Overview
- The 16-page strategy, released Wednesday and signed by President Trump on Tuesday, sets three priorities and sends officials to meet allies Friday to press for greater burden sharing.
- The plan elevates transnational drug cartels to a national-security threat and calls for using terrorist designations, sanctions and operations to choke their logistics and financing.
- Domestic focus expands to what the White House labels violent left-wing extremists, with agencies directed to map networks such as anarchists and antifa and disrupt plots using law-enforcement powers.
- The document keeps pressure on legacy jihadist groups like al Qaeda and ISIS, names Iran the leading state-backed threat, and highlights stopping terrorists from obtaining nuclear or radiological weapons.
- Sebastian Gorka used stark language about rapid responses to threats as critics and legal experts warned the broader remit could erode civil liberties, divert resources and politicize counterterror tools.