Extremist, criminal, and state organisations have “exploited Europe’s weak borders and diminished [counter-terrorism] resources” and have turned the continent into a terrorism “incubator”, the United States warns in a new strategy document.
The President Donald Trump administration has published its new counterterrorism strategy, and while it identifies Europe as America’s “preeminent and long-term” partner in fighting terrorism, it also notes the region has opened itself up to terrorist infiltration, creating both a destabilisation threat to itself and an extremism export risk to others.
Remarkably the document heavily implied the most corrupted or counterproductive European nations could expect to receive less U.S. assistance in counterterrorism operations as time goes on, as the United Stated does not wish to contribute to “undermining the principles that define our shared civilization”.
Written by former Breitbart News security editor Dr Sebastian Gorka, the United States Counterterrorism Strategy 2026 document stated: “The world is safer when Europe is strong, but Europe is greatly threatened and is both a terror target and an incubator of terror threats.”
Citing terror groups like al Qaeda and the Islamic States, as well as criminal gangs and even “hybrid threats” posed by rogue states, the strategy noted Europe had allowed itself to become infiltrated, allowing the threat to surge. The document stated:
… [groups] have freely exploited Europe’s weak borders and diminished [counter-terrorism] resources to turn Europe into a permissive operating environment for plotting against Europeans and Americans.
It is unacceptable that wealthy NATO allies can serve as financial, logistical, and recruitment hubs for terrorists.
Europe still has an opportunity to change its individual and collective counterterrorism destiny if it recognizes the actual threat and takes action now… It is clear to all that well-organized hostile groups exploit open borders and related globalist ideals.
The more these alien cultures grow, and the longer current European policies persist, the more terrorism is guaranteed. As the birthplace of Western culture and values, Europe must act now and halt its wilful decline.
Looking to the causes of these changes, the paper noted that “unfettered mass migration has been the transmission belt for terrorists” and urged Europe to lean into freedom of speech as a bulwark against extremism, allowing “honest conversations about Islamism” to take place. European states must devote “sufficient” resources to counterterrorism and take a “greater responsibility for its own security”.
The United States would continue to work with “serious” counterterrorism partners in Europe, the strategy said, saying it would cut out those who are “undermining the principles that define our shared civilization”.
As previously reported of the security strategy:
The White House envisioned an “America First” counterterrorism strategy that would bring security across the world by setting successful examples of border security and threat detection that allied nations could follow.
The Trump White House saw “America First” not as an expression of chauvinism, but of common sense and honesty that could guide and inspire the rest of the civilized world. After all, a nation that is not honest about putting the security of its own people first cannot be trusted – and a nation that fails to prioritize its own security cannot be saved.
This approach follows through from Vice President JD Vance’s landmark Munich Security Conference speech of February 2025, one of his first major public engagements of the Presidency and the first in Europe, where he told the political leadership of the continent that its nations were abandoning shared values.
While Europe panics about external threats, the greatest threat to the continent is “the threat within”, Vance said, as he called on America’s allies to once again embrace freedom.