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A dozen Republican senators on Wednesday sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin seeking more information on his Countering Extremism Working Group and assurance that it will not target those who oppose leftist “woke orthodoxy.”
Led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the letter expresses concern for U.S. troops who could be “unfairly targeted by your newly established Countering Extremism Working Group.” They wrote:
In the wake of the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to silence parents protesting anti-American racial indoctrination being taught in schools across the country, we are deeply concerned that this latest effort by the Biden Administration will target service members who voice opposition to woke, Leftist ideology under the guise of protecting our ‘national security interest.’ Service members represent a cross-section of the country they faithfully serve, and hold beliefs and opinions as diverse as America itself. These patriotic men and women come from all backgrounds, ethnicities, and beliefs. Our military leaders should be honoring the diversity among our armed forces, not divide us by forcing false narratives that solely serve to alienate our fellow Americans based on the color of their skin.
The letter is signed by 11 fellow senators, several of them military veterans: Sens. Rick Scott (FL), Thom Tillis (NC), Kevin Cramer (ND), Mike Braun (IN), Josh Hawley (MO), Tom Cotton (AR), John Boozman (AR), Roger Marshall (KS), Steve Daines (MT), James Lankford (OK), and Mike Lee (UT).
They wrote that “there is no room for extremism in and among our service members,” and that the Department of Defense must:
…utilize its resources to identify and neutralize real threats of extremism, such as the Royal Saudi Air Force student who killed two people aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida in 2019; the individual who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard in 2013; and the individual who fatally shot 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009.
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