The FBI manufactured terror plots to justify its counterterrorism spending
Evidence
Journalist Trevor Aaronson in his book The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War on Terrorism has argued that the FBI does the work of creating terrorists as a way to justify the billions of dollars spent on counterterrorism activity. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 586
Categorization
- XREF: This is the core imperial-policy causal claim already in the vault via Aziz; corroborates it with independent sourcing. — connects to: FBI informants manufactured terror plots that would not otherwise have occurred — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 473; Pressure for counterterrorism results incentivizes manufactured plots — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 32; FBI informants originate the terror plots they then expose and prosecute — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 598 (+7 more)
Broader Connections
- FBI informants manufactured terror plots that would not otherwise have occurred
#corroborates(0.97) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 473 - FBI manufactured flimsy terrorist plots to parade as investigative successes
#corroborates(0.97) - FBI informants originate the terror plots they then expose and prosecute
#corroborates(0.96) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 598 - FBI informants actively instigate the terror plots they are paid to foil
#corroborates(0.95) - Government informants originated the terrorist plans used to convict defendants
#corroborates(0.92) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 586 - Pressure for counterterrorism results incentivizes manufactured plots
#complicates(0.82) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 32 - FBI informants manufactured terror plots targeting marginalized Muslim converts
#expands(0.82) - The terrorism threat is a manufactured crisis useful for justifying war and curtailing liberties.
#expands(0.78) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 508 - The FBI manufactured ‘black identity extremism’ to justify policing black protest
#complicates(0.75) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 209 - FBI coerced Muslim community members into informing using fabricated threats
#complicates(0.72) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 563