Pentagon Watchdog Halts Review of Military Efforts to Root Out Extremism

[Politruk]

Pentagon Watchdog Halts Review of Military Efforts to Root Out Extremism

The Pentagon inspector general has scrapped plans to investigate the military's training for identifying and countering extremism in the ranks -- saying the project does not align with President Donald Trump's executive orders, according to a memo obtained by Military.com.

The watchdog's directive, issued Feb. 25, abruptly halted an ongoing assessment of how military branches implement counter-extremism training, particularly efforts targeting radical organizations, white nationalist groups and militias such as the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and the Ku Klux Klan.

The decision to drop the review is the latest shift of Pentagon policy under Trump, who fired Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch without providing 30 days' notice to Congress as required by law. The president also pardoned convicted Oath Keepers and Proud Boys members who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Storch, along with the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general and the inspectors general for six other agencies fired by Trump just days into his term, filed a lawsuit in February calling the terminations illegal. The inspectors general are independent and tasked with identifying waste, fraud and abuse at federal agencies.

The IG memo also eliminates an ongoing review -- that produced a draft report in January -- of the Air Force's recruitment and retention programs aimed at boosting the number of female pilots, which has been met with sharp criticism from military watchdogs and advocacy groups.

The memo was signed by Brett Mansfield, deputy inspector general for audit, and Michael Roark, deputy inspector general for evaluations. The push to root out extremism was started under Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

The watchdog office connected the decisions to the larger push by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to eliminate programs, policies and content -- including photos and social media posts -- that recognize women and troops with minority backgrounds. The Trump administration has banned and censored anything it deems connected to "diversity, equity and inclusion," or DEI.

"Prohibited activity includes supremacist, extremist, and criminal gang doctrine, ideology and fall under the DEI umbrella," Mollie Halpern, a spokesperson for the Pentagon's inspector general office, said in a statement.

Eliminating recognition and references to diversity in the military has been a defining priority of Hegseth's early tenure, though it was unclear how scaling back examinations of potential insider national security threats is related to "diversity, equity and inclusion."

 

[Politruk]

And RWs keep demanding proof Trump is a racist.

 

[UltraChad]

Getting rid of the racism and racist isn't racism.

The "fuck whitey" campaign is over bud....cry more about it.

 

[Politruk]

Getting rid of the racism and racist isn't racism.

The "fuck whitey" campaign is over bud....cry more about it.

The only racists here are the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, etc. They're the ones who need to be driven out of the Armed Forces. But Trump and Hegseth take the opposite, and indefensible, view.

It would be best if you never again posted on any subject even tangentially related to racism. That is one area where you are always wrong, and psychologically incapable of anything else.

 

[UltraChad]

The only racists here are the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, etc. They're the ones who need to be driven out of the Armed Forces. But Trump and Hegseth take the opposite, and indefensible, view.

No, they don't.

It's not indefensible, it's nonissue.

It's ok to be in the military and not hate white people.

It would be best if you never again posted on any subject even tangentially related to racism. That is one area where you are always wrong, and psychologically incapable of anything else.

Oh look at all that projection.

 

[Politruk]

Oh look at all that projection.

The only projection here is yours.

 

[UltraChad]

The only projection here is yours.

Not anywhere.

 

[Politruk]

No, they don't.

It's not indefensible, it's nonissue.

It's ok to be in the military and not hate white people.

It is not OK to be in the military and hate nonwhites -- and the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have no other reason for existing.

You are the dishonest piece of shit who denied George Wallace's American Independent Party was racist.

 

[UltraChad]

It is not OK to be in the military and hate nonwhites --

Sure it is, they just have to keep it to themselves.

and the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have no other reason for existing.

Then you don't understand either of those. You just regurgitate what leftist media told you.

You are the dishonest piece of shit who denied George Wallace's American Independent Party was racist.

No I denied his endorsement was proof that Trump was racist. You're the dishonest one...always projecting.

 

[Rebel5soul]

Good!!!!!

 

[Politruk]

Then you don't understand either of those. You just regurgitate what leftist media told you.

