REPORT: Living the Purge–Not Loving It

In this report from January 20, 2020, Living the Purge – Not Loving It (pdf), Stephen Coughlin, an attorney and former intelligence analyst at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provides a detailed account of the systematic dismantling of fact-based, threat-focused counterterrorism efforts in the United States.

This purge, which took place between October 2011 and July 2012, was orchestrated by key figures in the U.S. government and influenced by external actors, including organizations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The paper highlights how the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) initiative replaced professional counterterrorism analysis with politically motivated narratives, leaving the nation vulnerable to threats.

The Purge: A Timeline of Events

Coughlin traces the origins of the purge to an October 19, 2011 letter from Farhana Khera, President of Muslim Advocates, to John Brennan, then Assistant to President Obama for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. The letter demanded a review and purge of counterterrorism training materials deemed “biased” and “offensive.”

Brennan responded swiftly, committing to the creation of an interagency task force to address these concerns.

This marked the beginning of a systematic effort to suppress professional counterterrorism analysis and replace it with CVE narratives.

The CVE initiative, developed with significant input from Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations, sought to redefine the counterterror mission.

It imposed a lexicon and narratives that downplayed the role of Islamic extremism in terrorism, effectively deracinating intelligence efforts from reality-based analysis.

The Role of Media and Advocacy Groups

Coughlin’s paper highlights the role of progressive media outlets, particularly Spencer Ackerman of WIRED Magazine, in fueling the purge.

Ackerman’s articles, often based on unsubstantiated claims, were used by organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to demand the removal of counterterrorism trainers and materials.

These coordinated attacks created a hostile environment for professionals tasked with national security, leading to the dismissal of instructors and the cancellation of courses.

The Joint Forces Staff College Incident

One of the most striking examples of the purge’s impact was the targeting of the Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC). A decorated combat arms officer, LTC Matthew Dooley, was falsely accused of teaching “anti-Islam” courses.

Despite a formal investigation clearing him of these allegations, Dooley was fired under pressure from CAIR and media campaigns.

The incident underscores the lack of due process and the influence of external actors in shaping U.S. military education.

The Role of Foreign State Actors

The report also exposes the involvement of foreign state actors, particularly Qatar, in the information campaign against U.S. counterterrorism efforts.

Al Jazeera, a media outlet funded by the Qatari government, played a significant role in amplifying the purge narratives.

This raises serious questions about the influence of foreign entities on U.S. national security policies.

The Lasting Impact of the Purge

Coughlin argues that the CVE initiative has left the U.S. counterterrorism mission degraded and vulnerable.

By allowing the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates to control the counterterror debate, the U.S. has effectively undermined its ability to address real threats.

The purge, he asserts, remains a national disgrace and a testament to the dangers of prioritizing political correctness over national security.

Conclusion

Living the Purge – Not Loving It is a sobering account of how political and ideological pressures can compromise national security.

Coughlin’s detailed analysis serves as a warning about the consequences of allowing external actors and politically motivated narratives to dictate critical security policies.

As the CVE remains institutionalized, the need for a return to fact-based, threat-focused counterterrorism efforts has never been more urgent.

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Read the report: Living the Purge–Not Loving It (3 MB pdf) by Stephen Coughlin, January 20, 2020

Selected key documents referenced in the report (18 MB pdf)

Or read them here:

NOTE: All documents and more are also linked within the footnotes of the main report, Living the Purge.

1. 1. Memorandum for Director, Joint Staff from Jose S. Mayorga, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, October 14, 2011. Labeled as the “Staff Package” and included Spencer Ackerman’s article [PDF page 4]
      
   2. Preliminary Inquiry Memo for Director, Joint Force Development, from Joint Staff Investigating Officer Major General Frederick S. Rudesheim, USA, May 17, 2012, regarding Joint Forces Staff College course “Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism” [PDF page 15]
      
   3. Spencer Ackerman innuendo in new evidence—refuted by his own source. “America at the Crossroad” presentation by Stephen Coughlin, September 23, 2011 [PDF page 34]
      
   4. Complexification from imposing Islamic law. JSFC presentation by Stephen Coughlin, March 14, 2011 [PDF page 39]
      
   5. “Muslim Pressure” (December 28, 2007) and “Coughlin Backed” (January 11, 2008) by Bill Gertz, Inside the Ring, Washington Times [PDF page 47]
      
