White House unveils 2026 counterterrorism strategy

The White House on Wednesday released the 2026 United States Counterterrorism Strategy, outlining the primary terror threats the country faces and the U.S. strategies to combat them.

"Our new U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy is a return to common sense and Peace through Strength," President Donald Trump wrote in the foreword. "As I said after our first successful counterterrorism mission, just days after I was sworn back in office – if you hurt Americans, or are planning to hurt Americans, 'We Will Find You and We Will Kill You.'"

The document pointed to three main sources of terror threats, namely "narcoterrorists and transnational gangs," "legacy Islamist terrorists," and "violent left-wing extremists, including anarchists and anti-fascists."

The White House had harsh words for the Intelligence Community, saying it had not served the nation well, due to politicization by previously leadership or being "mired in old ways of looking at threats."

The Trump administration further set out three goals for tackling terrorist threats, including identifying terrorists before they act, eliminating their funding streams, and outright destroying established groups.

It also called for making a series of foreign terrorist organization (FTO) designations on myriad gangs and drug cartels to give the Intelligence Community access to additional resources.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.