The very best source on groups like that is the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Oath Keepers:

The Oath Keepers, which claims tens of thousands of present and former law enforcement officials and military veterans as members, is one of the largest far-right antigovernment groups in the U.S. today.

The Oath Keepers organization claims to be defending the U.S. Constitution and fighting tyranny, but as former Oath Keepers spokesman Jason Van Tatenhove describes, the group is actually “selling the revolution.” The threats to American liberties that Oath Keepers say the federal government is responsible for are in reality a set of baseless conspiracy theories.

As part of the group’s mission, Oath Keepers have directed their recruiting effort toward members of the military, law enforcement and other public-safety positions. They are often confrontational and have participated in multiple armed standoffs against the government. The most recent is the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when members of the group, including its leader, Stewart Rhodes, were arrested and accused of conspiring to oppose the presidential transfer of power by force.

The group also has a long history of engaging in and promoting their own form of vigilantism by providing voluntary armed security, not affiliated with any law enforcement entity, at various protests and venues. In 2014, members formed their own patrol in Ferguson, Missouri, after the killing of an unarmed Black man in 2014, and they provided security to an Infowars reporter during the anniversary protest a year later. In 2015, Rhodes said they would protect notorious Kentucky clerk Kim Davis from arrest. Members patrolled the site of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, and polling locations in 2016 and 2020, allegedly to discourage and report voter fraud. Members have provided security for events and individuals promoting “Stop the Steal” after the 2020 election, including Roger Stone. They also offered security to business owners who defied COVID-19 public health safety measures.

​

Proud Boys:

Established in the midst of the 2016 presidential election by VICE Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys are self-described “Western chauvinists” who adamantly deny any connection to the racist “alt-right.” They insist they are simply a fraternal group spreading an “anti-political correctness” and “anti-white guilt” agenda.

The Proud Boys’ actions belie their disavowals of bigotry: Rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists. They are known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric. Proud Boys have appeared alongside other hate groups at extremist gatherings such as the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Former Proud Boys member Jason Kessler helped organize that event, which brought together a broad coalition of extremists including Neo-Nazis, antisemites and militias. Kessler was expelled from the group after the violence and near-universal condemnation of Charlottesville rallygoers.

Other hardcore members of the alt-right have argued that the “Western chauvinist” label is just a “PR cuck term” McInnes crafted to gain mainstream acceptance. “Let’s not bullshit,” Brian Brathovd, aka Caerulus Rex, told his co-hosts on “The Daily Shoah,” an antisemitic podcast popular with the alt-right. If the Proud Boys “were pressed on the issue, I guarantee you that like 90% of them would tell you something along the lines of ‘Hitler was right. Gas the Jews.’”

White nationalists and neo-Nazis themselves have cited McInnes as a gateway to the alt-right. On “The Southern AF Podcast,” one former Proud Boy who went on to embrace white nationalism said he was originally drawn to the group because of its “pro-white sentiment.” “All his jokes, all his content when I first started listening to him,” he said of McInnes, “was all freakin’ alt-right stuff and racial issues and funny, comedic ways to like try to point out that white civilization has been superior.” Many Proud Boys like him have moved on to more extreme groups and ideologies.

McInnes plays a duplicitous rhetorical game: claiming to reject white nationalism while espousing a laundered version of popular white nationalist tropes. He has ties to the racist right and has contributed to such hate sites as VDare.com and American Renaissance, which publish the work of white supremacists and so-called race realists. McInnes has himself said it is fair to call him Islamophobic. He announced the founding of the Proud Boys in the far-right Taki’s Magazine.

The Proud Boys stage frequent rallies around the country. Many have descended into violent street riots where members openly brawl with counterprotesters. Indeed, as early as summer 2018, a document circulated by Washington state law enforcement described the group’s involvement in a series of violent incidents in Oregon and Washington, as well as its involvement in Unite the Right. This report came to light a mere two months before 10 members were charged with assault after an attack on antifascist activists in New York City in October 2018.

