CIA Document: US An 'Exporter of Terrorism’

OPENING PARAGRAPHS:

Much attention has been paid recently to the increasing occurrence of
American-grown Islamic terrorists conducting attacks against US targets,
primarily in the homeland. Less attention has been paid to homegrown
terrorism, not exclusively Muslim terrorists, exported overseas to target non-
US persons. This report examines the implications of what it would mean for
the US to be seen increasingly as an incubator and “exporter of terrorism.”
(S//NF)
Contrary to common belief, the American export of terrorism or terrorists is not a recent
phenomenon, nor has it been associated only with Islamic radicals or people of Middle
Eastern, African or South Asian ethnic origin. This dynamic belies the American belief that
our free, open and integrated multicultural society lessens the allure of radicalism and
terrorism for US citizens.

OTHER EXCERPT:

Impact on Foreign Relations if US Seen as “Exporter of Terrorism” (S//NF)
If the US were seen as an exporter of terrorism, foreign partners may be less willing to
cooperate with the United States on extrajudicial activities, including detention, transfer,
and interrogation of suspects in third party countries. As a recent victim of high-profile
terrorism originating from abroad, the US Government has had significant leverage to press
foreign regimes to acquiesce to requests for extraditing terrorist suspects from their soil.
However, if the US were seen as an “exporter of terrorism,” foreign governments could
request a reciprocal arrangement that would impact US sovereignty.

Foreign regimes could request information on US citizens they deem to be terrorists or
terrorist supporters, or even request the rendition of US citizens. US failure to
cooperate could result in those governments refusing to allow the US to extract
terrorist suspects from their soil, straining alliances and bilateral relations.

In extreme cases, US refusal to cooperate with foreign government requests for
extradition might lead some governments to consider secretly extracting US citizens
suspected of foreign terrorism from US soil. Foreign intelligence operations on US soil
to neutralize or even assassinate individuals in the US deemed to be a threat are not
without precedent. Before the US entered World War II, British intelligence carried out
information operations against prominent US citizens deemed to be isolationists or
sympathetic to the Nazis. Some historians who have examined relevant archives even
suspect that British intelligence officers assassinated Nazi agents on US soil.