US Navy classifies socialists as "political terrorists" in official training documents

Washington DC – What do anarchists, socialists, and neo-Nazis have in common? Apparently a lot, according to the US military.

An inside source released a US Navy counterterrorism training document that equates "socialists" and "anarchists" with "neo-nazis" (stock image).
An inside source released a US Navy counterterrorism training document that equates "socialists" and "anarchists" with "neo-nazis" (stock image).  © 123RF/Leonard Zhukovsky

A US Navy counterterrorism training document obtained exclusively by The Intercept reveals some interesting insights into the military's view on different political ideologies.

A training exercise for the masters-at-arms, or the Navy's internal police, entitled Introduction to Terrorism/Terrorist Operations contains several study questions, one of which reads, "Anarchists, socialists and neo-nazis represent which terrorist ideological category?"

The answer examiners are apparently looking for is "political terrorists."

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"It’s just ineffective training because whoever is directing the Navy anti-terror curriculum would rather vilify the left than actually protect anything," an anonymous military source said. "Despite the fact that the most prominent threat is domestic, right-wing terror."

That's exactly what an intelligence report released in March found. White supremacists were classed as the greatest threat of violent extremism in the US, and the White House recently announced its first-ever plan to counter domestic terrorism, including measures to combat racism.

Nevertheless, the US military has apparently maintained a focus on left-leaning political actors as a potential threat. The anonymous insider also told The Intercept that the Navy even includes a "black panthers fist symbol on a slide of terror orgs with al Qaeda."

Though there is no evidence that the Black Panthers or other civil rights groups pose a significant national security threat, the FBI and other intelligence agencies have long surveilled Black activists, even keeping tabs on recent Black Lives Matter protesters.

The Department of Defense declined to comment on the contents of the training document.

Cover photo: 123RF/Leonard Zhukovsky

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