Through 2019 and 2020, the Proud Boys were one of a handful of far-right groups instrumental in instigating violence and civil unrest in the Pacific Northwest. Likewise, a series of leaked chats showed Proud Boys and extremists associated with other far-right groups discussing how and when to use violence against leftist activists while planning rallies in the northeast in early-to-mid 2019.

The group became a household name after a mention at the Sept. 29, 2020, presidential debate.

In early February 2021, the Canadian government designated the Proud Boys as a terrorist entity, citing the role the group played in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

​

^^^^^^^ Nobody with even a marginal connection to either of these groups should be wearing the uniform of the United States!

No I denied his endorsement was proof that Trump was racist. You're the dishonest one...always projecting.

You're confusing Wallace with David Duke. Wallace died in 1998. You denied the AIP was racist in this thread.

 

[Rebel5soul]

The SPLC are legal scum, shit, the lowest of the low. Virtually everything they've engaged in for the past 40 years has been nothing but a money grubbing scheme.

 

[UltraChad]

The very best source on groups like that is the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Like I said, you don't know shit and only regurgitate what leftist tell you.

^^^^^^^ Nobody with even a marginal connection to either of these groups should be wearing the uniform of the United States!

You have to wear the uniform just to get into one.

See....you still don't know fuckin' shit.

You just hate white people.

You're confusing Wallace with David Duke. Wallace died in 1998. You denied the AIP was racist in this thread.

Oh look, more LIES from the LIAR.

No. I denied the political movements they supported were racist.

Because they weren't.

 

[Politruk]

The SPLC are legal scum, shit, the lowest of the low. Virtually everything they've engaged in for the past 40 years has been nothing but a money grubbing scheme.

You are a liar, and probably a racist too. There is no significant money to be made in keeping an eye on hate groups.

This is the SPLC.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American legal advocacy organization for civil rights causes, founded in 1971 by attorneys Morris Dees and Joseph J. Levin Jr. while arguing a desegregation case involving the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). After the case ended, future American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) president Julian Bond was hired as the president of the SPLC.

The SPLC originally focused their legal work on racist groups, most notably the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Their Klanwatch program has since been expanded into Hatewatch, which keeps track of all forms of American hate groups. Their website is a fantastically useful resource collection. In what we're all sure is a complete coincidence, presence of SPLC listed hate groups in a county is a strong predictor of far-right violence.[1]

Right-libertarian "criticism"[edit]​

John Stossel and Maxim Lott, in a Reason.com article, have criticised the SPLC as a "scam".[12] For instance, they don't like that the Family Research Council, a bigoted anti-gay organization, is listed as a hate group, because its classification encouraged a domestic terrorist to attack the Family Research Council; therefore, the classification is wrong and scammy. Stossel and Lott also don't like that the SPLC categorized the Ruth Institute as a hate group because, despite believing that gays shouldn't have the same rights to adopt or marry, the Institute insists that they have no problem with gay people. They further criticized the SPLC for their founder Morris Dees paying himself nearly half a million dollars, and that the company promised that they would cease fundraising when they reached an endowment of $50 million, and yet with $320 million they continue to fundraise.[12]

Finally, Stossel and Lott criticized SPLC for not listing Antifa as a hate group.[12] The SPLC have addressed this criticism in their FAQ:

Why doesn't the SPLC list antifa as a hate group?
The SPLC condemns violence in all its forms, including the violent acts of far-left street movements like antifa (short for anti-fascist). But the propensity for violence, though present in many hate groups, is not among the criteria for listing. Also, antifa groups do not promote hatred based on race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity[.][13]

Because SPLC had criteria that led to a result Stossel and Lott didn't like and SPLC failed to condemn Antifa enough, they concluded that the SPLC has become "a hate group itself. It is now a left-wing, money grabbing, slander machine."[12]

The SPLC was criticized in a Bloomberg article, which states that "the center offers bizarrely shifting rationales that suggest that the staff started with the target they wanted to deem hateful, and worked backward to the analysis."[14]

Hit pieces[edit]​

In September 2017, the conservative site Free Beacon published a juicy piece detailing SPLC executive salaries and supposedly nefarious offshore accounts.[19] Reports crying financial foul soon spread throughout the right-wing blogosphere, appearing in the Daily Wire,[20] Washington Times,[21] and of course Breitbart.[22]

