The White House’s new anti-terrorism strategy broadens the concept of internal and external threat: jihadists, drug traffickers, anarchist movements and radical groups end up in the same operational framework. The attack against Europe, Iran and the Biden administration was also very harsh.
The new strategy anti-terrorism of the administration of Donald Trump it is not just a document on American national security. It is a political and ideological manifesto that redefines the very concept of terrorism, expands the number of threats considered existential for United States and breaks with much of the approach adopted after 9/11 by previous administrations. In the text released by White House in May 2026, a worldview emerges in which Washington sees itself as simultaneously threatened by jihadists, drug cartels, hostile governments, domestic radical movements, and new global technological networks. From the first pages the document takes on extremely aggressive tones. Trump claims that with his return to the White House “four years of weakness, failures, surrender and humiliation” under the Joe Biden administration ended. The report claims the success of military operations against Iran, the return of American hostages held abroad and the use of the armed forces against drug traffickers and transnational criminal groups. But the most controversial point is the redefinition of the categories considered terrorist. The strategy identifies three major priority threats:
- narco-terrorists and transnational gangs
- Islamist terrorism
- violent left-wing extremists, anarchists and anti-fascists
It is a very delicate passage because it inserts internal political movements into the same strategic framework used to describe jihadist groups And armed criminal organizations. The text also speaks of “radically pro-transgender and anarchist” groups, claiming that the government will use intelligence tools and law enforcement to identify and neutralize them before they can strike. The strategy also contains very harsh accusations against the American federal apparatus. According to the document, during the Biden years, anti-terrorism tools were used against innocent American citizens, including conservative Catholics, parents opposed to school policies and supporters of Trump. There White House claims that intelligence and national security have been politicized and promises a return to operations “based on reality” and not on ideological criteria.
One of the most significant chapters concerns the transformation of drug cartels in real military objectives. The report calls the cartels foreign terrorist organizations and claims the use of War Department against drug trafficking boats and logistical networks. The operation «Absolute Resolve», which would have led to the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, described as a connected narco-terrorist to the cartels and Iran. The document then presents Iran as the main global strategic threat to the United States. Tehran is described as the most important sponsor of international terrorism, accused of financing proxy groups such as Hezbollah and pursuing offensive nuclear and missile capabilities. Operations «Midnight Hammer» and «Epic Fury» are indicated as examples of preventive action against the Iranian regime. The report clearly suggests that future military operations against Tehran remain a real possibility.
The part dedicated toEurope. According to the document, the continent has allowed jihadists, cartels and criminal networks to exploit open borders and permissive migration policies. The report states that “unrestricted mass migration has been the drive belt for terrorists” and openly speaks of European “voluntary decline”. Europe is accused of having reduced the resources allocated to counter-terrorism and of having favored permissive environments for radical and criminal activities. Another central passage concerns the Muslim Brothersdefined the root of all modern Islamist terrorism. The document argues that groups such as al-Qaeda, ISIS And Hamas derive ideologically from the galaxy of Muslim Brothersie claims the designation of different sections of the movement as foreign terrorist organizations. A choice that could have significant diplomatic consequences in relations with some Arab countries, in particular with the Qatar. Great attention is also paid to new technologies. Drones, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing And dual use tools are considered multipliers of the terrorist threat. Iran, China And Russia they are accused of facilitating the transfer of advanced technologies to groups hostile to them United States. The report also highlights the risk associated with the use of weapons of mass destruction by non-state actors, including nuclear devices or radiological. Overall, the document marks a clear break with traditional post-9/11 counterterrorism. The new American doctrine unites border security, war on cartelscomparison with Iran And China, criticism of globalism And fight against theinternal radical deologies in a single strategy. Terrorism is no longer described only as an international armed threat, but as any network – criminal, ideological or state – deemed capable of undermining the political, social and cultural stability of United States.
