder in his home who kept asking insistently, “Where’s Nancy?” a question the January 6th attackers asked. Mr. Pelosi is presently recovering from significant injuries.

Poll workers, election workers, and now elected officials are not only being threatened, intimidated, and stalked, they have also come under physical attack. The assault upon Mr. Pelosi was not happenstance. His wife had been targeted by a far-right zealot, goaded by the irresponsible dissemination of lies and outlandish conspiracy theories by far-right news outlets and nakedly opportunistic politicos like Green, Hawley, Cruz, and Boebert. These lies only fan the flames of hatred in their base—and they are fully aware of that fact. The more they stoke fears of crime, immigrants, and minorities, the closer their base moves to them. These people, are, in fact, encouraging terrorism, and are, in fact, engaging in terrorist attacks themselves.

Not unlike Afghanistan’s relationship to the Taliban, Johnson, Boebert, and their ilk are providing a safe port for their increasingly antagonistic and violent supporters. They overtly support the violent rhetoric and studiously political violence. Representative Kevin McCarthy once talked about hitting Nancy Pelosi on the head with the Speaker’s gavel. In 2019, Marjorie Taylor Green liked a social media comment suggesting “a bullet to the head would be quicker” than voting out Nancy Pelosi (CNN). 

Not one Republican, particularly any in Arizona, criticized the armed citizens for intimidating citizens at their ballot box. Few, with the notable exceptions of Georgia election officials, have called for a stop to threats and intimidations—at least until Mr. Pelosi was attacked. And, truth be told, we are all under attack. 

Elements of the far right, encouraged by the extremely violent rhetoric of MAGA Republicans, have threatened and intimidated—terrorized—election workers and political officials. According to a Reuters article, the Capitol police stated threats against members of Congress escalated “from 3,939 in 2017 to 9,625 in 2021.” (Reuters). That’s a 300% jump. The majority of these—though not all—come from far-right extremists.

Threats, intimidation, harassment, and even violence against innocent U.S. citizens. Americans—all of us—are being terrorized by a political sect that has sought, in plain sight, to overthrow the U.S. government. If these extremists were Iraqis, Afghanis, Syrians, Chinese, Koreans, or any other foreign nationality, our government would have taken action long ago. But we have done precious little to stem this new tide of vicious terrorization.

The time has come for a new war on terror. Domestic terrorists, some of them embedded in our own government, have been attacking our democracy. Starting at the top, they need to be held accountable and brought to justice. It is time for The War on Terror 2.0 to begin.

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