Offshore investments are common for larger non-profits according to SPLC's financial advisory firm,[23] whereas other large civil rights organization do not do this. The American Civil Liberties Union and related ACLU Foundation have combined assets of more than $250 million, but both 990s filed by the groups answer "no" to a question about "aggregate foreign investments valued at $100,000 or more." Another civil rights group, the Human Rights Campaign, similarly avoids foreign investments, though the organization's assets total about $9 million.[23]

Salaries in question[edit]​

Richard Cohen, president and chief executive officer of the SPLC, was given $346,218 in base compensation in 2015, its tax forms show. Cohen received $20,000 more in other reportable compensation and non-taxable benefits. Morris Dees, SPLC's chief trial counsel, received a salary of $329,560 with $42,000 in additional reportable compensation and non-taxable benefits.[24]

 

[Politruk]

You have to wear the uniform just to get into one.

That changes nothing. They should be screened out of the service.

You just hate white people.

That is a lie every single time you say it. It would be a lie if you said it to Al Sharpton.

Oh look, more LIES from the LIAR.

No. I denied the political movements they supported were racist.

Because they weren't.

That is a lie.

 

[UltraChad]

That changes nothing. They should be screened out of the service.

Yes it does, can't screen people for what they do AFTER service....you fucking retard.

That is a lie every single time you say it.

Nope....you're just wrong.

Proud Boys leader isn't even white!! LOL ....you're drunk on leftist propaganda.

It would be a lie if you said it to Al Sharpton.

Not even, that piece of shit is as racist as they get.

That is a lie.

All right there in black and white.

You're once again full of shit.

 

[Politruk]

All right there in black and white.

You're once again full of shit.

Yes, it's all there in black and white, and you were the only one full of shit in that thread.

 

[Politruk]

Yes it does, can't screen people for what they do AFTER service....you fucking retard.

You can and should weed them out. But Hegseth doesn't want to.

 

[Politruk]

The decision to drop the review is the latest shift of Pentagon policy under Trump, who fired Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch without providing 30 days' notice to Congress as required by law.

This deserves a lot more attention than it's getting.

 

[UltraChad]

Yes, it's all there in black and white, and you were the only one full of shit in that thread.

Nope, you were the one full of shit there and here.

You can and should weed them out. But Hegseth doesn't want to.

You can't, and there is no need to.

This deserves a lot more attention than it's getting.

Most people don't care the OBVIOUSLY BAD IG's are fired.

 

[Politruk]

You can't, and there is no need to.

You can't see the obvious danger of having white nationalist activists in the armed forces?!

Most people don't care the OBVIOUSLY BAD IG's are fired.

You don't know the first thing about IG Storch, you are just mindlessly and slavishly backing up Trump.

 

[UltraChad]

You can't see the obvious danger of having white nationalist activists in the armed forces?!

Not hating the USA and white people isn't white nationalism.

You don't know the first thing about IG Storch,

I know they weren't doing a very good job and that's all I need to know.

you are just mindlessly and slavishly backing up Trump.

Stay mad at democracy.

 

[Politruk]

Not hating the USA and white people isn't white nationalism.

The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are white nationalists.

I know they weren't doing a very good job and that's all I need to know.

No, you didn't know that at all.

Stay mad at democracy.

You're the one who's always talking shit against democracy.

 

[UltraChad]

The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are white nationalists.

No, they aren't.

The Proud Boys leader isn't even white...... you fucking retard.

No, you didn't know that at all.

Yup.

You're the one who's always talking shit against democracy.

Yup.

 

[Politruk]

No, they aren't.

The Proud Boys leader isn't even white...... you fucking retard.

