A PRESENT DANGER?

摘要

The Pentagon is working to get an idea of just how common extremist activity and affiliations are among service members. Total complaints have numbered in the hundreds over the past few years, but experts warn that even low prevalence poses a risk, given the military's unique position. They also caution against dismissing efforts to address extremism because of the low number of cases investigated yearly. "I think we need to remember the difference between, This is a wholesale problem,' versus, This is an issue,' right?" said Seamus Hughes, deputy director of George Washington University's Program on Extremism. "Those two things can be true at the same time. This is not a wholesale problem, but there is an issue." Republican lawmakers in recent months have argued that the low incidence of extremism reports in the military mean the Pentagon should drop its anti-extremism screening and education efforts.