• Republican lawmakers said Thursday in an exclusive statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation that the Pentagon should not focus on domestic terrorism when alleged Iranian influence operatives hold high positions.
• DCNF previously reported that the Department of Defense, which oversees special operations, held a book lecture on “far-right” domestic terrorism in the United States.
• Republican Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana and Elise Stefanik of New York told DCNF that the agency would “prevent future attacks by Iranian-backed terrorist proxies, rather than employ regime loyalists.” The focus should be on deterrence.”

According to a statement provided exclusively to the Daily Caller News Foundation on Thursday, two prominent Republican members of Congress are working with the domestic right-wing in the same office where an alleged Iranian influencer holds a high-ranking position. He mocked the Pentagon for hosting a book lecture on extremism.

The Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC), which oversees global special operations, has invited two experts to share their new book on far-right terrorism in the United States with all the information you want. I had the staff discuss it. Participated on Tuesday, screenshots obtained by DCNF revealed. Republican Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana and Elise Stefanik of New York said the incident highlighted the Pentagon's unwarranted focus on far-right extremism while ignoring other threats. he told DCNF.

“Joe Biden's woke Pentagon (Department of Defense) wasted $900,000 in taxpayers' money on a baseless witch hunt to root out 'far-right extremism' in the military and told left-wing professors “Despite being paid to speak on the subject, no action was taken against known personnel who are agents of Iranian extremists,” they said. (Related: How an Iranian-backed militia's suicide drone slipped past U.S. defenses)

SO/LIC chief of staff Arian Tabatabai was recently investigated for ties to Iranian influence networks. Mr. Tabatabai served as a founding member of the Iran Experts Initiative. The Iran Experts Initiative is a group of U.S. analysts who reportedly worked with the Islamic regime to advance Tehran's favorable view of Iran's threatening nuclear program while nuclear deal negotiations were underway. be.

“SO/LIC is supposed to be focused on deterring future attacks by Iranian-backed terrorist proxies, not exploiting regime loyalists. Enough of woke politics. “The Pentagon should focus on deterring future attacks against U.S. forces,” they said.

My parents are not domestic terrorists. The American people agree.

The Biden administration's weaponization of parents is why Americans are losing trust in corrupt government institutions.@weaponized It brings accountability. pic.twitter.com/W2sEDTcWY7

— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) February 9, 2023

Invitations to Tuesday's event appear to have been emailed to “all” SO/LIC staff, according to screenshots. Bruce Hoffman, Georgetown University professor and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and Jacob Ware, a CFR researcher, were scheduled to publish a book arguing that: trace As part of the same story, right-wing domestic terrorism in U.S. history characterizes the Ku Klux Klan and some groups involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that sought to overturn the 2020 election.

The KKK was a means for Southern Democrats to resist Republican Reconstruction policies. according to Go to history.com. None of the participants in the January 6 riot have been convicted under domestic terrorism laws.

“Recent years have seen outbreaks of serious acts of terrorism by violent American far-right extremists, including the 2015 mass murder at a historic Black church in Charleston and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.” It was written in the synopsis of the book. It is also included in the email, so please read it.

The Pentagon launched a standdown after the Jan. 6 riot and ordered a review of extremism among U.S. military personnel.

But a study funded by the Department of Defense released A December study found no evidence that the number of violent extremists in the military is disproportionate to the general population, and most of the small number of service members charged with involvement in prohibited extremist activities , contained evidence of acts of violence or plans for acts of violence. Despite two years of efforts, the Pentagon has failed to understand domestic extremism, likely exaggerating the problem and undermining cohesion within its ranks.

The event, as shown in the screenshot, was the first in a series of events planned to feature guest speakers on a variety of topics, the office said.

The Department of Defense did not respond to DCNF's earlier request for clarification on how the event was authorized and why. The DCNF did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday about the lawmakers' comments.

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