In Their Own Words​

“All the heroes of BLM and Antifa are degenerate criminal lowlifes or pedophile rapists. I don’t lose any sleep when they are justly removed from society.” – A Telegram channel associated with the Proud Boys, Sept. 22, 2020

“The true minority in this world ARE whites. White children are less than 3% of the worlds [sic] population. I think since white majority countries are on a pathway to extinction we should correctly refer to non whites by their true names. Worldwide majority.” – A Telegram channel associated with the Proud Boys, Sept. 7, 2020

“All I want to do is smash commies too. Actually I’m lying I’m way past just hitting them. When the time comes I will stop at nothing to fully eradicate them all.” – Anthony Mastrostefano, in a private chat associated with the Proud Boys, spring 2019

“I promise you this, Ted Wheeler: I’m coming for you, you little punk. And all your antifa bastards. I’m coming for you f—–s, too.” – Proud Boy and Patriot Prayer collaborator Reggie Axtell, in a video posted on his Facebook, January 2019

“The time is now. We’re gonna have to get some swollen fists. We’re gonna have to get some swollen fists. We’re gonna have to fight, alright?” – Gabe Silva, in a Facebook video, June 2018

“I just realized something. Cory Booker is kind of like Sambo. He’s kind of shucking and jiving for the white man. Cory Booker grew up rich in an all-white suburb. He’s basically a white guy. His parents were very wealthy executives at IBM. … But he wants to be a Black dude, so he pretends that he’s down with the brothers and he acts outraged about racism all the time – for white people. That gets him votes from whites.” – Gavin McInnes, “Get Off My Lawn,” Jan. 17, 2018

“I’m not a fan of Islam. I think it’s fair to call me Islamophobic.” – Gavin McInnes, NBC interview, Nov. 2, 2017

“I am not afraid to speak out about the atrocities that whites and people of European descent face not only here in this country but in Western nations across the world. The war against whites, and Europeans and Western society is very real and it’s time we all started talking about it and stopped worrying about political correctness and optics.” – Kyle Chapman, who formed the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights, a paramilitary wing of the Proud Boys, Unite America First Peace Rally, Sacramento, California, July 8, 2017

“Maybe the reason I’m sexist is because women are dumb. No, I’m just kidding, ladies. But you do tend to not thrive in certain areas – like writing.” – Gavin McInnes, “The Gavin McInnes Show,” June 28, 2017

“Put something on the table! Give us a reason to accept you, because you know what? Sharia law ain’t it. Raping women ain’t it. Cutting off clits ain’t it. Throwing gay people off roofs ain’t it. You are a disgrace.” – Pawl Bazile, an editor at Proud Boy Magazine, on Muslims and why he is a “Western chauvinist,” March Against Sharia rally, New York City, June 10, 2017

“Why don’t we take back Bethlehem? Why don’t we take back Northern Iraq? Why don’t we start our own Crusades? That’s what the Crusades were. They weren’t just someone picking on Muslims for no reason – they were a reaction to Muslim tyranny. We finally fought back.” – Gavin McInnes, “The Gavin McInnes Show,” March 8, 2017

“Palestinians are stupid. Muslims are stupid. And the only thing they really respect is violence and being tough.” – Gavin McInnes, “The Gavin McInnes Show,” March 8, 2017

“We brought roads and infrastructure to India and they are still using them as toilets. Our criminals built nice roads in Australia but aboriginals keep using them as a bed. The next time someone bitches about colonization, the correct response is ‘You’re welcome.’”
– Gavin McInnes, “10 Things I Like About White Guys,” Taki’s Magazine, March 2, 2017

“The white liberal ethos tells us Blacks aren’t at MIT because of racism. They say Blacks dominate the prison population for the same reason. They insist America is a racist hellhole where ‘people of color’ have no future. This does way more damage to Black youth than the KKK. When you strip people of culpability and tell them the odds are stacked against them, they don’t feel like trying. White liberals make this worse by then using affirmative action to ‘correct’ society’s mistakes. When Blacks are forced into schools they aren’t qualified for they have no choice but to drop out. Instead of going back a step to a school they can handle, they tend to give up on higher education entirely. Thanks to the Marxist myth of ubiquitous equality, this ‘mismatch’ leaves Blacks less educated than they would have been had they been left to their own devices.”
– Gavin McInnes, “America in 2034,” American Renaissance, June 17, 2014