(What follows is a mock analysis piece written from the perspective of an intelligence officer in a more or less neutral country, such as Switzerland or Norway. They’ve been asked the question by the policymaker: Is it over? I’ve written it in the style of intelligence analysis I was trained in and propagated for several decades: Make your main point in short paragraphs and then provide supporting data or amplification in bullets. The idea being that a reader should be able to get your main points even if they only had time to glance at the piece.)
Just a few days after the violent occupation of the US Capitol, American politicians have returned to the partisan squabbling that fails to address the country’s widening social, political, racial and economic fault lines.
- Twitter’s permanent ban of Donald Trump was necessary given the possibility he could again move to incite supporters, but Republicans have used it to pivot to a more popular topic: defense of “free speech.”
- Democratic Speaker Pelosi’s move to impeach the President again, intended to demonstrate that Trump’s reckless, if not premeditated, behavior demands consequences, nevertheless serves to divert attention from the declining legitimacy of the American democratic system.
Public opinion polls indicate the overwhelming majority of Americans disapproved of the attack, but nevertheless just under 10% expressed support for a violent effort to overturn democratic elections. Analysis of posts on social media platforms reveals the assault on the Capitol had been planned for weeks; recent monitoring suggests that more protests are likely in the run up to and during Inauguration Day on January 20
- In addition to Inauguration Day, protesters are declaring January 17 as a day of “armed marches” on all 50 US State Capitols and again in Washington, D.C.
- The recent purge by Twitter and other social media companies of hundreds of thousands of extremists and QANON supporters from their platforms is intended to disrupt extremists’ planning efforts. However, extremists likely will migrate to fringe sites and closed messaging applications to communicate, platforms that are harder for authorities to access and monitor.
President-elect Biden believes he can calm the political turmoil and restitch the union, but he faces significant obstacles.
- Polling from December indicated that 75% of Republicans rejected the election results. This is a historically high number; in 2016 most Democrats (65%) accepted the legitimacy of Trump’s victory. The skepticism of the Republican base will embolden GOP legislators to obstruct Biden’s agenda.
- Ending the COVID19 pandemic is Biden’s highest priority, but efforts to do so, such as encouraging mask mandates and restricting social gatherings, will only further antagonize extremist groups, many of whom have staked their “freedom” agendas on opposing COVID-19-related restrictions.
RecoveringFed 
This is a rational analysis, but I believe it fails to capture the depth of the division between two, almost equal in size, segments of Americans. If this divide is not reckoned with on a national scale, it will only worsen.
I agree with your statements but I wonder if this is more of the “cause and effect” problem. My opinion would be that the unrest and division is the “effect” and the economic problems are the cause. Or to put it another, slightly humorous, way…would all those same people be storming the Capitol building in the middle of the day on a Wednesday if they had meaningful, well paying jobs?
I think political issues and even racism are important factors here, but I would argue the pocketbook is the strongest motivator. What do you think, would you agree?
Also, I’m somewhat surprised at the lack root cause analysis by our leaders (or at least my lack of awareness of it). All the protestors did was go home. They still exist and are still mad. Most of our politicians seem to be pushing forward with their same agendas.
I was kinda hoping for an adjustment of sorts, like “here is how we are going to help this segment of our society”. Now I know they are largely white and male and privileged, but they still could use help. I’m thinking like educational programs, social services support for their families/children, etc. Something that doesn’t leave them on their own, festering, and building resentment in their communities.
Anyway, great post and thanks for inspiring me to think more about this topic!