New Delhi: The United States has invited India and 60 more countries to attend a ministerial-level meeting next week, which will focus on “resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism”. The move is increasingly being seen as the US’s ‘antifa fight’.
The Donald Trump administration has extended invitations to most European nations, several major Latin American countries, and key Asian partners, including India, Indonesia and Singapore, for the meeting set to take place on July 16, according to a report by The Washington Post.
The concept note, accessed by the Washington Post, says that its primary focus will be on “far-left terrorists,” who it says are “increasingly turning to organised, deadly violence to advance their political objectives.”
The note adds that the meeting is intended to strengthen international cooperation on intelligence-sharing and law enforcement to counter the emerging threat.
US state department spokesperson Tommy Pigott, in a post on X, said that the resurgence of violent far-left political terrorism is not a new phenomenon, that it is an old threat re-emerging with strong transnational links and new convergences.
He added that because this threat has not been adequately addressed in the past, each engagement, designation, or security assistance program creates a compounding effect supporting countermeasures at home and abroad.
“Our efforts target violent activity meeting the definition of terrorism: assassinations, kidnappings, violent threats against U.S. facilities and law enforcement, as well as attacks on critical infrastructure, military personnel, and civilian population,” his post stated.
The meeting has, however, sparked concern among US career and political officials, European allies and independent analysts, who question the administration’s characterization of the threat, according to the report. Some officials reportedly said that they were afraid the initiative was aimed at a broader push to use counterterrorism authorities against US citizens viewed as left-wing extremists.
The move comes in view of counterterrorism advisor Sebastian Gorka, who has reportedly discussed the use of foreign terrorist designations for antifa to justify investigations of Americans linked to the loosely organized far-left movement. One counterterrorism official reportedly said a foreign terrorist connection “can unlock certain investigative tools,” including surveillance.
Certain officials within the Trump administration are apprehensive of the move, as they fear it may come back to bite conservatives when the change of power happens. “The idea is you’re setting a precedent for a future Gavin Newsom administration to turn these authorities on conservatives,” one official was quoted as saying.
The countries that have been sent the invites have been sceptical of the move, the scope and objectives of the proposed meeting, that too at such short notice, the report stated. Some officials reportedly even expressed bewilderment as to why their countries were even invited.