Divided we fall: Violent partisanship and the threat to national security

Earlier this month, many paused to reflect upon the atrocities related to the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, wherein about 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 were taken hostage. One side calls Hamas a terrorist organization ; the other accuses Israel of genocide for its response to this attack. Regardless of which side you are on, it cannot be denied that innocent men, women and children have been killed in both Israel and Gaza.

Leaving the never-ending and increasingly acrimonious debate aside, I believe it is critically important to the national and economic security of the U.S. that we examine the months leading up to the attacks, giving us a window into an ever-evolving threat.

Prior to Oct. 7, 2023, I reached out to a number of contacts in the political and military space with one basic question: “Do you fear that the increasing partisan, political protests taking place on the streets of Israel are serving as an all-consuming distraction which is causing the powers that be to take their eyes off the national security ball?”

As outlined by the London School of Economics and Political Science, “For nine months before the October 7 terrorist attack, Israelis took to the streets in their masses, with between 60,000 to 400,000 protesting weekly against the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul.” Though many of the massive protests were nonviolent, the police response was strong, involving stun grenades, water cannons and “a liquid known as ‘the skunk,’ a foul-smelling substance used by Israeli authorities for crowd control.”

Unfortunately, in the age of hyperpartisanship, hate and identity politics and social media, such destructive protests have become altogether too common, be they in Israel or the U.S.

I have long stressed that “human nature” should be inserted into every single equation. Human beings have biases and flaws, and can be indoctrinated and manipulated. Human bias is normal. But at a certain point, and in certain careers, be they in corporate America, the federal government, the military or academia, such bias must be controlled for the greater good of the nation.

Whether it’s here in America, deep in the “Age of Trump,” or in Israel, under the banner of Benjamin Netanyahu, emotions of adoration or hate were always seemingly on the razor’s edge. Either you totally agreed with leadership or you morphed into an “enemy” of the movement. But when does loyalty to a leader, an ideology or an identity become detrimental to the security of a nation and the safety of its people?

As but one example, when Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated in 2025, there were literally thousands of posts from the “professional” class in the U.S. either rationalizing his murder or, worse, cheerleading it. These posts were from college professors, doctors, pilots, and administrators, just to name a few. But most alarming of all were the posts coming from members of the U.S. military celebrating the slaughter of a fellow human being for ideological reasons.

Sadly, though not surprisingly, polls such as from Harvard University found that 39 percent of young Americans believe political violence is acceptable under certain circumstances . Equally disturbing was a Politico-Public First survey that revealed more than one-third of Americans under age 45 believe political violence can be justified in certain cases.

Collectively, millions of young Americans may believe it’s now acceptable to kill a public figure because of political, ideological or identity politics differences. Rather than defeat them at the ballot box, or via the merits of a more convincing argument, some now apparently think executing a fellow American — a father, mother, brother or sister — is justified. How did our nation reach this level of depravity?

Our military and our three-letter-agencies have but one solemn duty: the protection of the U.S. and its people. Their allegiance cannot and must not be to one individual, one party, faith or identity. They cannot fall victim to bias, indoctrination, misinformation or unchecked egos.

As hate is amplified, as distractions grow and as protests turn violent, the truly patriotic young men and women in our military and our government must accomplish something almost superhuman: they must overcome their biases for the greater good of our nation and our people.

If they cannot, all will eventually be lost.

Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official.