WASHINGTON — The economic downturn and the election of the nation's first black president are contributing to a resurgence of right-wing extremist groups, which had been on the wane since the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment distributed to state and local authorities last week.
The report, produced by the Department of Homeland Security, has triggered a backlash among conservatives because it also raised the specter that disgruntled veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan might "boost the capabilities of extremists . . . to carry out violence."
The assessment noted that domestic security officials had seen no evidence that such groups were planning attacks in the U.S.
But it is the first high-level U.S. intelligence report to call attention to an array of recent domestic developments as potential harbingers of terrorist violence.
Among other factors cited in the report were increased prospects for gun control and immigration legislation under President Obama, as well as resentment over the rising economic influence of countries such as China, India and Russia.
But the assessment focuses most of its attention on animosity toward Obama and anxiety over the recession.
"The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for right-wing radicalization and recruitment," the report warns in the first of a series of findings.
Overall, the document describes an economic and political climate that has "similarities to the 1990s, when right-wing extremism experienced a resurgence fueled largely by an economic recession, criticism about the outsourcing of jobs, and the perceived threat to U.S. power and sovereignty by other foreign powers."
The unclassified report was not released publicly but was distributed among law enforcement agencies across the country before it surfaced online this week.
It was produced by the intelligence and analysis branch of the Department of Homeland Security.
Though it covers an array of issues, the assessment has drawn fire from conservatives over a judgment that focuses on the potential violence of returning U.S. troops.
"The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today," the report said.