   6. “Questions for the Pentagon, Who is Hesham Islam?” By Claudia Rosett, National Review, January 25, 2008 [PDF page 50]
      
   7. An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America, Muslim Brotherhood, May 22, 1991 [PDF page 56; skip to PDF page 71 for English translation]
      
   8. Analysis of Muslim Brotherhood’s General Strategic Goals for North America Memorandum, by Stephen Coughlin, September 7, 2007 [PDF page 88]
      
   9. Abstract of Modeling the Behavior of Violent Extremists: An Evidence-Based Methodology and System for Instruction and Analysis, by Stephen Coughlin, Jorge Scientific Corporation; Mihai Boicu, Dorin Marcu, Gheorghe Tecuci, Learning Agents Center, George Mason University, August 8, 2011 [PDF page 97]
      
   10. Muslim Advocates Freedom & Justice” Muslim Brotherhood Identifier; is Milestone’s Freedom & Justice [PDF page 105] 
       1. Muslim Brotherhood Freedom Justice is Milestones F and J
       2. Freedom Justice a Muslim Brotherhood Indicator
       3. Muslim Advocates Tagline Freedom Justice for all a Muslim Brotherhood indicator
   11. SLIDES: Al-Jazeera ridicules Accurate Holy Land Foundation documents [PDF page 109]
       
   12. SLIDES: Qatar, IUMS, Qaradawi, Muslim Brotherhood [PDF page 115]
       
   13. SLIDES: Qatari Royal Family Oversee Translation of Islamic Law Text Promoting Classical Jihad [PDF page 117]
       
   14. SLIDE: UN Resolution 16/18, Secretary of State Clinton commits to foreign powers to use the extra-legal state action against American citizens [PDF page 120]
       
   15. SLIDES: Marcuse on the Counter-State, Counter-Revolution and Revolt [PDF page 121]
       

Additional documents from the footnotes in the report, or too large or not included in the above:

• • • “Catastrophic Failures” of Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad, CSP Press, 2015.
    • Farhana Khera Letter to John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and Deputy National Security Advisor, The White House, signed by, among others, numerous organizations known to be associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, PDF document dated 19 October 2011. “
    •  John Brennan Letter to Farhana Khera, the White House, 3 November 2011
    •  Defeating the Islamic Movement Inside the United States: A Strategic Plan, UA 2019
    • Re-Remembering the Mis-Remembered Left: The Left’s Strategy and Tactics To Transform America, UA 2019
    • Major Stephen Coughlin, ‘To Our Great Detriment,’ Ignoring what Extremists say about Jihad, Joint Military Intelligence College – JMIC (now the National Intelligence University) in furtherance of his Master of Science Strategic Intelligence, July 2007
    • Modeling Violent Extremists with TIACRITIS,” CDRL A006: Training Support, GMU Learning Agents Center, George Mason University, August 8, 2011
    • “The Killing without Right: Islamic Concepts of Terrorism,” Stephen Coughlin, Jorge Scientific, July 1, 2010
    • Stephen Coughlin, “America at the Crossroads – 2010,” February 19, 2010 as posted on YouTube as “Steve Coughlin’s Speech on Jihad and Islam for Freedom Defense Initiative,” at CPAC, posted by UAC4America on YouTube, February 21, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty0xe8OyPjY
    • Final Report of the William H. Webster Commission on The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Counterterrorism Intelligence, and the Events at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009, 19 July 2012
    • Protecting the Force: Lessons from Fort Hood, Report on the DoD Independent Review, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense, 15 January 2010
    • 15-6 Investigation – Memorandum for Mr. Steven Williams, Joint Forces Staff College, Notice of Proposed Removal, July 30, 2012, 1, 20 “Evidence of Findings,” (Hereafter, 15-6 Investigation of Williams), NOTE: A 15-6 Investigation is a formal Army investigation
    • Stephen Coughlin, “Exploiting Ignorance in the Post Subversion Phase:  Assessing ‘What ISIS Wants’ in Light of the ‘Countering Violent Extremism’ Narrative, Unconstrained Analytics, Inc, August 14, 2015, pp. 8 to 18

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It may help the reader to watch this Aljazeera news video as they served as the leading edge of the purge that immediately followed: Anand Naidoo, “Inside Story Americas – The US Military’s ‘Anti-Islam Classes’,” Al-Jazeera- English – YouTube, May 12, 2012